Political cartoons are images that bring to life a discussion about what is going on in the political world. Cartoonists exhibit their freedom of speech and press to comment on political issues, topics, and events. Many of the political cartoons criticize the government and point out issues that many people have with the government. The cartoons also tend to be very partisan either leaning towards the left or the right.
Political cartoons function similarly to advertisements. Political cartoons main goal is to convey a political message to people. Political Cartoonists create images that are very simple, so the majority of people will be able to easily understand them. They also focus on creating images that are going to get some type of reaction out of the viewer. They want to provoke feelings in the viewer that are going to make them remember the cartoon and the message of the cartoon. For example, if the goal of the cartoonist is to make a politician look bad, they will create an image that makes the politician look foolish or like an idiot to try to get the viewer to think that the politician is an idiot. On the contrary, if cartoonists are trying to support a politician they may draw the politician in a strong and bold way to make people think that the politician is a strong figure. The cartoonists want to use the images to influence people and their opinions of politicians.
Trump Political Cartoon
![Picture](/uploads/1/2/2/5/122561697/published/trump-pc_2.jpeg?250)
This political cartoon was drawn by Matt Davies and appears in Politico. The cartoon is anti-Trump. The cartoon was drawn in response to reports that President Trump issued security clearances to his daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner. The White House Personnel Security Office normally decides who gets security clearances and who does not after the FBI completes background checks. There was suspicion surrounding Kushner and John Kelly, Trump’s Chief of Staff, was even against issuing Ivanka a clearance. There were then reports that Trump decided to issue the clearances himself even though he was highly encouraged not too.
The cartoon depicts Trump issuing the clearances. The cartoon has Trump saying “A father should be able to keep his children close.” On the bottom of the image, an immigration detention facility is pictured. On the left, parents are locked up and on the right children are locked up. The parents and children are separated by barbed wire.
The cartoon’s main focus is on Trump’s Immigration policies and provides a message that is against the President’s policies. The cartoonist uses the recent news about Trump granting two security clearances to family members to depict the ugly side of Trump’s Immigration policies and the severe consequences that millions of people face because of them. His message is that the President thinks it is okay to go against common practice with regards to security clearances to keep his family close to him but fails to realize that his immigration practices literally separate families.
The cartoon further drives its point across when you look at the faces of the children. They both have frowns on their face and you can tell that they miss their parents. The parent looks shocked and does not know what to do. The parent also seems worried. The author shows emotion on the parents and kids faces to make the viewer empathize with them and to further make Trump look like a bad person.
The cartoonist also depicts many subtle messages in the cartoon. For example, Trump’s face is drawn to make it look very big. The proportions of his eyes, nose, and mouth make him look very stupid. The drawing of Trump basically makes him look like on big idiot. Another example of a subtle message can be seen in the security clearance. The White House is drawn in a very childish manner. This suggests that the White House acts like Trump’s playground and that Trump does not take his job very seriously.
The cartoon was a very effective one. It was very simple to understand and to see what the point of the cartoon was. The cartoon made you feel bad for the parents and the children which will help make the viewer remember the cartoon. Finally, the cartoon does a good job of taking subtle jabs at Trump to show the dislike he has for him.
The cartoon depicts Trump issuing the clearances. The cartoon has Trump saying “A father should be able to keep his children close.” On the bottom of the image, an immigration detention facility is pictured. On the left, parents are locked up and on the right children are locked up. The parents and children are separated by barbed wire.
The cartoon’s main focus is on Trump’s Immigration policies and provides a message that is against the President’s policies. The cartoonist uses the recent news about Trump granting two security clearances to family members to depict the ugly side of Trump’s Immigration policies and the severe consequences that millions of people face because of them. His message is that the President thinks it is okay to go against common practice with regards to security clearances to keep his family close to him but fails to realize that his immigration practices literally separate families.
The cartoon further drives its point across when you look at the faces of the children. They both have frowns on their face and you can tell that they miss their parents. The parent looks shocked and does not know what to do. The parent also seems worried. The author shows emotion on the parents and kids faces to make the viewer empathize with them and to further make Trump look like a bad person.
The cartoonist also depicts many subtle messages in the cartoon. For example, Trump’s face is drawn to make it look very big. The proportions of his eyes, nose, and mouth make him look very stupid. The drawing of Trump basically makes him look like on big idiot. Another example of a subtle message can be seen in the security clearance. The White House is drawn in a very childish manner. This suggests that the White House acts like Trump’s playground and that Trump does not take his job very seriously.
The cartoon was a very effective one. It was very simple to understand and to see what the point of the cartoon was. The cartoon made you feel bad for the parents and the children which will help make the viewer remember the cartoon. Finally, the cartoon does a good job of taking subtle jabs at Trump to show the dislike he has for him.
