Jim Acosta

Don’t Mess Around With Jim

cjones07182019

Donald Trump, who only hires the “best people,” just lost his ninth cabinet member. Trump has had more turnover in his cabinet in the first two and a half years of his presidency than any of his five immediate predecessors did in their entire first terms.

News flash! Donald Trump does NOT hire the best people. He hires cronies, freaks, sycophants, goons, bums, right-wing zealots, white nationalists, fucknuts, shitweasels, and members of his family, which I know is redundant. Another reason he goes through so many people (other than wearing them out from Trump fuckery) is that he doesn’t vet properly. This is a guy who hired a wife beater for his staff. This is a guy who hired Omarosa, Steve Bannon, and Stephen Baby Goebbels Miller.

Trump’s labor secretary has been under fire ever since federal prosecutors in New York brought new charges of sex trafficking against Jeffery Epstein last week, who had received a sweetheart prosecution deal from Acosta years ago.

Acosta gave an extremely long press conference to defend his handling of the Epstein case. According to inside sources, Trump pushed Acosta to explain himself to the press and the American people. Acosta believed the performance helped save his job and word is Trump was very pleased with it as well…until he watched TV.

Acosta abruptly resigned Friday morning, citing his presence as a distraction for Trump and the “great” economy they claim they created. Trump claims it was Acosta’s idea to resign, but after watching critical coverage of the press conference, he began questioning whether he should keep the guy. Trump is that guy who asks if his pants make his ass look fat when it’s his fat ass making his ass look fat.

The impression is Trump affiliates with pedophiles, rapists, and creepers. You know, contemporaries.

Acosta is a distraction for Trump, but not one that hurts the image they want to present on the economy (the image is, Obama created that economy plus, he never hired wife beaters or endorsed pedophiles for elected office). Acosta’s presence is a reminder that Trump has ties to Epstein also…and he too has multiple accusations from women, two accusing him of rape. Donald Trump doesn’t care about justice, law and order, or the treatment of women. He’s more concerned with how it reflects on him, especially going into an election.

Trump has been looking to get an Acosta out of his life, but one who’s been a larger pain in his side than Alex…and who actually does his job. Donald Trump hates CNN’s Jim Acosta, who covers the White House.

Trump has personally attacked Jim Acosta for asking reasonable questions. He charged that he’s “a rude, terrible person,” “fake news” and that CNN should be ashamed for employing him. Trump even tried to “lift” his White House pass because he doesn’t like his questions.

When Trump and White House spokesgoon Sarah Huckabee Sanders attempted to ban Acosta from the White House, other news outlets, including Fox News, came to the reporter’s defense. A federal judge, who was appointed by Trump, ordered Acosta’s pass to be restored.

Acosta has a new book recounting his time covering the Trump White House, titled, The Enemy of the People: A Dangerous Time to Tell the Truth in America. Trump and his sycophants have made this a dangerous time to tell the truth, and that’s exactly how they want it.

In the book, Acosta describes a Trump supporter at a rally being surprised that he recited the pledge of allegiance and sang “The Star-Spangled Banner.” He was surprised because Trump has convinced his deplorables that the press is the “enemy of the American people.” It is a dangerous time to tell the truth in America.

Personally, I’m glad the right Acosta has quit his job. This nation doesn’t need Alexander, but it needs Jim to continue to hold Trump and his goon squad accountable.

And, if Jim Acosta ever does stop covering the White House, I’m sure Trump will hold a party. But, it won’t be nearly as big as the party we’re gonna have when he leaves the White House.

