During the campaign, Donald Trump has insulted almost everyone he perceives to be against him, including a judge in the Trump U lawsuit for being a Mexican, Mexicans in general, Muslims, a disabled reporter, women, sleazy journalists, you name it.
But the two groups he doesn't seem to have attacked yet are cartoonists drawing insulting cartoons about him - or the people coming up with insulting names for him or passing them on. If you've been following the News Feeds on Facebook, Twitter, or other social media platforms, you know what I mean. In fact, if you Google "Trump cartoons," you'll see 15 or more pages with about 30 cartoons per page.
In the Trump insult cartoons, he has been depicted as Hitler, a screaming baby, and a tycoon reading a book of 2000 insults. He has been portrayed as a nude boxer about to decimate a scared Republican on a tiny elephant, and he has been shown in a rag screaming "I am not a loser!," after he lost the Iowa primary.
In another cartoon, he is wearing a cap saying "Make America Grate (It's Teeth)," and another cartoonist depicted him with a very fat face and a saber, gloating since he just clopped the head off Lady Liberty. In another telling image, he is shown with a huuge open mouth filled with the bricks of the wall he threatens to build. And soon after he refused to debate Bernie Sanders, myriad images showed Donald's head on the body of a chicken. One of the most graphic showed a photo of a chicken splayed out on a kitchen counter with its legs spread out, and in the hole where the stuffing normally goes was Donald Trump's very fat oily face.
Soon after Trump insulted the Pope, one cartoonist showed a raging Trump with his hair flying and his fists in boxing gloves, so he could take down the Pope, who was on his knees praying. Another cartoon showed Trump decked out like the Pied Piper of Hamelin, leading a bevy of cameramen - presumably off a cliff. Still another image showed Trump with clouds of anger coming out of his ears and nose, and another showed him walking by in his birthday suit as a little kid observes "The Emperor Has No..."
Plus other cartoons show him as a series of monsters, including Trumpenstein and King Kong climbing a skyscraper with a very scared woman in his fist. He is also shown as a Western gunslinger shooting at a Mexican in a sombrero and as a contestant in a pageant, where his bloated half-naked body in a red, white, and blue bathing suit is draped with a large ribbon announcing that he has won the "Mr. USA Bigot" award. Also, he is shown as a baby devil who looks a little like a frog with his face and a forked tail, while a GOP Frankenstein and a Fox News witch look on. Trump is also drawn as Moby Don, a whale determined to build the wall, while some small Mexicans are hang on some ropes around his body for dear life. His face has graced many a piñata, too. And many cartoons show him celebrating with Ku Klan members in robes.
Recently, I worked with a cartoonist, Nick Alexander, who created a series of funny images of Trump as one of 27 now extinct beasts and early humans, including the Trumposaurus, Saber Tooth Trump, Neandertrump, and Homo Trumpien, called Trump Is Extinct...Or May Be Soon! You can see the full book: The 2016 Election Follies on Amazon.
I could go on and on about these Trump cartoons, but you get the idea.
Additionally, there are the many expressions names he has been given on the Internet that describe what many voters think of him. Among my favorites are Trumplestilskin, Trumpty Dumpty, Deranged Don, Don the Demented, Don the Dick, Dingleberry Don, and Trump You!
So my question is this. Trump has been attacking everyone who is against him with insults or lawsuits. Even the Republicans who have endorsed him have been getting nervous about his confrontational unprofessional behavior and tirades. Some have refused to endorse him, taken back their endorsements, and even left the party. So, of course, Trump has sought to insult and humiliate them, too.
But why not attack the cartoonists and name callers, who have been attacking him with their pictures and words or both as a racist, bigot, arrogant vulgarian, and maybe insane person who, like Hilary says, is unfit to be the nation's Commander in Chief and have his stubby fingers anywhere near the button.
So far though the cartoonists and writers satirizing Trump have been left unscathed.
However, should Trump get into office, he has threatened to strengthen the libel laws, so perhaps he is waiting until then to go after the cartoonists or writers. Or maybe he might think the cartoonists and writers calling him names are not worth going after, because he thinks their influence is irrelevant or miniscule.
Or is it? Just think of the power of the pen? And remember that a picture says a thousand words.
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Gini Graham Scott, PhD, writes frequently about social trends and everyday life. She is the author of over 50 books with major publishers and has published 30 books through her company Changemakers Publishing and Writing. She writes books and proposals for clients and has written and produced over 50 short videos through Changemakers Productions and is a partner in a service that connects writers to publishers, agents, and the film industry. Her latest books include: Resolving Conflict and Lies and Liars: How and Why Sociopaths Lie and How to Detect and Deal With Them.