Trump administration actions inspire editorial cartoonists

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

Since the president’s inauguration, 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 them — Jim Morin of the Miami Herald, Jack Ohman of The Sacramento Bee, Joel Pett of the Lexington Herald-Leader in Kentucky and Kevin Siers of The Charlotte Observer in North Carolina — contributed drawings specifically for Sunshine Week. The celebration of press freedom and the fight for government transparency falls each year around the birthday of James Madison, who was instrumental in passing the Bill of Rights.

Ohman, a Pulitzer Prize winner, said the actions of the Trump administration remind him of Richard Nixon’s presidency, an era that sparked his interest in politics and cartooning.

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

He said Sunshine Week is a reminder that journalists must continue fighting for free-speech protections and government transparency.

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

This image provided by Jim Morin of the Miami Herald in February 2017 shows his editorial cartoon made for 2017’s Sunshine Week. In 2005, the American Society of Newspaper Editors launched the first national Sunshine Week, a celebration of access to public information that has been held every year since to coincide with the March 16 birthday of James Madison, father of the U.S. Constitution and a key advocate of the Bill of Rights.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2017/03/Trump_Not_Fake_News.pdfThis image provided by Jim Morin of the Miami Herald in February 2017 shows his editorial cartoon made for 2017’s Sunshine Week. In 2005, the American Society of Newspaper Editors launched the first national Sunshine Week, a celebration of access to public information that has been held every year since to coincide with the March 16 birthday of James Madison, father of the U.S. Constitution and a key advocate of the Bill of Rights.

This image provided by Jack Ohman of the Sacramento Bee in February 2017 shows his editorial cartoon made for 2017’s Sunshine Week.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2017/03/web1_EnemieOfThePeople.jpgThis image provided by Jack Ohman of the Sacramento Bee in February 2017 shows his editorial cartoon made for 2017’s Sunshine Week.

This image provided by Jack Ohman of the Sacramento Bee in February 2017 shows his editorial cartoon made for 2017’s Sunshine Week.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2017/03/web1_TrumpsSunshine.jpgThis image provided by Jack Ohman of the Sacramento Bee in February 2017 shows his editorial cartoon made for 2017’s Sunshine Week.

This image provided by Joel Pett of the Lexington (KY) Herald-Leader in February 2017 shows his editorial cartoon made for 2017’s Sunshine Week.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2017/03/web1_Eclipse.jpgThis image provided by Joel Pett of the Lexington (KY) Herald-Leader in February 2017 shows his editorial cartoon made for 2017’s Sunshine Week.

This image provided by Kevin of the Charlotte (NC) Observer in February 2017 shows his editorial cartoon made for 2017’s Sunshine Week.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2017/03/web1_GovtSecrecy.jpgThis image provided by Kevin of the Charlotte (NC) Observer in February 2017 shows his editorial cartoon made for 2017’s Sunshine Week.

By The Associated Press

Associated Press video journalist Haven Daley contributed to this report.

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