Deadline Poet / July 2, 2024

Metaphorical Advice to Those Who Want to Be Donald Trump’s Running Mate

Calvin Trillin

Since fawning is his principal demand,
Your strategy is easy to deduce.
Just pucker up your lips and move
Directly toward that Trumpian caboose.

Calvin Trillin

Calvin Trillin is The Nation’s “deadline poet.”

More from The Nation

Ramaswamy and Trump

Vivek Ramaswamy’s New Attack Ad Should Be a National Scandal Vivek Ramaswamy’s New Attack Ad Should Be a National Scandal

The Ohio GOP gubernatorial candidate has accused his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton, of lying about being raped when she was 12 years old.

Chris Lehmann

Dirty Business

Dirty Business Dirty Business

Trump turns to Russian oil to lower fuel prices in the United States ahead of the midterm elections, throwing Ukraine under the bus.

OppArt / Niels Bo Bojesen

Mississippi Democratic US Senate candidate Scott Colom speaks during a campaign event at the Capital Club in Jackson, Mississippi, Saturday, August 1, 2026.

Could Mississippi Really Send a Democrat to the Senate? Could Mississippi Really Send a Democrat to the Senate?

The answer, amazingly, is yes.

Sasha Abramsky

Thousands of South Korean citizens gather in Seoul to call for the impeachment of then-President Yoon Suk-yeol on December 12, 2024.

How to Stop Trump’s Coup How to Stop Trump’s Coup

South Korea’s lessons for the US midterms.

Paul Loeb and Jungmin Choi

The Stupidest Things

The Stupidest Things The Stupidest Things

And haw we love it.

OppArt / Steve Brodner

Democratic political consultant James Carville at last year's New York Times DealBook summit.

Can James Carville Please Just Be Quietly Wrong Somewhere Else? Can James Carville Please Just Be Quietly Wrong Somewhere Else?

The omnipresent consultant-cum-tantrum-thrower has long outlived whatever relevance he once had, but cable producers, podcast hosts, and Democratic campaigns haven’t got the memo....

Elizabeth Spiers