Be Complicit

What kind of person would want to be part of something that disparages, slanders, and disrespects Dear Leader and his sycophantic followers? Hopefully, you. 
Making a contribution supports my work and keeps the cartoons, columns, and videos coming. My income is from newspapers that subscribe to my work and small contributors. George Soros hasn’t sent me a million dollar check in weeks. Making a contribution of any amount, or buying a print for $40.00, makes you part of this specific resistance, and a member of Team Claytoonz (we’re still working on the name). You are complicit, an accomplice, and in cahoots (and whatever gangster terms we can think of) with this political satire pointing out that the stupid emperor has no clothes. Contributions can be made through PayPal, checks, and wads of cash exchanged in back alleys.
Whether you can help support, can’t, or just choose not to, please continue to enjoy and keep reading my work. Thank you!!! 

You can purchase a signed print of this cartoon.

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Hopping For New Press Rules

cjones11292018

After losing a legal battle to bar CNN’s Jim Acosta from the White House press briefings, the most dangerous administration to the First Amendment announced new “rules of conduct” for reporters covering their briefings.

Donald Trump hasn’t just attacked the media collectively, but also individually. He’s called them “fake news” and has accused questions of being stupid and even racist. Trump wants to dictate to the press how they cover him.

While Trump has attacked journalists April Ryan, Yamiche Alcindor, and Abby Phillip recently, most of his animosity is toward Acosta. While the administration and Trump supporters accuse Acosta of being out of control and irresponsible, it seems their criticism is empty. For example, to prove he’s terrible, they shared a doctored video of him created by the conspiracy website Infowars.

Their main issue with Acosta may be the way he questions the administration. Each of his questions starts with a preface. If you ask someone about something they said that’s not true, the preface usually includes the fact that your statement lacked facts. The Trump administration doesn’t like this. So, they have come up with new rules for the press.

The idiots in the White House who share from Infowars wants to tell the press how they should report.

The new rules include limits on follow-up questions, which are necessary when the first question remains unanswered. The reporters are to “yield the floor” after their question and physically give up the microphone to White House staff. Anyone who doesn’t obey the rules may have their press credentials revoked. According to Sabrina Siddiqui of The Guardian, “I don’t think that anyone has agreed to the rules because there’s no reason for the White House to dictate the terms about how reporters do their jobs.”

Reporters shouldn’t allow the White House or any politician to dictate how they do their jobs. This White House’s treatment is so bad that even Fox News sided with CNN and Jim Acosta in their fight to restore his credentials. Acosta is being accused of bad behavior by a president who shouts insults at women. This is also a president who has forgiven a foreign power for their murder of a journalist.

Trump’s war with the media starts by battling one reporter and banning him. That tactic will continue with others until the only outlets at White House press briefings are Breitbart, Daily Caller, Infowars, and Diamond and Silk. It works that way with freedom too. You take away one right before you move on to another. Trump is starting with freedom of the press. The only freedom of the press he believes in is their freedom to ask him softball questions, like Sean Hannity.

The press should not allow Trump to dictate how they do their jobs. They should continue to do it on their terms, and be willing to return to court each time Trump forces them to. They’re not defending one reporter or news outlet. They’re defending all of us. This isn’t about Jim Acosta.

New York Times chief White House correspondent Peter Baker said, “It leaves this idea that they are going to be the judge of who gets to cover them based on some probably arbitrary criteria that they will be the only ones to determine. The idea that suddenly you’re going to try to determine who is polite enough to ask the president questions is just kind of ridiculous.”

A free press is an American institution. What’s truly ridiculous is a president trying to destroy it.

Be Complicit

What kind of person would want to be part of something that disparages, slanders, and disrespects Dear Leader and his sycophantic followers? Hopefully, you. 
Making a contribution supports my work and keeps the cartoons, columns, and videos coming. My income is from newspapers that subscribe to my work and small contributors. George Soros hasn’t sent me a million dollar check in weeks. Making a contribution of any amount, or buying a print for $40.00, makes you part of this specific resistance, and a member of Team Claytoonz (we’re still working on the name). You are complicit, an accomplice, and in cahoots (and whatever gangster terms we can think of) with this political satire pointing out that the stupid emperor has no clothes. Contributions can be made through PayPal, checks, and wads of cash exchanged in back alleys.
Whether you can help support, can’t, or just choose not to, please continue to enjoy and keep reading my work. Thank you!!! 

