Jean Stimmell, retired stone mason and psychotherapist, lives in Northwood and blogs at jeanstimmell.blogspot.com.

Listening to PBS like the old fogy I am, I discovered that among the hip, a new fiction genre is sweeping the country: It’s called romantic fantasy, commonly called romantasy.

Romantasy is a sub-genre of fantasy that pairs this theme with a solid romantic subplot. Reviewers call it pure escapism with a ‘refreshing lack of shame’ while featuring all the hallmarks of romantic fantasy – brutal action, high-stakes drama, and plenty of sex.

Craving pure escapism makes perfect sense right now since the whole world appears to be going straight to hell in a wheelbarrow as a consequence of mushrooming wars, climate apocalypse, cultural breakdown, and mind-numbing barbarity.

Then I had an epiphany, at least as much of an epiphany as one can get at 78, the same escapism is alive and well in politics and goes under the handle of ‘Make America Great Again’ (MAGA).

MAGA also is built on pure escapism, this time being promoted for self-advancement by the greatest carnival barker of modern times: Donald J. Trump. He preforms his shtick in massive rallies like the medicine shows of old, promising to cure the gullible of whatever ails them, all they have to do is worship him and give him money, and keep giving it.

Old-school Republicans would have giddily endorsed the current romance between wholesome, All-American celebrities like Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift. A manly football star and a pretty singing sensation, who, as Politico notes, writes love songs with a straightforward, boy-meets-girl, happily-ever-after kind of narrative.’

But this isn’t your father’s Republican Party! It is now the party of Trump, and Donald hates Taylor. Why? Because she is more popular than he is.

According to Rolling Stone magazine, Trump insists he has more committed fans and is ‘more popular’ than Swift. He has been miffed ever since he was snubbed as Time magazine’s 2023 Person of the Year, an honor that went to none other than Swift.

Again, romantic fantasy and Trump have much in common: both are self-serving, have no shame, and love high-stakes drama, involving, until he got too old, plenty of sex with many partners. MAGA supporters also dislike Swift, seeing her as the antithesis of what they love about football: its machismo, regimentation, nationalism, and violence.

Luckily, a contest between Trump’s support base and Swift’s diehard fans would be a joke.

As a matter of fact, Jimmy Kimmel thinks this is the final straw that will bring down The Donald when nothing else could.

“It won’t be Jan. 6, it won’t be the election fraud or the sexual assault or dancing with Jeffrey Epstein, or even fathering Don Jr. What’s finally going to bring down Donald Trump will be an army of pissed-off Swifties.”

There is no doubt about it: in times of romantasy, life is stranger than fiction.