We’re only a fifth of the way through Trump’s second term, and so many things are falling apart. That brings me to this heartbreaking piece by Joel Berg, the CEO of Hunger Free America, about the attempts by Republicans to use the government shutdown to axe funding for food stamps, which 42 million Americans rely on to feed themselves. “Not only would this create the greatest domestic hunger crises since the Great Depression; it would also wreak havoc on food retailers, perhaps even forcing some to lay off staff,” Berg wrote.

The cruelty of this era is staggering. Luckily, ordinary people are fighting back. Malavika Kannan wrote this week about Angie Vargas, a self-described “soccer mom” in California who’s found a most unexpected calling: striking fear into the hearts of Trump’s ICE goons by following them in her car and diverting their attempts to terrorize immigrants. Truly an icon, a legend, and the moment.

OK, here is the point where I pivot abruptly and sound the “SCOOP! SCOOP! SCOOP!” klaxon that every Nation editor carries with them at all times—because WE GOT A SCOOP. The SCOOP concerns one Bill de Blasio, aka the former mayor of New York City. You may have seen that The Times of London, one of England’s fanciest rags, ran a big interview with de Blasio about how, in a shocking turn, he’s not that into Zohran Mamdani. One tiny problem: The Times was actually speaking to a random and entirely different guy who happens to also be named Bill de Blasio. This other Bill emailed back and forth with The Times, and rather than ask any questions about any of his abrupt changes of opinion, the paper just went, “Great, let’s print it!”

Well, former Mayor de Blasio was none too happy about this fakery, and—SCOOP KLAXON—he decided to share his thoughts exclusively in, you guessed it… The Saturday Evening Post. Kidding—he did it for The Nation. “We must demand better from media outlets that make a habit of running inadequately reported, or just plain false, stories,” de Blasio wrote. Can’t argue with that. Unless maybe you are The Times.

-Jack Mirkinson

Senior Editor, The Nation

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