You can purchase a signed print of this cartoon.

Watch me draw.

Clubbing With The Fake News

cjones11132018

If you’re a Donald Trump supporter, you don’t have any credibility on any political or social issue. Being a Trump supporter is like a snake eating its own tail. How so? I’ll explain.

Donald Trump accuses the media of being “fake news.” He also says they’re the “enemy of the American people.” Never mind for a moment that there is no such thing as “fake news,” because if it’s fake, it’s not news. Never mind for a moment that they’re not our enemy. Let’s focus on what makes you lose all credibility.

The Trump reasoning is; if you’re dishonest and lying to the American people, then you’re their enemy. Nobody lies more to the American people than Donald Trump. That’s not hyperbole. He employs people to lie to the American people. Sarah Huckabee Sanders sent out a manipulated video from Infowars. Kellyanne Conway calls Trump lies “alternative facts.” Rudy Giuliani says, “Truth isn’t truth.” So, if you buy Trump’s argument that people who lie to us are the enemy, then Trump is the enemy.

So, you either have to believe that Donald Trump never lies, which is like defying gravity, or you believe his argument on fake news…at any rate, you’re that snake eating its tail. You are eating your own ass.

You can’t be one of those Trump people who say “I wish he didn’t tweet so much, but I like what’s done with the economy.” Bull shit. That just proves you’re a liar too. This is Obama’s economy, which he created out of the recession the last Republican president made. You can’t argue, “but Hillary’s dishonest.” Nope. Again, you’re a liar. You can’t argue about her server because Trump is doing the same thing. You can’t argue about the Clinton Foundation because Trump engages in “pay for play” and he literally steals from charity. And, if you start with “I like what he’s done for the military” or “he’s making us respectable again,” someone should slap you in the lying mouth.

You have no credibility. You’re a liar. You’re definitely not someone to be in business with, because you’re a liar and dishonest, and you’re probably a very shitty friend. The only people you can hang out with and talk to are other shitheads. You suck. You ate your own ass.

This is especially egregious if you’re in the news business. Facts are supposed to be important to you. Not just Trump’s talking points. You can’t say Jim Acosta and CNN are “fake news” without telling us why they’re fake news. Can you point out the lies they’re telling or is all you got is the cry of “fake news?” The truth should be important to all of us. Unfortunately, half the nation doesn’t care.

Seriously, if you’re a news person, Trump should have lost you on the first day of his administration when he sent Sean Spicer out to lie about crowd sizes. He should have lost everyone that day, but you especially. You are no longer a news person. You’re not “fake news” either. You are propaganda.

At some point, you have to bring reason back into your life. When he tells you he didn’t know someone but it’s later revealed his penis was inside her, you have to accept he’s lying. If you don’t leave now, he’s going to start beating you and you’re going to hang in there hoping he’ll change or claim it was your fault for making him angry. You shouldn’t have left a wet towel on the floor.

But, then again. If you’re a Trump supporter, you probably didn’t understand any this. Facts, irony, subtlety, hypocrisy, analogies, and metaphors to you are like math is to me. You put the what where? I have a calculator, but what’s going to help you when you refuse to use the calculator (that metaphor is; stop reading Infowars and listening to Trump and start watching CNN).

The people who report the news aren’t the enemy of the people. The people who want to get rid of the people who report news so they can’t report what they’re doing to you are the enemy of the people.

Be Complicit
What kind of person would want to be part of something that disparages, slanders, and disrespects Dear Leader and his sycophantic followers? Hopefully, you. 
Making a contribution supports my work and keeps the cartoons, columns, and videos coming. My income is from newspapers that subscribe to my work and small contributors. George Soros hasn’t sent me a million dollar check in weeks. Making a contribution of any amount, or buying a print for $40.00, makes you part of this specific resistance, and a member of Team Claytoonz (we’re still working on the name). You are complicit, an accomplice, and in cahoots (and whatever gangster terms we can think of) with this political satire pointing out that the stupid emperor has no clothes. Contributions can be made through PayPal, checks, and wads of cash exchanged in back alleys.
Whether you can help support, can’t, or just choose not to, please continue to enjoy and keep reading my work. Thank you!!! 

