Deadline Poet / October 14, 2025

Pete Hegseth’s Call to Arms

Calvin Trillin
Secretary of defense nominee Pete Hegseth at a Senate Armed Services confirmation hearing on January 14.
Secretary of defense nominee Pete Hegseth at a Senate Armed Services confirmation hearing on January 14.(Andrew Harnik / Getty Images)

We won’t lower standards for women and such.
And generals must keep in trim.
For standards are vital, so Hegseth insists—
Though lowered already for him.

Become a Sustaining Donor This September

Between the reemergence of right-wing red-baiting and Donald Trump’s use of the chilling National Security Presidential Memorandum–7 to criminalize left political organizing, we’re seeing McCarthyism reborn before our eyes.

This assault on democracy cannot be ignored or wished away. Resisting it requires bravery in the face of threats and repression, a steadfast commitment to the truth, and the unwavering belief that we can—and will—overcome this darkness.

We must have an independent media that sets the record straight, unearths corruption and abuses of power, and advances a politics of justice and dignity for all if we’re to win this fight.

That’s why I’m writing to you today. This September, The Nation needs to add 100 monthly donors to sustain our progressive journalism. Your contribution makes the next investigative report, the next truth-speaking column, and the next pathbreaking essay all possible. 

I hope you’ll support our work with a recurring donation today. If you donate $10 or more a month, we’ll send you a brand new “Hands Off the Free Press!” sticker to recognise your commitment to our cause. Please, donate today. 

Onward,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editor and Publisher, The Nation

Calvin Trillin

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

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