In theater there is a concept known as the suspension of disbelief. Wikipoedia describes it as “an aesthetic theory intended to characterize people’s relationships to art which refers to the alleged willingness of a reader or viewer to accept as true the premises of a work of fiction, even if they are fantastic, impossible, or contradictory.”
Since as we’ve stated, Celia is about “the show” she relies on her own and her readers ssuspension of disbelief quite frequently.
She pretends not to know things about John Still and writes columns about him running for office which, while they are pure fantasy, keep the narratives alive that she wants to keep alive.
Another great example are these 662 words devoted to Alan Levin. In this essay, Cohen pushes her readers suspension of disbelief to the breaking point but trying to promote a number of fantasies.
The main fantasy is that Republicans don’t mind that Al Levin is a big Joe Biden support. The other fantasies that depend on that main fantasy are that Mike Protack does not exist, mosyt Republicans are very happy with the GOP leadewrship and that thousands of Levin “supporters” were clamoring to praise him and carry him to the Governors office on their shoulders.