22 years ago, at a convention for the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC) (probably in Denver, Sacramento, Washington, DC, or Long Island, who can remember these things?), someone mentioned the president. It was 2003, so of course, the president was George W. Bush.
Someone at the bar (because these things are always in a bar) said, “If you think Shrub is dumb, wait until Donald Trump is president. Another cartoonist, probably someone named Steve, replied, “What? Are you out of your gourd? After this disaster of a presidency, there’s no way America would elect another idiot, especially one as vulgar and gross as Donald Trump.”
Then a cartoonist, probably named Matt, said, “But what if we elect a Black guy as president, and he’s decent, kind, accomplished, intelligent, with an equally intelligent wife, and they both have high morals and beautiful and smart daughters, the presidency is hugely successful?” And then a cartoonist named Dick says, “My God, you’re right, Matt!” Another Matt said, “What?” And Dick said, “Not you, Matt. The other Matt.” Other Matt says, “Huh?” Dick says, “Yes, you. You’re right. If we have a Black president and he’s a great success, Republicans and other racists will lose their minds!” (snip-MORE)
When I first saw Trump’s drawing for Epstein’s birthday book, something immediately caught my eye. Putting aside the horrible context for the sketch, the fact he drew a female body with no head or arms was really disturbing to me.
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Leavitt To Beaver by Clay Jones
The White House says it’s not Trump’s signature on the birthday card Read on Substack
When The Wall Street Journal reported that Donald Trump sent his best friend and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein a card and drawing for his 50th birthday in 2003, Trump said it didn’t exist. It was reported that the drawing was lewd.
Yesterday, we found out that it does exist, as the Democrats on the House Oversight Committee subpoenaed the “birthday book” from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate. The drawing and note are lewd…and really weird.
The sketch is an outline of a woman’s body with text of an imaginary conversation between Trump and Epstein. At the bottom, Trump’s signature of just his first name appears to be the drawn woman’s pubic hair. (snip-MORE)
This cartoon was drawn for the Boca Raton Tribune. Apparently, Donald Trump Jr’s new real estate firm has plans for Boca Raton, which is already struggling with other tasteless capitalist groups.
Corrections: Please email all typos, boo-boos, and any other mistakes to clayjonz@gmail.com. If you put it in the comments, I may not see it until hours or days later. Thanks.
Creative note: I don’t like the way my trees turned out. I’ll do a better job the next time I have to draw Banyan trees for Boca. (snip-MORE)
Citizenship Blues by Clay Jones
The citizenship test is going to become more difficult Read on Substack
Republicans don’t just hate illegal immigration. They hate most immigration, even legal.
During his first term, Trump complained about people immigrating to the United States from “shithole” countries, and wondered why we couldn’t get more people from nations like Norway. You know, majority White nations.
During the campaign last year, Trump held a fundraiser in Palm Beach with millionaires and bemoaned the lack of immigrants from “nice” countries.
Trump said to the millionaires, “And when I said, you know, ‘Why can’t we allow people to come in from nice countries,’ I’m trying to be nice. Nice countries, you know, like Denmark, Switzerland? Do we have any people coming in from Denmark? How about Switzerland? How about Norway?” You know, White countries.
Except, people from the “nice” countries, like Denmark, Switzerland, and Norway, don’t want to come to an asshole country. These nations are ranked as some of the happiest in the world. Why would they want to come to the angriest? They know we have an ugly orange garden gnome as our leader. Guess what nation they’re talking about when they complain about immigrants from shithole countries.
Trump also complained of criticism over his “shithole countries” comment, saying, “And you know, they took that as a very terrible comment, but I felt it was fine.” Of course, he felt it was fine. It was racist. (snip-MORE)
A group of Epstein abuse survivors held a press conference on Capitol Hill yesterday, calling for the release of all the documents related to the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. Donald Trump replied to this, calling it a “Democrat hoax,” which was weird since his name didn’t even come up, other than pleas to help release the files. So, what exactly is the “hoax” he’s speaking of?
This is like a case where someone ran a bus full of nuns off a cliff, and then a friend says to you, “Hey, did you hear about that bus full of…” And you interrupt, shouting, “I didn’t do it! Those nuns are lying!”
Has Donald Trump ever sexually assaulted a nun?
Bipartisan lawmakers and Survivors of Epstein’s abuse gathered on the steps of the Capitol to demand that Congress vote to release all the files related to the investigation. These are files that Speaker Mike Johnson, who told his colleagues to ignore the petition, does not want released. Today on GoComics, one of the trolls said that the Epstein Files won’t implicate Trump. If that’s the case, then Trump should release them.
This is weird because MAGAts are either demanding the release of the files or helping Trump with the cover-up. Is that what Watergate was like, with Republicans stating that nobody needs to hear the missing 18 minutes?
I’ve never said the Epstein Files would implicate Trump, but I’m all for pressuring the regime to release them. There’s a reason why the regime won’t release them. What is that reason? (snip-MORE, and it’s excellent)
Trump Revamps the Smithsonian Art Collection by Ann Telnaes Read on Substack
WASHINGTON—Denouncing the Smithsonian Institution’s art collection for being “toxically woke”, Donald J. Trump announced today that he is replacing it with newly commissioned works depicting himself and members of his inner circle: Melania Trump, Pam Bondi, Stephen Miller, JD Vance, and Kristi Noem.
