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Sessions Kicked Out

President Trump had his mind on the FBI’s Russia probe when he kicked Attorney General Jeff Sessions out.

Remember when Trump kicked out his National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, because of Flynn’s ties to Russia?

That seems like a long time ago, but the news happens so fast now, it really wasn’t that long. This seemed like a good time to update this one. Since I drew this one, I’ve started drawing Trump fatter, and with a bigger face and neck. I spent some years living in New York where Trump was in the news throughout the 1980’s, and he was a skinny guy. It has taken me some time to adjust my thinking of him as fat.

Doesn’t it seem like the characters who get the boot are the most fun to draw?

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Red Meat for Trump’s Base

The mid-term election is coming on Tuesday and president Trump’s strategy is to gin up fear and loathing of immigrants to motivate his base to come out and vote.

Editors don’t like blood in cartoons –but maybe delicious immigration red meat blood is different –it seems to work for Trump.

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Kick NATO Again for me

I love the bromance cartoons with Trump and Putin. Here’s my newest one.

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Shame on You, Melania

First Lady Melania Trump is known for her sophisticated fashion choices. When she went on a recent visit to see facilities holding illegal immigrant children she chose to wear a jacket imprinted with the words: “I REALLY DON’T CARE  DO U?”

This led to lots of media speculation about whether she thought about the message on the jacket, whether the jacket reflected her own views on the subject of her trip, or whether it was a message to president Trump – who later tweeted that it was a message about the fake news media.

And it looks like I gave Melania two left hands. Sorry about that. I get mail when I do that.

Don’t miss our collections on Trump and Immigration on Cagle.com:

 

 

 

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Pied Piper

When President Trump described illegal immigrants as infesting America, I remembered an old cartoon I drew early in 2015 with Trump as the Pied Piper. Of-course, the Pied Piper legend was about a goofy troubadour who played his “pipe” to rid a town of rats, then, as the result of a payment dispute, he led the children out of town. Trump’s recent executive order that supposedly stopped jailing immigrant children seems to do little or nothing about the kids, who will continue to be imprisoned, one way or another –perhaps on military bases.

I lived in New York in the 1980s, and Trump was a big, local celebrity; he was a thin playboy, before he turned orange, and it took me some time to realize that present day plump-Trump doesn’t look much like the Trump I knew. Trump has filled out his figure and trimmed his formerly giant, bushy eyebrows. I had a svelte 1980s Trump in my memory as I drew this oldie with Trump entrancing the Republican Party.

Now it bothers me to look at this one. Looking at the kids in cages bothers me more.

 

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ICE Pee

Forcibly separating children from their parents at the border makes for lots of great editorial cartoons. I did this one over the weekend and I’m working on another one now.

There is an interesting disconnect in the press about the criticism of this ugly Trump policy. The more alarm raised by critics, and the more attention raised to the separations and detentions, the more likely it becomes that refugees will be deterred from entering into the USA illegally, and therefore, the more Trump will be beloved by his heartless base – who see the Bible as supporting Trump’s immigration planning.

Still, the bad press must sting the ICE agents and the people who carry out this heartless policy, like a bit of pee to the eye.

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The G7 Piggy Bank

I drew a pro-Trump cartoon again – I know how my readers hate that! Trump is getting hammered in the press today for testy comments following a testy G7 summit in Canada, with Trump saying, “We’re like the piggy bank that everyone is robbing.”

I think “suckling” is a better fit than “robbing”. Trump ran his campaign on toughening up trade relationships, which is something I like. Trump also complained about our allies not paying enough for  their defense, and depending on the US military subsidizing them. I also liked that Trump promised to get us out of foreign wars. I’d like to see Trump do more to keep these promises, especially the one about keeping out of wars. Trump seems to want to meddle around the globe poking every bee hive, at least as much every other president –better that he meddles with tariffs than wars.

My readers, who strongly object when I draw something that veers out of my liberal slot, will have plenty to complain about with this cartoon.

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Wonderful Dialogue

Donald Trump called off the planned meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un yesterday because of a typical, belligerent statement from North Korea. It was probably a good move to call off the summit; now North Korea is pushing for a new summit instead of the USA being the eager one, which is probably a strategic necessity. Unlike many in the media, I liked the letter that Trump wrote to L’il Kim, especially Trump’s line, “I felt a wonderful dialogue was building up between you and me.”

Since I’m cool with Trump’s response, I considered this to be one my my rare pro-Trump cartoons –but my drawing of Trump is unflattering so I doubt that the Trumpettes would see this cartoon as pro-Trump. We have a “Trump Friendly Cartoons” section on the front page of CagleCartoons.com and I didn’t put this one there –there’s just too much anti-Trump flavor, even in my pro-Trump cartoons.

It has taken me a long time to develop a Trump caricature that I’m happy with. Cartoonists are still all over the map on the way they draw Trump, but the long red tie has come to be a common device among almost all of the editorial cartoonists. I love the long, red tie.

Here are some of my “summit called off” cartoon favorites that came in today; this one is by Nate Beeler of the Columbus Dispatch:

This one is by Stephane Peray from Thailand:

This one is by Marian Kamensky from Austria:

This one is by Steve Sack of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:

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Thoughts and Prayers

The most recent school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas was interesting for the contrast with the Parkland, Florida shooting where student survivors rose up to lead protests, making eloquent arguments for gun control. In deep red Texas the response is standard, Republican “thoughts and prayers.” I’m sick of “thoughts and prayers” so this is my cartoon:

There are lots of cartoonists who feel the same way. Here are some of my “thoughts and prayers” favorites …

By Steve Sack:

By Ed Wexler:

By Nate Beeler:

By Kevin Siers:

 

 

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Peace in Gaza

The “peaceful” protests in Gaza have been quite dramatic, with both sides blaming each other for the violence. I thought it would be interesting to draw the peaceful protesters as doves of peace. Those are olive branches in their mouths.

My personal view is that there is no solution to the Israel/Palestinian issue. Someday soon we may look back on these ugly times as the good old days. If I could play God and impose my own peace plan, it would be to force everyone to give up their religion.

When I started this I thought I would draw all of the doves with no pants, Donald Duck style, with bird legs and feet. The problem is that birds have knees that go backwards and it was difficult to put them into the action poses without suffering some strange compromises, so I went with a different compromise: human knees, feet, pants and shoes, and birdie hands on the ends of their wings.

Cartoons about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict often invite angry email. I’ve drawn militant doves before –here’s one that got me lots of angry email …


The angry mail for this one came from Israel supporters who thought the cartoon was anti-semitic because they thought the helmet on the Israeli soldier looked like a German Nazi helmet; they also objected to the Star of David on the helmet, arguing that it signified Jews rather than the complete Israeli flag with stripes, signifying Israel.

Cartoons about the conflict don’t please anybody and are among the least reprinted cartoons –but cartoonists don’t get to choose the news.