Deadline Poet / September 9, 2025

Stable Business Genius

Calvin Trillin
Donald Trump speaks to members of the media as he departs a House Republican meeting at the US Capitol on May 20, 2025, in Washington, DC. Trump joined conservative House lawmakers to help push through their budget bill after it advanced through the House Budget Committee on Sunday evening.
Donald Trump speaks to members of the media as he departs a House Republican meeting at the US Capitol on May 20, 2025, in Washington, DC. Trump joined conservative House lawmakers to help push through their budget bill after it advanced through the House Budget Committee on Sunday evening.(Andrew Harnik / Getty Images)

“President Trump has unmatched business instincts.”
    —Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary

As wily businessman, he’d had the aim
Of branding acquisitions with his name.
Those Trump-themed ventures were a masterstroke.
However, didn’t a lot of them go broke?

Calvin Trillin

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

More from The Nation

Hegseth’s Destructive Military Ineptitude

Hegseth’s Destructive Military Ineptitude Hegseth’s Destructive Military Ineptitude

Sailors without food as leadership sinks.

OppArt / Robbie Conal

The Left Can Win in Small Cities. David Morales Is Showing How.

The Left Can Win in Small Cities. David Morales Is Showing How. The Left Can Win in Small Cities. David Morales Is Showing How.

David Morales’s campaign for mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, is providing a model for how a progressive candidate can oust an incumbent.

Aaron Regunberg

Dolly Parton Understood That Working 9 to 5 Doesn’t Really Pay the Bills in Today’s America

Dolly Parton Understood That Working 9 to 5 Doesn’t Really Pay the Bills in Today’s America Dolly Parton Understood That Working 9 to 5 Doesn’t Really Pay the Bills in Today’s America

Social mobility has ground to a halt. Why that’s lousy for American music.

Katrina vanden Heuvel

Can Senator Jon Ossoff Hold On to His Seat?

Can Senator Jon Ossoff Hold On to His Seat? Can Senator Jon Ossoff Hold On to His Seat?

He’s the most vulnerable incumbent in the Senate race, and his state is ground zero for the new Jim Crow attacks on voting rights.

Feature / Joan Walsh

The UAW Wave Has Hit Our Shores

The UAW Wave Has Hit Our Shores The UAW Wave Has Hit Our Shores

The union’s endorsements of insurgent candidates led to big wins this summer. It’s all part of a strategy to remake American politics for the working class.

Feature / Ella Fanger

“Gray Money” Is Fueling a Bipartisan Arms Race for Control of Congress

“Gray Money” Is Fueling a Bipartisan Arms Race for Control of Congress “Gray Money” Is Fueling a Bipartisan Arms Race for Control of Congress

Nonprofits that don’t disclose their donors have funneled at least $642 million to PACs so far in the midterms.

Donald Shaw