Describing the city as the “murder capital of the world, Donald Trump said yesterday that he’s going to send the National Guard into Chicago, saying, “We’re going in.” Actually, Memphis is the “murder capital” of the United States, but it’s in Tennessee, which is a red state. These are all photo-ops, you know.
Trump reversed course today while entertaining Poland’s new president, who, like Putin, got a military flyover. A lot of DC residents didn’t appreciate the flyover, as those things tend to be loud, and they shake things off shelves, like cats do.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been to the District, and I’ve never gotten a military flyover.
Trump said that now he’d like for the military to be invited by governors before he sends the military into their cities for photo-ops, like he did with DC.
Trump said, “We are making a determination now. Do we go to Chicago? Or do we go to a place like New Orleans where we have a great governor, Jeff Landry, who wants us to come in and straighten out a very nice section of this country that has become quite – quite tough, quite bad?” Make up your mind, Trump. Is it nice or is it bad?
Someone must have told Trump that it’s illegal to send the military into cities without formal requests by governors. DC is a different situation as it is under the exclusive constitutional authority of Congress, which has the power to directly intervene in local governance. This arrangement is due to the city’s status as a federal district, not a state, and gives DC residents limited self-government and no voting representation in Congress. The citizens of Washington, DC have taxation without representation.
But other cities are different, and a judge just ruled that Trump broke the law when he sent Marines into Los Angeles to break up anti-ICE protests. Trump can probably expect the same verdict if he invades Chicago, which the city will reject. (snip-MORE)
Chef Jose Andres with World Central Kitchen visits a temporary shelter for the victims of the Southern California wildfires at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Celebrity chef and local D.C. icon Jose Andres is pushing back against Trump’s claim that his federal takeover and law enforcement surge in the nation’s capital has resulted in a “boom town” for the city’s restaurants.
Trump on Monday rejected reports that the flood of federal agents and National Guard troops had hurt D.C. restaurant and nightlife industry.
“Half the restaurants closed, because nobody could go, because they were afraid to go outside,” Trump said. “Now those restaurants are opening and new restaurants are opening up. It’s like a boomtown.”
Andres, in a Tuesday post on X, directly and sarcastically addressed Trump, saying: “I understand why you are confused…all your time in DC you haven’t eaten ONCE outside the White House or your own hotel. I’ve lived here for 33 years, and it’s a flat out lie that half the restaurants have closed because of safety…but restaurants will close because you have troops with guns and federal agents harassing people…making people afraid to go out.”
The Spanish-American restaurateur and founder of the global food charity World Central Kitchen and Trump have exchanged public hostilities in the past.
Cracker Barrel, the restaurant that does to down-home southern cooking what Olive Garden does to Italian food, has changed its logo from one boring image to a new boring image…and White people are upset. Seriously, they’re upset.
It’s like that time Sexy M&M ditched her Go-Go boots and Tucker Carlson had to find something new to envision while spending “quality time” with himself. Or, it’s like that time Aunt Jemima was removed from syrup bottles and old White conservatives had to find something else to get sticky with. That reminds me, do you put syrup in the fridge after you open it? I saw that on the TV show Mom (Alison Janney is the shit) last night, and I was like, “whaaaaaaa?” I always thought putting syrup in the fridge made it all stiffy. OK, I’ll get off this gross roll here and continue writing about these wankers. (snip-MORE and it is good)
The New York Times reported that the Democratic Party is losing voters, and lost over 2.1 million between the 2020 and 2024 elections in the 30 states and Washington, DC that allow voters to register by party. Republicans, on the other han,d picked up over 2.4 million. There are still more Democrats registered nationwide, but the gap between the two parties is shrinking.
This is a fact. Don’t say it’s a fake poll like a MAGA would, because denying it isn’t how you fix it. And yeah, I get it. It’s as confusing as why anyone would choose Trump over Kamala Harris.
The truth is, too many people in this nation don’t care. (snip-MORE)
The Advance wrote this to go with today’s cartoon: Fredericksburg City Schools had a tough summer (well, the School Board did, anyway), but there were some good things this year, like the opening of two new schools. What could possibly go wrong? Well, when the new U.S. Education Secretary’s experience for the job is being able to distinguish a Camel Clutch from a Cobra Clutch, and her idea of a towering academic intellectual is Hulk Hogan, a lot. Yes, the Trump Administration specializes in hiring — how should I put this kindly — less-than-smart people to lead federal agencies. So rather than ‘rassling’ with serious education issues, we spend our time banning every book with a black face on it and having freak-outs about bathrooms. Yeah, that’s gonna make America great. Just ask Clay Jones.
Linda McMahon and the Education Department are going after five schools in Northern Virginia over bathrooms. (snip-MORE)
California Governor Gavin Newsom has been trolling Donald Trump, or at least his press office has. It’s being done in the style of Trump. The tweets coming from Newsom’s account are mimicking Trump’s style, as in stupid, praising himself, belittling in a juvenile way, full of narcissism, and often in all caps.
