• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer, February 1, 2016

It’s a sign of how weirdly dysfunctional the American political landscape has become when simply appearing on a magazine cover with the New York City skyline in the background is supposed to be damaging for a Republican hopeful – and simply appearing in a Republican attack ad boosts the fortunes of a small lifestyle magazine.

But that’s where we are nowadays, according to the New York Post, which reported that Bella, a little-known lifestyle title that launched in January 2011, has reaped a whirlwind of free publicity from a TV attack ad put out by GOP contender Ted Cruz.

The ad highlights Trump’s connections to Sodom on the Hudson with two magazine covers – one from Esquire, the other from Bella – showing the real estate magnate in his native environment.

“Look, skyscrapers! He is a homosexual communist pornographer!” seems to be the basic gist of the ad, which showed the March-April 2015 cover of Bella, bearing a headline proclaiming Trump “The King of New York.”

Of course, in New York City those are all considered positive characteristics.

Bella’s founders are ecstatic about the media exposure, including the implied parity with Esquire and the apparent anti-endorsement by Ted Cruz. Because in the mirror image of Cruz’s attack on Trump, just being singled out for conservative disdain is a bragging point in a place that makes Fellini’s “Satyricon” look like “It’s A Wonderful Life.”

The NYP notes that the ad’s timing couldn’t be better, as the small magazine is building momentum. Founded with a $10,000 budget by wife-and-husband team Courtenay and Daniel Hall, who serve as editor-in-chief and publisher, Bella has turned a profit several years in a row.