Michael Wolff's new book Fire and Fury sure has generated quite a lot of controversy. However, one important topic seems to have been overlooked by the Mainstream Media: Wolff (or his editors) consistently use the singular verb form when describing actions taken by 'Jarvanka', Steve Bannon's catchy nickname for the Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump duo. (For example, "Jarvanka was surprised" instead of "Jarvanka were surprised.")
Is this correct? or does Jarvanka take a 'were' as it most certainly is two people?
(Note: IMHO, this is not comparable to plural nouns such as media, because here Jarvanka is (or are) obviously two different distinct persons, unlike media which is merely a collective noun.)
Answer
This type of name is incredibly informal, so I doubt this would be directly addressed in a style guide or grammar book.
"Answer man" Roger Schlueter argues that:
“Couple” is an equally troublesome collective noun, but in the case of “Brangelina” I have to defend our copy desk as being correct — and I have my Associated Press stylebook, a reporter’s usage bible, to back me up. In the AP’s entry on “couple,” it says, “When used in the sense of two people, the word takes plural verbs and pronouns: ‘The couple were married Saturday and left Sunday on their honeymoon.’ In the sense of a single unit, use a singular verb: ‘Each couple was asked to give $10.’”
Brangelina are is correct usage
(The Associated Press stylebook he cites is this one.)
Whether singular or plural is used, in practice, depends on how the writer is currently thinking of the couple: are two people or a single unit (this applies to both "couple" and "Brangelina"). This means that there is variation, even when two authors are saying the exact same thing (note that both authors are American):
Brangelina has been an item since 2004, and the couple married in 2014. —Mic.com
Though Brangelina have been an item for 12 years, they've only been married for two. –Washington Post
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