In 2010, Tom Junod published the second of his articles about Hillary Clinton in
Esquire. Both that one and his 1999 article were featured
here. Junod has a new article coming out about Hillary and sat down for an interview with
Esquire's
Alex Belth. Since Junod has also published an article about Donald
Trump, that name comes up in the interview as well. Clearly this third
Hillary article is going to be a keeper. Junod's always are.
Here is a short excerpt from the interview. You can access
Esquire from there and get the new article. I can't wait to read it!
Alex Belth
January 7, 2016
Tom Junod:
I was forty-one when I wrote the first Hillary piece, now I’m
fifty-seven, but one of the things that those sixteen years have not
changed is my complete bafflement that men would hate her on the level
they do. It’s deeply, deeply sexual. People hate each other politically
all the time, and I get that, but the added complication that men seem
to hate her physically is just a head-scratcher to me. Because I’ve seen
her, I’ve spent time with her, and she’s an attractive person. And I
don’t mean to sound patronizing. She’s an attractive human being. It’s
what makes this election so interesting—this strangeness is finally
going to all come to a boil.
EC: You began your first profile, in fact, by talking about Hillary Clinton’s sexual appeal.
TJ:
The thing that I wanted to counter in that piece—and what seemed
radical at the time—was this widespread revulsion of her. Which was that
she was a terrible person and incredibly repellent sexually. I just
figured I would take that head-on.
EC: I love how her laugh—which you describe as full and appealing—makes it into all three of the pieces.
TJ:
She’s presented as this sort of mean nun. I went to school with mean
nuns, and they don’t laugh spontaneously like she does. There’s a thing
about her that has always been very winning. To me she has a wonderful
kind of sense of humor, of the absurd, and she has a twinkling in her
eye. Just as a man—and I say this not as a writer but as a man—I’ve never understood Hillary hatred. I just don’t get it.
Read the interview >>>>