Here’s one tweeted out after Trump’s press conference with Putin:
TRUMP JUST FLED THE PODIUM WITH PUTIN — NO QUESTIONS, NOTHING! TOTAL LOW ENERGY. THE MAN LOOKED LIKE HE’D JUST EATEN 3 BUCKETS OF KFC WITH VLAD. IS HE AFRAID THE PRESS WILL ASK ABOUT ME??? (AMERICA’S FAVORITE GOVERNOR) AND THE FACT I “STOLE THE CAMERAS” THIS WEEK WITH “THE MAPS”? MANY PEOPLE ARE SAYING HE BEGGED PUTIN TO HOLD HIS HANDS (TINY) ON THE WAY OUT. ADMIT IT, DONNIE J… YOU’RE TERRIFIED BECAUSE THIS WAS THE WORST WEEK OF YOUR LIFE BECAUSE OF ME, GAVIN C. NEWSOM. “THE MAPS” WILL END YOUR PRESIDENCY, RETAKE CONGRESS FOR THE PEOPLE, AND EXPOSE YOUR RIGGED “LITTLE GAME.”
Now that’s funny, and it’s very effective. Proof of that is Fox News host Dana Perino’s reaction, saying, “Stop it with the Twitter thing! I don’t know where his wife is. (snip-MORE)
Understanding the critical role of the sovereign powers of the states as a redoubt beyond the reach of Trump’s increasingly autocratic power is really the entire game right now, at least for the next 18 months and, in various measures, almost certainly through the beginning of 2029. People can march, advocate, campaign, donate to candidates, all the stuff. But in many ways the most important thing right now is both communicating to and demanding of state officials that they act on this latent power.
There are key areas where Democrats in Congress may have moments of power, the ability to slow a few things down. But to a great degree, the battle is already lost within the federal government until the next election. It’s only in the states where opponents of Donald Trump hold executive power outside the reach of and the hierarchies of the federal government. That’s where the whole game is. It is strategic depth not in extent or remoteness of territory but in the structure of government and the state. And states have vast amounts of power, far more than we tend to realize because we’ve never been in a position where the mundane daily activities of state and local government have become so critical — its taxing powers, its policing powers, the ways in which the federal government actually struggles to effectively extend its powers to the local level at scale without the active participation of local government.
Something Jason Sattler wrote yesterday needs repeating this morning:
Everything we do makes it easier for our neighbors to stand up or sit down for this regime. We all know there’s a crisis coming that will force all who pay attention to make a choice that could define the rest of their lives.
Will people do it? In most cases, it depends on what they see us doing next.
SEE us doing. That’s the key.
How the less-engaged make up their minds about political matters, Anand Giridharadas observed (based on Anat’s work), is more akin to how they decide to buy pants: What’s everyone else wearing this year? What are normal people like me doing? Not in one-and-done big rallies but every day. Your resistance must be visible and persistent for that to work and give the less engaged permission to join the resistance movement. Calling your senator five days a week is fine, but which of your neighbors sees that?
Plus, if you want people to join your party, throw a better party. We’re out in the streets multiple times a week now. I bring dance music.
A friend pointed to this TikTok by someone going by @logicnliberty. She advocates a unified front by blue-state governors with trifectas. It’s not that they are not already unified, coordinating, and suing. They are. Govs. Gavin Newsom, JB Pritzker, Kathy Hochul are speaking out and holding press conferences. (State AGs too.) But not necessarily as a team. Are they leveraging their trifectas proactively to erect firewalls in their states against Trump’s gutting of the Constitution? They should.
(snip-TikTok video embedded on the page)
Would the press cover it if they did? We are already in the slow civil war Jeff Sharlet described. The blue and the gray meets the blue and the red. Run with it. The press loves controversy. Generate more, blue state governors.
There are key areas where Democrats in Congress may have moments of power, the ability to slow a few things down. But to a great degree, the battle is already lost within the federal government until the next election. It’s only in the states where opponents of Donald Trump hold executive power outside the reach of and the hierarchies of the federal government. That’s where the whole game is. It is strategic depth not in extent or remoteness of territory but in the structure of government and the state. And states have vast amounts of power, far more than we tend to realize because we’ve never been in a position where the mundane daily activities of state and local government have become so critical — its taxing powers, its policing powers, the ways in which the federal government actually struggles to effectively extend its powers to the local level at scale without the active participation of local government.
Understanding the critical role of the sovereign powers of the states as a redoubt beyond the reach of Trump’s increasingly autocratic power is really the entire game right now, at least for the next 18 months and, in various measures, almost certainly through the beginning of 2029. People can march, advocate, campaign, donate to candidates, all the stuff. But in many ways the most important thing right now is both communicating to and demanding of state officials that they act on this latent power.
And those actions must be not only public, but in-your-face public. Their actions and yours.
The human heart hangs on to hope until there’s no other choice. People will not fight back in the ways that will work, until they realize there is no other choice, until the only other choice is their own imprisonment or death, or that of someone they love. For many of us, that moment is already here. But for most of us, it’s not.
Scottie's Playtime 