Trump’s actions inspire US editorial cartoonists

Cartoon by Jim Morin of Miami Herald in February. —AP

NEW YORK—US President Donald Trump’s attacks on the media and unsubstantiated claims have inspired one group of journalists—editorial cartoonists.

Since Trump’s inauguration in January, his exaggerations and running battles with reporters have provided regular fodder for the artists who help drive the country’s political discourse through daily illustrations on the nation’s opinion pages.

Four of the editorial cartoonists—Jim Morin of Miami Herald in Florida, Jack Ohman of The Sacramento Bee in California, Joel Pett of Lexington Herald-Leader in Kentucky and Kevin Siers of The Charlotte Observer in North Carolina—contributed drawings specifically for Sunshine Week.

Sunshine Week, a national initiative spearheaded by the American Society of News Editors, is aimed at educating the public about the importance of open government and the dangers of excessive and unnecessary secrecy.

Established in March 2005, the celebration of press freedom and the fight for government transparency falls each year around the birthday of James Madison, the fourth US president who was instrumental in passing the Bill of Rights.

Nixon’s presidency

Ohman, a Pulitzer Prize winner, said the actions of the Trump administration reminded him of Richard Nixon’s presidency from 1969 to 1974, an era that sparked the artist’s interest in politics and cartooning.

Cartoon by Joel Pett of Lexington Herald-Leader in February —AP

“Fast forward to 2017 and we have a new type of Nixon presidency, where they’re not transparent and they’re lying a lot of the time and you don’t know what to believe,” he said.

“In a way, my career, in terms of commentary, has come back full circle,” he added.

Ohman said Sunshine Week was a reminder that journalists must continue fighting for freedom of speech and government transparency.

One of his cartoons for this week plays off Trump’s recent comment calling the media “the enemy of the people.”

Cartoon by Jack Ohman of The Sacramento Bee in March —AP

Its panels show journalists engaged in their routine work—covering city council meetings, reporting on environmental disasters, writing about high school sports.

“So when we have the atmosphere of people saying negative things about you and calling into question your very existence, calling into question the First Amendment, calling into question freedom of expression, that has a chilling effect,” Ohman said.

“I think what it’s made me want to do is hit even harder than I probably normally would because I think it’s so important to be able to express myself,” he added. —AP

Cartoon by Jack Ohman of The Sacramento Bee in March —AP

Cartoon by Kevin Siers of The Charlotte Observer in February —AP