The Art Of Politics – January – Have A Wild Guess What Filled Political Cartooning This Month?
by Richard Bruton
It’s The Art Of Politics, with the best political cartoonists proving that the pen is mightier than the sword.
This month, let’s just say there’s been a lot going on, mostly about this…
THE USA – FOUR YEARS OF CRAZY BEGINS NOW…
Well, it was inauguration day in the USA, a date we previously didn’t much bother with. And then 2021 happened, Trump’s MAGA supporters stormed the Capitol, and all that changed. Thankfully, the day passed by without a hitch. Well, there was no rioting at least. Instead, we had Trump being Trump, Melania’s hat, Elon’s salute, and plenty more.
But if that was a weird day, it only heralds the start of the new regime in the USA… we certainly are cursed to be living in interesting times indeed.
In just a few weeks since the inauguration, we’ve had the idea of changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, possible invasions of Panama and Greenland, mass deportations of illegal immigrants beginning, including the possibility of shipping them off to Guantanemo Bay for processing, pardoning the 6 Jan Capitol attackers, attacks on Transgender rights, stripping away at government powers, an invitation sent to all 2 million federal workers to resign … and it’s only just beginning.
Nicola Jennings started the month off looking forwards to 2025…
Morten Morland on the world holding its breath
THE INAUGURATION…
Ben Jennings on the inauguration and the mega-rich invitees, not to mention the incredibly strange use of YMCA
Dave Rowe with the same idea
Nicola Jennings on the inauguration
Adam Zyglis with the same idea
THEN THE EXECUTIVE ORDERS BEGAN…
Martin Rowson on Trump’s carpet-bombing of executive orders in the first weeks of getting in.
Bill Bramhall on the Federal grant pause
Ben Jennings on Trump’s interest in Greenland
Kal on Trump’s geography
Ella Baron on Trump’s attacks on LGBTQ+ rights
Chris Riddell on Trump’s drill, baby, drill pledge and undoing all the climate measures of the last four years.
Chris Riddell again, on Trump leaving the World Health Organisation and the Paris Climate Agreement
Monero Chelo on what the deportations could mean…
And Chris Britt on what they do mean
Michael de Adder on the Jan 6 prisoners being freed
Dave Brown on Trump’s promises, including releasing files on JFK, RFK, and MLK…
Mike Luckovich on tariffs
Michael de Adder – and eggs are still no cheaper
Kal on Trump’s cabinet nominee for Defense Sec – Pete Hegseth
And Michael de Adder on the same
TRUMP TAKES POWER — BUT WHO’S THE POWER BEHIND THE THRONE?
Barry Blitt‘s Jan 20 New Yorker cover… ‘Two’s a crowd’
Darryl Cunningham with a different view of the power dynamic going on – from his Elon Musk book that’s finally going to get an English-language edition.
‘Who has the real power in the Trump/Musk relationship? The common view is that Musk is pulling the strings, but that’s to seriously misunderstand the nature of political power which always lies with politicians. Vast amounts of money mean nothing if it can be taken away from you. It’s a lesson Musk may soon learn. I know the US isn’t structured like Russia, but it is moving in that direction. The oligarchs in Russia thought they could control Putin when he came to power, and many paid for that mistake with the loss of their fortunes, liberty, and in some cases their lives.’
Nicola Jennings picks up that idea of Trump playing the oligarchs, with Zuckerberg’s changing position on fact-checking on Meta
Kal with the same
Ella Baron on the wildfires of misinformation
REACTIONS TO ANN TELNAES’ RESIGNATION FROM THE WASHINGTON POST…
Early in January, Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist Ann Telnaes quit her 16-year role as political cartoonist at The Washington Post after editorial killed a cartoon criticising billionaire tech/media chief execs for bowing and scraping to the President-elect.
The full explanation is here at Telnaes’ Substack post. Essentially, it comes down to her cartoon being rejected by editorial because of her point of view and the obvious criticism of those big bosses, including, not coincidentally, Jeff Bezo, Amazon boss and owner of The Post. You should be offended and angry and fearful over this. It’s important, but it’s probably not the first such thing we’re going to see in the era of Trump 2.0.
Here’s the Ann Telnaes cartoon that caused the issue…
And here’s just a few of the cartoons supporting and commenting on it all…
IN GOOD OLD LITTLE BRITAIN…
Compared to all the comings and goings and chaos of the USA, things in Great Britain seemed relatively quiet. Just the usual Labour ineptitude as they try to get things going with the government. Sometimes Brits don’t know what’s worse, having an inept Labour party in power that doesn’t get things done or having the lying, cheating, corruption-riddled Conservative party in power.
Nicola Jennings on Keir Starmer’s many problems…
Martin Rowson on Health Secretary Wes Streeting promising to do something about adult social care reform — eventually.
Chris Ridell on the same
Dave Brown on planning reforms
Pete Songi on Elon Musk’s continued interference with UK politics, making inflammatory comments about Jess Phillips MP, saying Nigel Farage should be replaced as Reform UK leader, and cosying up to Tommy Robinson and the right-wing hatemongers.
Martin Rowson on Labour’s growth agenda
Morten Morland on the same
AND FINALLY… THE CONFLICT IN GAZA…
With Trump dominating things in political cartoons this month, there were few examples of cartoonists talking about Gaza (and it’s as if the war in Ukraine isn’t happening any more). But it’s been a month where there’s a ceasefire and a hostage exchange going on. Maybe, just maybe, there’s hope for the future. But few people are going to be holding their breath for that.
Ben Jennings on what will happen when Gazans return home after the ceasefires with an estimated nine out of ten homes destroyed and vast tracts of land completely uninhabitable
Dave Brown (after Bruegel)
