[General] ..., but talk about narrow-minded—to judge his marriage!

[rodgers white]

What does "dynamic" exactly mean in the sentence “A Trump campaign official said that he found the Pences’ dynamic “a little creepy.”? Does it mean “power” or “energy”?
And could you please help me understand the sentence “…, but talk about narrow-minded—to judge his marriage!”?

Thanks in advance.
**********************
The couple became almost inseparable. One Christmas, she gave him an antique red phone, connected to a “hotline” whose number only she knew. As the Washington Post reported, he kept it on his office desk long after the advent of cell phones. At home, they worked out on twin treadmills. And, as Rolling Stone reported in January, he referred to her in front of guests as “Mother.” Pence’s office has disputed the account, but a former Indiana Democratic Party official told me, “I’ve heard him call her Mother myself.” Pence also began observing what’s known as the Billy Graham rule, meaning that he never dined alone with another woman, or attended an event in mixed company where alcohol was served unless his wife was present. Critics have argued that this approach reduces women to sexual temptresses and precludes men from working with women on an equal basis. A Trump campaign official said that he found the Pences’ dynamic “a little creepy.” But Kellyanne Conway defended him vigorously, telling me, “I’ve been a female top adviser of his for years, and never felt excluded or dismissed.” She went on, “Most wives would appreciate a loyal husband who puts them first. People are trying to bloody and muddy him, but talk about narrow-minded—to judge his marriage!”

-New Yorker

Source

 

[J&K Tutoring]

Dynamic, in this usage, means how they act together.

I'm no fan of Mr. Pence, but I will add that it is quite common, where I come from, for an older husband to refer to his wife as 'mother'. It's not that he thinks of her like his own mother, but rather as a sort of honorific. She is a mother- the mother of his children- and he respects her for that. That is the least creepy thing about Mike Pence.

 

[rodgers white]

Dynamic, in this usage, means how they act together.

I'm no fan of Mr. Pence, but I will add that it is quite common, where I come from, for an older husband to refer to his wife as 'mother'. It's not that he thinks of her like his own mother, but rather as a sort of honorific. She is a mother- the mother of his children- and he respects her for that. That is the least creepy thing about Mike Pence.

Thank you so much for your explanation about the word "dynamic" here. By the way, could you please help me figure out what "but talk about narrow-minded--to judge his marriage" actually means in the last sentence of the paragraph? Many thanks indeed.

 

[J&K Tutoring]

The speaker is saying that a politician should be judged by his or her political actions, not by his or her personal life.

 

[rodgers white]

The speaker is saying that a politician should be judged by his or her political actions, not by his or her personal life.

Thank you for your time. As for me, it seems rather odd that we can write a sentence like that. Generally speaking, narrow-minded is always used as an adjective. How can we say"but talk about narrow-minded"? What's more, it continues with an em dash to signal new information. I feel really confused about the structure of this sentence “People are trying to bloody and muddy him, but talk about narrow-minded—to judge his marriage!”. Could you please elaborate a bit more about it?

 

[Tarheel]

She thinks his marriage is and should be between him and his wife and not for others to judge.

 

[rodgers white]

She thinks his marriage is and should be between him and his wife and not for others to judge.

Thank you for your explanation. By the way, I try to understand the sentence this way: People are trying to bloody and muddy him, but they are trying to talk about him in a narrow-minded way--to judge his marriage rather than talk about his political actions. Am I right?

 

[Tarheel]

I think the explanation is that some people are biased against him because of his poliiics and judge him in a way they wouldn't judge their political allies.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

.... Generally speaking, narrow-minded is always used as an adjective. How can we say"but talk about narrow-minded"? What's more, it continues with an em dash to signal new information. . . .

Yes, you're right. It is an adjective there. Adjectives don't have to be followed by nouns. It could be "talk about hungry," "talk about loud," "talk about tall" or a "talk about" counltess other adjectives.

Do you understand what's meant by "talk about"?

 

[Matthew Wai]

talk about narrow-minded

I think 'about' is an adverb modifying 'talk', so no prepositional object is needed after it. 'Talk narrow-minded' is similar in construction to 'think positive' in that both 'narrow-minded' and 'positive' are adjectives.

 

[GoesStation]

Talk about narrow-minded--! is an interjection. It's a shortened form of "Well, this is a perfect example of the narrow-mindedness we weren't actually, but might have been talking about!"

 

[Matthew Wai]

Could you provide an example case where we weren't actually but might have been talking about narrow-mindedness? I can't imagine it.

 

[Tarheel]

Talk about narrow-minded -- he thinks ballots should only be printed in English.

 

[Raymott]

Examples:

a) Talk about narrow-minded --- to criticize her for her religion? ...

I agree. It's a problem with the grammar of the original.

 

[GoesStation]

Could you provide an example case where we weren't actually but might have been talking about narrow-mindedness? I can't imagine it.

The introductory talk about raises a hypothetical case. It's like saying If we were to talk about narrow-mindedness, judging his marriage would be a good example.