On the Cover: ‘Lock Him Up?’ By Jonathan Chait

For New York Magazine’s September 14-27 issue, writer Jonathan Chait makes the case that surviving the Trump presidency will require more than defeating him in November. Trump must be tried for his crimes, he argues, even if that sparks a constitutional crisis of its own.

Chait writes, “A world where the power of the state can be brought to bear against a person who was once its most famous symbol of wealth is one where every American will more easily imagine a future in which we are all truly equal before the law.” In a companion feature, Jeff Wise looks at the cases that are already being readied against Trump: “According to legal experts, the man most likely to drag Trump into court is the district attorney for Manhattan, Cyrus Vance Jr.” Wise goes on to explain, “Vance … is free to go after Trump not as a crooked president but as a common crook who happened to get elected president.”

The cover illustration is by Jane Rosenberg, a New York based courtroom artist who has covered many famous trials. Says New York Magazine’s design director Thomas Alberty, “Having a court drawing of Trump having his day in court felt more real than Photoshop.”

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• Clare Malone spent 166 minutes with Times media columnist Ben Smith: “I like asking weird, awkward questions that don’t necessarily make me seem like a good person.”

• Lowbrow despicable: A gender-reveal party sparking a wildfire? How very 2017. View this issue’s Approval Matrix, our deliberately oversimplified guide to who falls where on our taste hierarchies. (You can also follow the Approval Matrix on Instagram).

• 59 down: 1998 De Niro thriller. Play this issue’s Crossword Puzzle.

• Check out nymag.com all week for more, including an essay by model Emily Ratajkowski about reclaiming her own image, a guide to renegotiating your lease in a renter’s market, and the 100 songs that define New York hip-hop.

• For the August 31–September 13 issue, Allison P. Davis spoke with Mariah Carey about the pop star’s three-decade-long career (“Mariah After Midnight”).

• Join The Cut’s Editor-in-Chief and SVP Stella Bugbee for Next In Style this Tuesday, September 15 at 5 p.m. ET for an inspiring virtual conversation on the relationship between fashion and design to celebrate the launch of interior designer Kara Mann’s collaboration with CB2. Register here.