Naval War College Prof: Trump Is ‘Unmanly,’ Supporters ‘Trapped in Perpetual Adolescence’

U.S. Naval War College and Harvard Extension School professor Tom Nichols proclaimed this week that President Donald Trump is “unmanly,” and that he is scared of women. The professor also argues that the president’s supporters are “trapped in perpetual adolescence.”

In a lengthy opinion piece  published in the Atlantic and titled, “Donald Trump, the Most Unmanly President,” professor Tom Nichols argues that President Trump lacks “masculinity,” and ponders how the president could possibly retain his support among “working-class white men.”

“Trump is a hero to a culture in which so many men are already trapped in perpetual adolescence,” writes Nichols, who goes on to insult the president’s supporters by adding that Trump is a “walking permission slip” for his supporters “to shrug off the responsibilities of manhood.”

The professor continues by claiming that the president is a “coward” with “two particular phobias: powerful men and intelligent women.”

In citing his argument, Nichols mentions Russian president Vladimir Putin as a powerful man, claiming that the President of the United States “visibly cowers” in the presence of the Russian leader.

And with regards to the so-called “intelligent women” that the president allegedly fears, the professor bizarrely cites female reporters in the White House press briefing room, as well as President Trump’s usage of the words, “Excuse me,” and “Are you ready?”

Nichols then goes on to mention radio host Howard Stern as an example of someone who is “much more of a man, by any definition, than Trump.”

“Stern, who once encouraged Trump’s antics, now seems concerned,” writes professor Nichols. “He has suggested that Trump was traumatized by his childhood and his father.”

“Trump is never going to get therapy,” the professor adds. “But Stern’s observation opens the door to a better explanation of why — despite all of his whiny complaints, his pouty demeanor, and his mean-girl tweets — Trump’s working-class voters forgive him.”

“Trump’s lack of masculinity is about maturity,” claims Nichols. “He is not manly because he is not a man. He is a boy.”

While insulting the president’s male supporters, the professor makes sure to clarify that he believes female Trump supporters are also to blame.

“I am not criticizing Trump’s manifest lack of masculinity solely because he offends my personal sense of maleness. He does, of course,” insists the professor, who then, in an amusing twist, goes on to admit that he does not even consider himself “manly,” nor does he consider himself “a role model of male virtue.”

“In late middle age, I still struggle with the eternal issues of manhood, including what it means to be a good father and husband — especially the second time around after failing at marriage once already,” writes Nichols.

“And truth be told, I am not particularly ‘manly,'” the professor continues, citing the fact that he wears “Italian shoes with little buckles” and schedules his haircuts “on Boston’s Newbury Street weeks in advance.”

“And I talk too much,” added Nichols, implying that such behavior is typically reserved for women.

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.