A Sharp Cartoon For CNN

Here’s your cartoon for CNN’s weekly newsletter, Provoke/Persuade. Please sign up to get these in your inbox every Sunday for the rest of your life.

I was excited when my editor said he wanted me to do a Sharpiegate cartoon. I had already drawn one for you but this was giving me a second shot and at a wider audience. I felt my first cartoon on the subject was very original as nearly every cartoon I’ve seen on the subject since has been done multiple times. My first choice for this week’s CNN cartoon was soon usurped by Mike Luckovich who had a very similar idea. I tweeted to Mike, “How dare you steal my idea before you even see it.”

The approval graph doctored with a Sharpie may be the cartoon done the most. This cartoon was CNN’s favorite among the ideas I sent, and soon I saw several of the approval gags, but I felt OK since I felt I was taking it beyond that. I’m still good with it. By the time I was done with this cartoon, I felt done with Sharpiegate. Even if Trump won’t let it go, it’s time to move on. There are lingering issues from it that need to be addressed, like how he’s corrupting government agencies to deny facts while coddling his ego.

By the way, I love Sharpies and they were a primary tool for my cartoons, several shapes and sizes, until I went fully digital. I still have a drawer full of them and still use them for labeling envelopes. Now that the company has created personalized Sharpies for Trump’s use in the Oval Office (they also created them for George H.W. Bush, but those were official Camp David Sharpies) and not renouncing him for using them to sell for campaign cash (you can get five for $15.00 while non-cultists can get five at Office Depot for $3.00), I feel I need to boycott the markers.

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As I noted in a previous cartoon, these are perilous times for political cartoonists. But you can help me continue to create cartoons, blogs, and videos by making a contribution. All support, large and small, is greatly appreciated. You can also support me by purchasing a signed print (8 1/2×11) for $40, or a signed poster (18×24) for $100 by clicking the PayPal button (just include a note if you’re purchasing a print). If you want to support but don’t want to use PayPal, you can send a contribution through the mail (address is on the contact page. Again, include a note for a print).I don’t plan on going anywhere and your support will help guarantee that. Whether you support, can’t. or just choose not to, please know that I am truly thankful that you visit my site and read my work.

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