CSotD: The View From Abroad
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Belgian cartoonist Descheemaeker has been busy and his page at Cartoon Movement is worth visiting to see his commentaries on the invasion of Venezuela. I particularly like this piece, first of all for the artistry, but also because “Pirates of the Caribbean” is an example of cultural hegemony, in that the phrase would not come up overseas if we weren’t so successful in exporting our pop culture to the world.
I checked his page because the accusation could have stemmed from our attacks on small craft off the coast of Venezuela, and even then the spurts of oil from Trump’s pistols betrayed our interest in Venezuela’s most valuable natural resource. We’ve featured cartoons here that cited that motivation well before Trump openly declared it.
In fact, this cartoon first ran on December 12, well before the invasion. The whole world has been watching for some time.
As for specifically commenting on the invasion, Harwood, an Australian, offers a soft image that contrasts with Descheemaeker’s grim portrait, but the woman in her cartoon has been keeping an eye on Trump and was already aware of his “disdain for the rules-based global order.” She suggests that this is not the first time American policy has altered the world, and Harwood features a contrast between the world-weary speaker and her friend, who seems more aghast at what they’re seeing.
Another Australian commentary comes from Herbert, taking graphic advantage of the current season in the Antipodes, but throwing Trump’s misogynistic words back in his face and suggesting that his contempt for women is mirrored by his contempt for national integrity, implying by his casual certainty that he’s confident nobody will step up to challenge his attitude. As they didn’t in the Access Hollywood case.
Bergen, commenting from Germany, also depicts Trump as casual in his assurance that he can do whatever he wishes, but is perhaps more specific than the Aussies in that the other items on Trump’s to-do list are closer to him not only geographically but in NATO and EU treaty obligations.
He projects a sense of false casualness in his depiction, considering that Denmark has hinted at how an invasion of Greenland could trigger NATO’s Article 5, while Canada is moving closer to China at least in plans for trade, if not in larger obligations.
Trump’s faith in his ability to get away with anything offers challenges both to world peace and to the American economy.
Swiss cartoonist Chappatte joins a chorus of those pointing out the absurd contrast with Trump’s claim not only of being the peace president but having campaigned on a promise to avoid unnecessary wars and of his absurd insistence that he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize.
However, while other cartoonists have chosen to poke fun at Dear Leader over that, Chappatte avoids provoking laughter with billows of smoke arising from Venezuela and fleets of military helicopters in the background. It may be absurd, but in his imagery, it’s not funny.
Warren Brown, cartooning for the Daily Telegraph in Australia, uses a light touch both in his caption and in facial expressions to indicate the absurdity of Trump suddenly staking out a new conflict in a world — and in Trump’s case a country — that already had plenty on its plate.
Again, it’s ridiculous without being in the least funny, but mockery is one of the strongest clubs in the cartoonist’s bag, and while it’s easy to argue with a completely serious point, it’s very hard to come back from having your nose pulled.
Morad, a Syrian Kurd cartooning in Belgium, sees only horror in Trump’s willingness to “rescue” oil from an ocean of blood while so many in the world need their lives saved. He extends the accusation by showing already-purloined barrels of oil on the platform behind Trump, indicating that it is an ongoing policy decision and not a momentary choice.
Another cartoonist from Syria, Bahady, elevates the oft-cited point that oil was the motivation behind the invasion by noting how Trump’s casual adventurism damages America’s liberty. It’s not only destructive of the actual freedom of Americans, who had no voice in the decision, but of America’s traditional standing as a beacon of liberty in the world.
The anguish of Liberty, as she is crushed and drops her torch, makes a telling contrast with the casual attitude with which Trump operates in Bahady’s cartoon. This may be one of the kinder images from the point of view of the American people, given that he suggests that there are victims in this country as well as throughout the world.
Bulgarian cartoonist Tsvetkov pulls no punches in his depiction, and by putting an American flag on the clown’s lapel and having him hold a ball pledging to make America great again, he doesn’t show much sympathy for the country that elected this clown and loosed him upon the world.
A visit to his page at Cartoon Movement shows that this is not a sudden disappointment and that he has made use of the clown image in the past. Not only has Tsvetkov consistently used this particular depiction of Trump, but there’s no mistaking it for a jolly clown.
Cartooning for the Guardian in Britain, Morland touches on the familiar theme of Trump’s lust for trophies, and specifically his demand that he be awarded the Nobel, but not only twists it to perhaps a more deserved award — and includes a strutting, media-obsessed Hegseth in his entourage — but places a Z, Putin’s symbol of Russian military victory, on his chest.
A small but eloquent touch.
Another Brit, Chris Riddell, declines to depict Dear Leader as a Machiavellian conqueror, mocking him as wearing a MAGA crown that appears to have a McDonald’s logo, and wearing his FIFA award as if the foolish thing were anything but a blatant, meaningless bribe.
He shows Dear Leader in the famous chess match with Death from Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, but as a prideful fool without the slightest idea how the game is played.
If there have been any international cartoons approving of Trump’s actions
in Venezuela, I have not seen them.
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