![Picture](/uploads/1/2/2/5/122561697/published/b_1.jpg?1554686293)
This cartoon was drawn by Steve Sack and appeared in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The cartoon deals will Joe Biden while also throwing a jab at President Trump. Joe Biden has been a prominent politician in the news due to a total of seven women coming out and saying that he has “touched” them in ways that made them feel “uncomfortable.” These allegations came at a very bad time for Biden as many people believe Biden is about to announce a run for President. The cartoon also has to deal with the numerous women who have come out against Trump with similar allegations.
The cartoon depicts Trump holding a newspaper article that is entitled “Biden’s ‘Handsy’ Problem.” There is also a thought bubble that shows President Trump thinking “hmm…Why didn’t he pay them hush money, or at least say they were too ugly to assault.”
The message of the cartoon first brings to light that Biden could possibly have a problem of making women uncomfortable. The cartoonist then decides to use the allegations against Biden to attack Trump. He uses Biden to call out Trump and say that he paid women who he has a negative history with to keep quiet while he was President to avoid negative press. He also calls out Trump’s view of women by saying that Trump would not even consider assaulting many women because they are simply “too ugly.” The cartoonist makes Trump view as women as simply objects. The cartoonist does a great job of using the recent news about Biden to call out Trump.
The details of both Biden and Trump portray more of a message about both men. When looking at Biden, he has a smirk on his face. The cartoonist does this to suggest that Biden knows that he got away with stuff that he should not have been able to get away with. Trump’s face is once again drawn in a way that makes him look foolish and like an idiot.
The cartoon once again proves to be effective. It was very simple and easy to understand the message the cartoonist intended to get across to the viewer. The cartoon also did a good job using his drawing to make subtle statements about both politicians.
The cartoon depicts Trump holding a newspaper article that is entitled “Biden’s ‘Handsy’ Problem.” There is also a thought bubble that shows President Trump thinking “hmm…Why didn’t he pay them hush money, or at least say they were too ugly to assault.”
The message of the cartoon first brings to light that Biden could possibly have a problem of making women uncomfortable. The cartoonist then decides to use the allegations against Biden to attack Trump. He uses Biden to call out Trump and say that he paid women who he has a negative history with to keep quiet while he was President to avoid negative press. He also calls out Trump’s view of women by saying that Trump would not even consider assaulting many women because they are simply “too ugly.” The cartoonist makes Trump view as women as simply objects. The cartoonist does a great job of using the recent news about Biden to call out Trump.
The details of both Biden and Trump portray more of a message about both men. When looking at Biden, he has a smirk on his face. The cartoonist does this to suggest that Biden knows that he got away with stuff that he should not have been able to get away with. Trump’s face is once again drawn in a way that makes him look foolish and like an idiot.
The cartoon once again proves to be effective. It was very simple and easy to understand the message the cartoonist intended to get across to the viewer. The cartoon also did a good job using his drawing to make subtle statements about both politicians.
![Picture](/uploads/1/2/2/5/122561697/published/obama.jpg?1554686318)
Political satire plays a very important role in America’s political climate. The cartoons provide a great platform for the press to exercise their freedom of speech and freedom of the press. The satire allows for the government to be criticized in a light-hearted way. The cartoonists are also given the freedom to create many different messages in their cartoons. Political cartoons prove to be very effective. The cartoons do a great job of holding politicians accountable and make sure their words match their actions. The cartoons can act as a check on a politician’s power and could even be detrimental to a politician’s popularity. Political cartoons are one of the best mediums that politics are discussed on.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/political-cartoon
Trump Cartoon
https://theweek.com/articles/590309/7-best-political-cartoons-week
cartoon top left
http://historyofpoliticalcartoons.weebly.com/world-war-ii.html
top right
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Pi7w1kP2yl8/hqdefault.jpg
Cartoon Bottom Left
https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2019/04/03/how-joe-bidens-touching-women-is-being-skewered-by-cartoonists-trump/?utm_term=.6cd8f785b84f
Biden Cartoon
https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/05/politics/ivanka-trump-security-clearance-pressure/index.html
https://www.britannica.com/topic/political-cartoon
Trump Cartoon
https://theweek.com/articles/590309/7-best-political-cartoons-week
cartoon top left
http://historyofpoliticalcartoons.weebly.com/world-war-ii.html
top right
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Pi7w1kP2yl8/hqdefault.jpg
Cartoon Bottom Left
https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2019/04/03/how-joe-bidens-touching-women-is-being-skewered-by-cartoonists-trump/?utm_term=.6cd8f785b84f
Biden Cartoon
https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/05/politics/ivanka-trump-security-clearance-pressure/index.html