Deadline Poet / September 8, 2026

Victory

Calvin Trillin
President Donald Trump mimics gunfire during an April press conference on the Iran War.
President Donald Trump mimics gunfire during an April press conference on the Iran War. (Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Iran has now been crushed, Trump says.
America has won that war.
He’s always on the winning side
If he’s the one who’s keeping score.

Calvin Trillin

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

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