Political Cartoon Analysis

The cartoon drawn is used to highlight Trump’s insecurities and his narcissist persona which lead to him ignoring his duty of the commander in chief. Trump seems to be preparing his opening address for his daily coronavirus briefing as implied by the title. The vocabulary and grammar used by the President in his proposed speech is riddled with errors and does not have a reassuring and hopeful tone which is what it should have when addressing the nation. This cartoon seems to have been made after the coronavirus has started to wreak havoc across the country and when Trump has started referring to COVID-19 as the Chinese virus (evident by the crossing out), a ploy to divert blame towards China. While editing his address it is almost like he is counting how many times the pair of letters “me” show up, showing he is more concerned about trivial matters than the message he is trying to send to his people. The fact he is using a sharpie to edit his letter emphasizes his child-like persona as onomatopoeia is used while he writes on the paper. Regarding Trump’s portrayal itself, the artist has used caricature to present him in a satirical manner. His lips are pursed in a way that many would know and are exaggerated to make fun of him. By enlarging his face the audience is able to see all the faults in Trump’s face such as the loose skin hanging, the dirt on his face and his small eyes. His eyes are almost non-existent – another example of caricature – which could be conveying the satirical point that his inability to produce a feasible plan stems from his lack of vision of not only his eyes but his wider plan for the nation. These revealings are all intended to make us aware of how insecure Trump is, which is further touched upon with his “small hand”. In 2016, while campaigning for the Republican presidential nominee Trump rebuked fellow candidate Senator Marco Rubio’s comment that Trump had “small hands” making Trump extremely insecure. This again highlights the insecurity in President Trump and how he is obsessed with painting the best picture of himself. What is important to note is the angle that we are presented with, it is almost as if the cartoonist wants us to be in Trump’s shoes and consider things from his perspective. The cartoon presented has the main intent of showing Trump’s insecurities and how he is constantly trying to paint himself in the best possible light.

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