CSotD: I Think They’re On To Us
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Morland summed up the World Economic Forum in Davos by showing totally knackered leaders and one little fellow blissfully tucked in and sleeping, with his toys scattered around to suggest who was responsible for the chaos.
On the other hand, Pope narrows in on the two highlights of the meeting: Canadian PM Mark Carney’s stirring speech on the need for middle powers to find more trustworthy partners than America is proving to be, and Trump’s disjointed speech in which he threatened Carney and announced the formation of what he calls a “Board of Peace” to rebuild and develop Gaza.
Australia qualifies as a middle power and Pope shows PM Anthony Albanese facing a choice between following Carney’s advice or paying into Trump’s protection racket.
Chappatte reduces Trump’s proposal to a quick-talking real estate scam, given its announced purpose of furthering his continuing efforts to rebuild Gaza as an oceanfront resort. It’s not clear what the first billion gets you, besides the chance to be part of Trump’s board, but it ought to at least pay for a couple of beach chairs.
Burton, meanwhile, takes a dim view of Trump and Kushner’s ambitions, in large part because they required a significant amount of demolition, but also — the use of a small child implies — because they also suggest removal of the inhabitants, though presumably someone will have to rake the sand and refill the drinks.
And there will have to be a certain amount of clean up to avoid the scenario in De Wit’s cartoon, which was just judged the top Dutch cartoon for 2025.
Mohr contends that the board is an attempt to destroy the United Nations, and he doesn’t seem far off the mark, given that Trump has already violated the UN Charter with his Venezuelan coup and his threats to take over Greenland.
Jordanian cartoonist Osama Hajjaj is dubious about Trump’s stated goal of peace in Gaza. UNRWA notes that there are over 2.9 million Gazan refugees in Jordan, and given that plans for the oceanfront resort do not seem to envision their return, Hajjaj may have good reasons for his doubts.
Juxtaposition of the Day
Cartoonists couldn’t resist the obvious chance to depict Trump and his billionaires’ club, and I could have done a full post of nothing but these cartoons.
MacKay adds one real-world bad guy to the mix, and Trump’s open invitation to Putin caused Slovenia to decline the invitation, which might make for some interesting pillow talk at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Slovenia’s rejection of membership was at least applauded at home, and Juri echoes Mohr’s opinion of what Trump’s Billionaires’ Club will do to the United Nations.
Inclusion of Tony Blair is interesting because of the drubbing he took over his role in the invasion of Iraq, and Netanyahu expressed disagreement with Trump’s choice of an executive council, saying it “was not coordinated with Israel and runs contrary to its policy,” though he did agree to have Israel join the group.
And Argentine President Javier Milei’s haircut seems a gift to cartoonists, but maybe I’m just jealous.
An interesting bit of speculation from Moudakis, because there’s a grain of truth in his imaginary depiction. A large clue to understanding Donald Trump is that his bullying and his pathological lack of empathy seem to have been built in from the start. The story — according to Maggie Haberman’s book on Trump — is that, as a five-year-old, he was caught throwing rocks at a baby.
Whatever the case, he was sent to military school at 13, and his niece Mary reports that family lore says the reason was that he was a bully, started fights, defied teachers and was generally beyond control. Military school may no longer be the solution to ungovernable boys, but it was an accepted concept in 1959.
Still, it can’t have been easy to be “deported” from his family, given that two brothers and a sister were permitted to live at home.
Trump’s frequent misstatements, like crediting George Washington with attacking British airports and his recent confusing of Greenland and Iceland, have given him a reputation for being dim, and Downes got a laugh out of it with this Australia Day cartoon.
It’s funny, but it also calls to mind the popular expression among commentators that “they may be clowns, but they’re clowns with flamethrowers.”
The US is slated to host the World Cup this coming year, which is why FIFA invented a “peace prize” for Dear Leader.
The award included a gold medal and a trophy depicting several people committing a handball violation, which wouldn’t get them sent off, but Jonesy does joke that red cards will be enforced by ICE.
Which may not be that funny to anyone hoping to come to America to see the games, given the number of people who have been detained or turned back at customs.
It seems silly to caution people to wipe their phones before they go to a futbol game, but it’s not bad advice, since customs is permitted to search electronic devices. Perhaps it would be better to attend games in Canada or Mexico, though the final match will be in Rutherford, NJ.
Tickets to that one start at $8,167, so it would be a shame to have to watch it from a holding cell at JFK instead. (I doubt they have TVs there, and you won’t have your phone.)
There is, however, a boycott movement, participating in which would be absolutely free and would still allow you to watch on TV, depending on whether you’re boycotting the games or just the trip. And given FIFA’s ethical shenanigans over the years, you could count it as a moral two-fer.
Sharaf salutes the protests that have greeted Trump’s deadly fascism, with an image of Dear Leader being brought low by popular pressure.
We don’t have a statue to tear down, or at least not one of that size, but Sharaf is on target, since one sign of a cult of personality is a variety of things named for the idol, like concert halls, golf courses and ballrooms.
Perhaps if the proposed Arch de Trump is built in time, a crowd could dismantle it like the Berlin Wall.
Before it’s too late.
(closed caption translation available)
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