Day 480: Sean Hannity steps in as surrogate wife for Donald Trump

Alone in the White House, Trump turns to the Fox News host for comfort.

Donald Trump and Sean Hannity have long-enjoyed a symbiotic relationship. Trump gives Hannity access and directs viewers to his show and in turn Hannity rewards Trump with unrelenting fawning coverage and praise. But the level of their relationship has been largely unknown until recently.

First, Hannity got exposed as the secret third client for Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, after months of praising and defending him.

Now, New York Magazine detailed just how close their relationship has grown, to the point of it being similar to a marriage, with frequent private and late night phone calls while Trump’s wife, Melania, “sleeps in a separate bedroom.”

Their chats begin casually, with How are yous and What’s going ons. On some days, they speak multiple times, with one calling the other to inform him of the latest developments. White House staff are aware that the calls happen, thanks to the president entering a room and announcing, “I just hung up with Hannity,” or referring to what Hannity said during their conversations, or even ringing Hannity up from his desk in their presence.

This seems relatively normal until one remembers that Trump is the president who, in theory, should have a very busy schedule and Hannity is a political entertainer, a vocal op-ed commentator who rants about conspiracy theories, Hillary Clinton and the deep state for four hours of national airtime daily.

Their chats, however, go beyond mere political strategy. They serve as a way for Trump to decompress, much how a married couple would.

The talks may be more important for Trump than for Hannity in a therapeutic sense, even if it’s nearly impossible to accept what we’re seeing from the president reflects any kind of therapy. “He doesn’t live with his wife,” one person who knows both men said of Trump, explaining that he lacks someone “to decompress” with at the end of the day. When they spoke a few hours before Trump welcomed home the newly freed Americans who’d been held hostage in North Korea, he and Hannity told each other how proud they were, how happy the news made them. “You can’t function without that,” this person said, adding that Hannity “actually likes him” even though “he knows how nuts he is. He’s decided that you’re all in or you’re not.”

Hannity has stepped into the role of a surrogate wife for Trump, acting as a personal sounding board and reassuring him when things get difficult. Trump has few people with whom he can speak candidly, including his actual wife, so Hannity has filled that void by verbally rubbing his back when the two talk.

480 days in, 982 to go

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