You can purchase a signed print of this cartoon.

Watch me draw.

Media Accosted

cjones08062018

Donald Trump took his traveling freak show to Tampa Tuesday night and it was a coming out party for the worst of us.

He continued his war against the media, where he’s labeled them in the past as scum, dishonest, terrible people, bad actors, liars, fake news, and even the enemy of the American people. During the presidential campaign, he would single out MSNBC’s Katy Tur at rallies to the point she would need security to get out of the building without being harmed. In case you haven’t noticed yet, Donald Trump is a bully.

Another one of his favorite targets is Jim Acosta from CNN. On Tuesday, Acosta captured footage of Trump’s supporters screaming and cursing while flipping him off. Where do these people come from? They come from 4chan (and 8chan, which I just found existed. What the Hell is 8chan? A place for those who find 4chan a little too tolerant?).

4chan is a forum where right-wingers, racists, and conspiracy theorists can gather online and combine all their horrible traits into a wonderful and colorful cornucopia of duh. They call this group QAnon.

What is QAnon? They’re following someone named “Q,” who probably doesn’t exist or is a persona of multiple people, who claims to possess a top-level security clearance and evidence of a worldwide criminal conspiracy. It’s another deep-state conspiracy. In this one, Robert Mueller isn’t really investigating Trump. He’s targeting Hillary Clinton, President Obama and other members of the “deep state” like John Podesta and John McCain. The theories for why they’re being investigated range from being the real colluders with Vladimir Putin to being involved in a global pedophile ring that includes members of Hollywood’s A-list, like Tom Hanks.

Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t make this shit up.

Furthermore, they believe many of these individuals are wearing ankle bracelets for Mueller to track them and bring them into custody after Trump gives the order.

Maybe the “Q” comes from NyQuil, and they get their beliefs after downing several bottles of the stuff.

We can laugh at these people. We can find it highly amusing, and we do, because, “Ha-ha! They’re stupid!” But, we need to recognize the real danger in this Q thing.

It wasn’t that long ago that a conspiracy theorists, who got his information from some of the same sites as the Q-balls, went on a shooting spree at a Washington, D.C. pizza shop because he believed Hillary Clinton was operating a child-sex-slave ring out of the basement. The place doesn’t even have a basement, but I hear the pizza’s not bad. Unfortunately, most conspiracy theorists prefer Papa John’s.

In late July, a shooter killed five people at a Maryland newspaper. Trump paused for a few hours before he continued attacking the press because he’s classy like that.

This is dangerous because these people follow Donald Trump. Trump engages in conspiracy theories, and he loves to feed red meat to his base. In Tampa, QAnon signs were spotted as well as people waving some with “We Are Q,” and others wearing shirts with giant Q’s. I was most impressed so many Trump supporters didn’t misspell “Q.”

Wednesday, White House Spokesgoon Sarah Huckabee Sanders shared a conspiracy theory from the official WH podium to the media. If she is a member of the order, she’s not the only famous person. Roseanne Barr and Curt Schilling are members and have tweeted support and posted videos for the group on Facebook.

Trump tells his followers that they shouldn’t listen to the media and not to believe what they see and hear. That they should only listen to him. They’re listening. He’s also riling them up.

Jim Acosta described being at Tampa’s rally as “it felt like we weren’t in America anymore.” That didn’t even look 2018 to me. It more resembled Munich in 1923.

Sean Hannity piled on and lectured Acosta on how to do journalism which must be like getting a cooking lesson from Jeffrey Dahmer. Hannity said, “I’m actually going to give your network some advice, if you have an open mind and an open heart. The people of this country are screaming at you for a reason. They don’t like your unfair, abusively biased treatment of the president of the United States.”

