Ms. Must-Reads: Nov. 18
Ms. Magazine
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Let’s stop calling it a landslide—more than 1.5 million votes are not yet counted, some House races are still not called and the Senate race in Pennsylvania is headed to a recount. And in any case, we know Trump’s plans as outlined in Project 2025 are so unpopular, he was forced to deny knowledge of the document’s existence. Yes, Trump is going to be president—but the two words “landslide” and “mandate” should be stricken from all news reporting on the election.
Trump began announcing his cabinet picks last week—and the lineup is a veritable who’s who of far-right extremist voices. From Matt Gaetz for Attorney General, to RFK Jr for head of Health and Human Services, to Fox News host Pete Hegseth (who doesn’t believe women should serve in combat) for Defense Secretary, the slate of nominees ranges from controversial to actively dangerous. As Jill Filipovic explains in her piece “Jokers and Losers," “These choices aren’t just shocking. They’re sending the message that Donald Trump cares about loyalty over basic competence. And perhaps more importantly, they’re setting a norm from the beginning: that no matter what Trump does, he expects Republicans to comply.”
“And so he’s doing what has often worked for him: he’s establishing dominance early,” Filipovic continues. “He’s choosing objectively insane cabinet members to show Republican senators, and the country, that he is the boss — and that he can get others in Washington to comply with his demands, no matter how absurd. It’s an act of dominance, and of humiliation.”
The only question left is: Will Republicans go along with it? Filipovic reminds us, “Tyrants are never one-man machines. They are made and enabled by many others.”
This is the landscape we’re facing—a resurgence of voices that want to take us backward, to strip away the rights we’ve fought for, inch by inch.
But if history has taught us anything, it’s that we’ve been here before—and made it through. The feminist movement has learned to endure, to rise even when everything tells us to fall. We carry with us the memory of every inch gained—the right to vote, to own property, to earn and keep our own income, to access education, to live with dignity. Each gain was earned with grit and sacrifice, and every time they tried to bar the door, we found another way through.
I don’t know what the coming months hold in store for us—but I can promise you this: Ms. will be there to provide fact-based reporting and analysis that centers feminist voices and views every step of the way. We’ll do more than chronicle each new damaging action of the Trump administration. We’ll report on how the feminist movement is fighting back, and we’ll report on how state and local governments are acting to protect women’s rights and guard against Trump’s attacks. Just as critically, we’ll expose who and what forces are funding this war on women.
When our rights are under threat, we cannot afford to look away. They want us to disappear, but we’re not going anywhere. This is our fight, and we’ll see it through.
Onward,
Kathy Spillar
Executive Editor