Right after the Vance quote, we get: "All of this hints at a powerful political current that politicians like Mr. Vance and Mr. Trump instinctively know how to channel."
The article ends with 2 quotes from law professor Joan C. Williams: "One of the only arrows in [Trump's] quiver is being the man" and "Picking wars all around the world, that’s what’s really going on."
It's not fair to judge the NYT article — by Katie Rogers — without watching this for context:
ADDED: "Let’s Talk About RFK Jr.’s Workout Pants/Our health secretary is a jeans guy, and he knows it" (The Atlantic)(gift link).BawitMAHA https://t.co/npFlS2NxTo
— HHS (@HHSGov) February 17, 2026
Why was the HHS secretary bathing in a pair of pants? The video never provides an answer for this question, even as Kennedy plays pickleball, then mugs for the camera, then soaks in a Jacuzzi with a glass of milk, all while still in jeans. It’s just bizarre—a PSA that presumably has been dialed in by his staff to maximize its WTF effect....
The secretary’s jeans are self-aware. Kennedy’s proclivity for working out in belted denim long predates the knowing wink with which it’s now displayed.... Kennedy is a jeans guy.
I’ve worked out, off and on, for more than 30 years—and for all of that time, the jeans guys have remained a steady presence on the rubber floors. They are sometimes taciturn, sometimes chatty. They often pair their jeans with boots, as Kennedy will do, and with a T-shirt or a tank top or a hoodie....
Not everyone enjoys the company of the jeans guy. Some see him as a threat. Planet Fitness once made a point of banning denim in the gym....
What motivates the jeans guy? No one knows....
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64 comments:
The Venn diagram intersection between people who regularly bench press, and people who are in the NY Times target reader demographic, is an empty set.
Surely, Trump has more than two arrows in his quiver. How many did other presidents have? But if you only have two arrows, wouldn't you want one to be being a take-charge guy? Isn't that the one that makes the difference?
RFK Jr looks incredible!
You never see RFK Jr in shorts. Althouse nods.
That video is hilarious. They knew what they were doing when they made it.
The NYT could start selling daily calendars with entries highlighting yet one more reason to despise Trump and his allies. The only problem is that its customers would then have no need for the newspaper.
Can an archer have more than one "only arrow"?: "One of the only arrows in [Trump's] quiver." Maybe one of the few in the NYT enemy view; or a quiverfull to supporters.
The NYT would be fine with it if it was a couple of gay guys at the proverbial YMCA.
Professor Williams needs to be rebuked for using a combat metaphor. Or a sports metaphor. Or a hunting metaphor.
Take your pick.
"Lem Vibe Bandit said...
You never see RFK Jr in shorts. "
That's because he skips "legs day."
LOL RFK working the leg machine with his dress shoes on. Honestly this video is ridiculous, which was their intention I guess. Kid Rock, known fitness maven.
His father and uncle were Norma Jean's guys.
Where I work we're not allowed to have too many irons in the fire. Somehow it got to be sexual harassment.
We're also not allowed to say some days you get the shaft. Okay, I can see the problem there.
Good one, Dogma
William Tell had two arrows in his quiver.
That's funny, one of the Epstein "victims" said that she thinks Epstein was taking too much testosterone because he was ripped, but his junk had shrunk.
I don't know what made me think of that
Does law professor emerita Althouse have a reply to Joan C. Willams?
I always assumed he worked out in jeans to hide track marks.
Better than a picture of Rachel Levine and Sam Brinton at the gym.
“That's because he skips "legs day."”
Yeah, you always suspect that of guys who wear long pants in the gym.
OK, I watched the video and now I am even more convinced he wears jeans to hide needle track marks. Why else would you jump into water wearing jeans?
WHOLE MILK is a great caption for just about any photo…
“Described as having “something approaching rock star status” in her field by The New York Times Magazine, Joan C. Williams is a scholar of social inequality and a prominent public intellectual. Williams is the author of 12 books and 116 academic articles in law, sociology, psychology, medical and management journals.”
And I’m sure not a word worth reading in those 12 books and 116 academic articles. Liberal, identity politics trash.
Don't allow this broken culture to send you a message that you're a bad person because you're a man.
Out on the mean streets, it's a man's world.
On the internet, it's Mean Girls, 24/7.
I was just in a little shop and they had a pink hat for sale with "Dump Him" emblazoned on it in even brighter letters. It's conditioning, and it's affecting me too, this morning I played Casablanca again, and it's a great movie, but you know what my thought was at the end? No way that tart is worth it, Lazarus and Rick should have got on the plane together.
What feminism indoctrinated women to believe is that love is transactional, and you know what? We men are getting the hint. Maybe a pre-feminism Ilsa was worth the sacrifice, but today? Fend for yourself, honey.
“One of the only arrows in [Trump's] quiver is being the man"
Donald Trump is manly in an ornately fabulous, puffy-orange sort of way, not that there’s anything wrong with that.
