Opinion

The frenzy of flattery around Trump is reaching new extremes

Deborah Parker, a professor of Italian at the University of Virginia, and Mark Parker, an English professor at James Madison University, are the authors of “Sucking Up: A Brief Consideration of Sycophancy.”

President Trump’s mysterious hospital visit this weekend prompted lots of questions — but White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham doesn’t understand why. “He’s got more energy than anybody in the White House,” she recently told Fox News commentator Jeanine Pirro. “That man works from 6 a.m. until, you know, very, very late at night.” That might sound excessive, given what we know about this president’s work habits.