Just one more macho jerk

This is the face of today’s Republican Party: The nose is pinched, the hair is sandy blond, the eyes are intense. But all you really need to know can be seen in the mouth. This is where Spicer’s talent and nervous energy meet. Watch it open wide enough to inhale his phone as he yells at an editor. Behold its versatility, as he at once chastises Trump for calling Mexicans rapists and murderers while also lauding him for calling attention to the issue of illegal immigration. Even when he is not speaking, it works on overdrive, churning through pieces of Orbit cinnamon gum, which he chews and swallows whole. Notwithstanding his line of work, the man just can’t stand a gross-feeling mouth.

“Two and a half packs by noon,” said Spicer. “I talked to my doctor about it, he said it’s no problem.”

There was one very brief period of his career when this mouth was not working furiously. That was in 2006, when a line drive smashed into his face during a slow-pitch softball game, leaving him with his jaw wired shut as he embarked on the job that launched him on the radar of official Washington — the spokesman for the U.S. trade representative.

For almost three years, he was one of the town’s most ardent advocates for free trade. Today, he is fighting for Trump, the most protectionist GOP nominee in decades. He acknowledges the contradiction, but Spicer’s tradecraft places a greater value on loyalty than consistency.

“There are doctors who help people who have done bad things, there are lawyers who defend bad people,” he said. “I don’t think it’s unique to my profession.”

Trump, his new muse, says aloud what political operatives have always understood: Winning is the important thing. Spicer, who has the compact build of a second baseman, does not like losing, ever. “Whether it’s Nerf basketball or trivia,” said his boss, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus.

“If the charge against me is that I fight to win and I’m intense,” Spicer said, “then I’m guilty.”

Others call it more of a short fuse. Armstrong Williams, the business manager of then-candidate Ben Carson, bumped into Spicer in a CNN green room last fall. Williams had been complaining about the RNC-organized debates, and Spicer didn’t appreciate the feedback.

“He tore into me,” Williams said. “I could see the fire in his eyes.”

He’s feuded publicly with the media, most notably reporters for Politico, whom he has blasted on Twitter for “made up” stories or “sensational faux reporting.” One editor of a D.C.-based publication said she’s been on the receiving end of so many Spicer tirades that when he calls her at home, her young child will recognize his voice and burst into tears. “Sean Spicer,” she says, “is a curse word in our house.”