CSotD: The Whole World Is … well, you know

Nice of Australian cartoonist Glen LeLievre to offer an All-American image as he sums up global reaction to Trump’s conviction.

While conservative cartoonists in this country are beginning to rally around Dear Leader, he’s getting little pity or respect elsewhere in the world.

But from England comes Peter Brookes with a response indicating the insult to US history and tradition represented by Donald Trump.

It’s hard to disagree with his prediction that this will be Trump’s legacy, but it assumes that we’re going to get through all this in condition to look back at it.

Italy’s Emanuele Del Rosso (Cartoon Movement) takes a more pragmatic view of Trump’s stature, drawing a conclusion borne out by the response of GOP members in the hours since the verdict. As others have noted, the Republicans who once stood up to Trump — including by condemning his actions surrounding the Jan 6 coup attempt — have since either caved in and proclaimed their loyalty, or have left the party.

It may be fun to quote what they said about him in the past, but Del Rosso seems more in tune with how they respond to him now, even in the wake of his conviction and his behavior throughout the trial.

Joe McCarthy’s relentless search for communists in the 50s was halted with the question, “At last, have you no sense of decency?” but in those days the question elicited a different answer than it does today.

From Australia comes mockery from Fiona Katauskas, and if you doubted that the whole world is watching, see how she not only picks up on his love of Diet Coke and ketchup but his history of hurling food at the wall in anger and even his history of purchasing and framing fake “Man of the Year” Time magazine covers.

It may flatter the ego for a world leader to be the center of attention, but perhaps it’s not entirely a good thing to have the rest of the planet paying quite that much attention.

Briton John Shakespeare reproduces Trump’s garish plumbing fixtures and prideful bearing, but suggests that he will still be forced — if only in private — to confront his failure to wriggle off the hook yet again in what has been a charmed life.

Even without mockery, Trump’s fall from grace is hardly a private matter. From Taiwan, Stillina Chen offers a split-screen view of Trump before-and-after. Granted, he is a teetotaller and is highly unlikely to genuinely face prison time, but details are not required in political cartooning and she properly captures what should be the contrast in his life.

Brazilian cartoonist J. Bosco (Cartoon Movement) also takes liberties with the precise facts, depicting Trump as Captain America in order to mock his hubris and to celebrate how the American justice system has held the self-proclaimed superhero accountable.

Pretty sure this is not the type of attention Dear Leader has been seeking.

From Canada, Dave Whamond produces one of a flock of cartoons depicting Trump behind bars, which he then justifies by using the instant cliche in order to mock Trump’s style of boasting, and exaggerating, about every aspect of his presidency and his personality, including this one which he shouldn’t be so proud of.

Ben Jennings, meanwhile, foregoes the behind-bars setting itself in order to take advantage of the greater latitude British political cartoonists are given to express their view of prominent politicians.

Note, also, the wordplay, in the inmate observing that the orange makeup continues to flow, but with the wider suggestion that the conviction has not stopped Trump from seeking the presidency.

Indeed, Swiss cartoonist Patrick Chappatte points out, the conviction has had little impact on Trump’s fans, who will continue to applaud him even in what should be a moment of shame.

Even if only a small percentage of 2020 Trump voters abandon him as predicted, either by supporting a rival or by failing to vote, it would likely cost him the 2024 election, and he’s not likely to serve any actual prison time for his NYC conviction.

But that doesn’t stop Austrian cartoonist Marian Kamensky (Cartoon Movement) (see comments) from depicting a jailed president enjoying a break in the prison exercise yard, surrounded by his security detail and accompanied by the man carrying “the football.”

Kamensky’s vision may be mostly mockery, but it does bring up the point that, while Trump’s current conviction is only for fraudulent election spending, and his loss in civil court was for business fraud, while his other civil action loss was for sexual assault and defamation of character, he’s still facing charges of mishandling secret documents and soliciting voter fraud and I just forgot whatever point I was going to make but I think it had something to do with the nuclear codes.

Possibly tinged by the idea that, since he plans to surround himself with more pliant and obedient staff in 2025, we’d better hope there aren’t any more hurricanes.

Fortunately, I think Ron De Santis is planning to ban them.

Juxtaposition of the Day

Enrico Bertoccioli — Cartoon Movement (Italy)

Leopold Maurer — Cartoon Movement (Austria)

It’s worth pointing out that Donald Trump has never been held accountable for very much, his father having appeared to have secured his college education with donations and then continued to bail the lad out of a variety of business failures.

Bertoccioli emphasizes the way Trump himself solicits his martyrdom, proclaiming that nothing is ever his fault, while Maurer suggests that Dear Leader has only three modes and none of them include work.

British cartoonist Dave Brown goes further, pointing out — for anyone who has missed it — Trump’s insatiable need to capitalize on his cult of personality, noting that Trump will not only insist on his innocence despite all proof to the contrary, but will capitalize on it.

Indeed, while Trump hasn’t yet begun selling Innocence Bracelets, he has begun bragging about the amount of money raised from his loyal cult members and whatever titans of business are hoping to profit from his return to power.

And England’s Martin Rowson sums things up, pointing out that it’s not over, and not only will Dear Leader continue in his quest for absolute power, but he won’t do it quietly.

The whole world is watching.

Mostly to see if, and how, you vote in November.