There used to be this print and tv ad for some lab with this doctor guy who was RFKJ’s age and ripped like him. Looks funny. Old guys look good lean and fit, not jacked…
…speaking of Venn diagrams, if I may be catty for a moment, the union of the inguinal crease and old man gut sets…
A man needs a woman like a fish needs a bicycle.
No tag for Joan C. Williams.
A tag is the ultimate currency.
Is it diversity or Diversity? Sex or sex-correlated gender? All's fair in lust and abortion... some bray to relieve 'burdens"... a summary judgment of pride and prejudice.
Why are woman allowed to write about men’s issues? Pretty sure that’s a no-no when it goes the other way.
The Matriarchy has made a hash of the culture
quotes from law professor Joan C. Williams: "One of the only arrows in [Trump's] quiver is being the man"
And you and yours, Professor Williams, made things so bad that Trump still won the election. Think about that...
I see this as continuing the legacy of Jack Lalanne, minus the one-piece jumpsuit.
Unhealthy Eating Habits and Diseases
Why do people obsess about RFK’s jeans? It’s just his way. Just like Trump’s is to wear a suit all the time. He’s not going to be caught shuffling across the sand flipping into a beach chair napping like Old Joe did?
Another Althouse nitpick about someone she may think is traitor to the cause.
Sydney, IV drug use rarely leaves lasting marks, and if he had visible scars on his legs, he'd sure as hell have them on his arms as well.
"It's not fair to judge the NYT article — by Katie Rogers — without watching this for context: ..."
Unfair it may be, but if it was printed in the NYT, and it was not a paid advertisement, then it is a pack of lies. And Katie Rogers is a doody-head.
"One of the only arrows in [Trump's] quiver is being the man"
Yeah, Joanie, he's pretty much a one-trick pony. You ditzy broad. Drop and give me 20!
Wait. I thought Trump was our gay president. I guess that was Yesterday.
Now, this is impressive. To me anyway.
"One of the only arrows in [Trump's] quiver is being the man"
And don't you ever forget it.
Doing squats in jeans is at best uncomfortable. They are too tight and stiff when your butt gets near the floor.
What they really need are some of Jack Lalanne's jumpsuits from the 50's, the ones cut to show off that rugged 'V', and those manly biceps.
The "jeans guy" seems to be some sort of myth. Or at least something created in the last year or two. The Atlantic article that references a NYTs article that supposedly talks about PF banning denim, the wayback machines shows it has no references to 'denim' or 'jeans' so more mythical bullshit.
I think overalls are better general purpose work clothes than jeans. Looser, don't need a belt to stay up, and cover the front. I see old pictures of workers and they are in overalls. Jeans are more connected to riding horses. You can squat in overalls, you can probably sit a horse better in jeans.
"The Venn diagram intersection between people who regularly bench press, and people who are in the NY Times target reader demographic, is an empty set."
You underestimate the gay set.
Richard Simmons worked out in a felching, er, fetching outfit
What sets Kennedy apart for me is not the muscular development which is impressive and commendable for his age but rather the extremely low body fat.
That's really hard to achieve and maintain without a strong genetic tendency.
By really hard, I mean really, really fucking hard for most people despite even maximum efforts at exercise and diet.
NYT excerpts are just click bait for the Althouse commentariat.
And Hegseth pushing up 315 in the bench press this week. Healthy cabinet.
MAHA was always a con, driven solely by the ego and ambition of a drug-addled narcissistic fraud.
Kennedy looks good because he doesn’t have tattoos.
Planet Fitness lets troons invade women's changerooms, so let's not rely on their moral compass.
Carl on six-pac abs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WzKDdj0CxY
The Vance quote appears near the end of the article, right after: "Mr. Trump’s latest masculinity proclamations sum up this administration’s hard-line approach to maleness, where the most powerful men in the country can just relax and be men who appreciate other men — in a strictly manly way, of course."
Right after the Vance quote, we get: "All of this hints at a powerful political current that politicians like Mr. Vance and Mr. Trump instinctively know how to channel."
That's because they're men, and not ashamed f it.
The article ends with 2 quotes from law professor Joan C. Williams:
Because of course the only person the NYT can find to comment on masculinity is a female law professor (no offense intended, Prof Althouse)
"One of the only arrows in [Trump's] quiver is being the man" and "Picking wars all around the world, that’s what’s really going on."
"Picking wars"? So not only is she not qualified to discuss the subject, but she doesn't have anything meaningful to say/ honest to say about it.
Got it
Trump is a man. Melania is a woman. Together they are a couple. Now I know my sex and group nouns, next time won't you sing along with me.
Geriatric striving with sense and sensibility.
"Trump is a man. Melania is a woman" The first coherent post I've ever seen you make. It was amusing. Thanks.
I don’t understand the jeans thing, re: his age or background.
Who cares about the jeans? RFJ is in freakishly good shape for his age.
Biden can ride a bike!!;
The jeans things could be simply explained by the tv show the Incredible Hulk. You are MASSIVE if you can split your jeans while weightlifting. It's aspirational!
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