No, Sean. They’re screaming at him because he is doing his job. If conspiracy theorists don’t like a journalist, then good on that journalist. But, why should any journalists listen to Hannity? Hannity doesn’t listen to them. He only listens to Trump.

Hannity is a conspiracy theorist and Fox News pays him around $20 million a year to go on their network at their most valuable hour to peddle bunk, not news. Do you remember the Seth Rich story? Hannity peddled that one until the brass at Fox told him to stop. He never corrected himself or apologized. What kind of news network puts on a conspiracy theorist taking his orders from Donald Trump? Fox News, that’s who.

Instead of defending journalists, facts, and information, Hannity stood up for the conspiracy crowd. What’s worrisome, since he has a direct line to him, is when the president will start publicly peddling these theories. Run, Forrest! Run!

Trump promises he’s going to make America great again. His supporters believe this while shouting and cursing at the press. They believe they’re the ones who will make America great again while they’re flipping a journalist off for doing his job and while signing autographs and taking pictures with children.

Being a troglodyte is not how you make America great. Neither is being a willfully uninformed, stupid, conspiracy-theory believing sycophant who can’t think for himself.

If this QAnon-Hooterville consortium of knuckle-dragging Neanderthals is making America great again, I’m not seeing it.

Your support in the form of donations is appreciated. I am fully independent as I’m not employed by a newspaper or with a major syndicate (leaving one to be independent). It does take a lot of work to provide you with cartoons, columns, and videos almost every day (more than any other political cartoonist), and I don’t charge my clients much at all. If you can, please consider making a financial contribution to keep the fun flowing, or purchase a signed print for $40. Whether you can help support, can’t, or just choose not to, please continue to enjoy and keep reading my work. Thank you!!!

Watch me draw.

Trump’s Real News

cjones01122017

This cartoon isn’t as much of a cartoon as it is an illustration of what really happened at Donald Trump’s first press conference since last July.

Trump is no fan of the media unless it’s the National Enquirer or Breitbart. He’s even feuded with Fox News on occasion.

Trump used his press conference to punish the two news organizations he’s angriest with at the moment, Buzzfeed and CNN. Buzzfeed published the 35 page dossier on Russia supposedly having compromising information on Trump. CNN reported there was a dossier. Trump still assaulted CNN for what he considers “fake news.” The man behind the birther movement being upset with “fake news” is a brand new irony for a man full of ironies. Trump, who asked Russia to release hacked information during the campaign and proclaimed at more than one rally “I love Wikileaks” told the press on Wednesday how upset he was over leaks.

He punished CNN by not allowing their reporter, Jim Acosta, to ask a question. He even shouted the man down. This will go over well with his supporters as they hate legitimate news organizations also. After refusing to take Acosta’s question he allowed Breitbart, the racist alt-right news source where he got his chief strategist and home of massive propagandist lies, to ask a question which was on reforming the news industry.

The rest of the press conference was exceptionally weird, even for Trump. He packed the place with his supporters who applauded his answers. There’s nothing like a room full of paid yes men. He compared US intelligence to Nazis and praised the Kremlin’s information. His main purpose of the presser was to inform the media that he’s putting his businesses into a blind trust…run by his sons. He even brought props which consisted of stacks of paper to prove he’s signing his business away…which will still pay him. It was like when he brought Trump steaks to a press conference last Summer which still had the labels from Walmart or wherever he actually bought them.

What bothers me is how news outlets allow Trump to abuse them. A free press is very important to a democracy which is something Trump obviously doesn’t want. He admires nationalistic strongmen like Putin too much.

None of the news organizations stood up for CNN at the press conference. They waited until it was over and even then it was much later in the day.

In the past Trump has unleashed his wrath on other members of the press. He banned The Des Moines Register from his campaign during the primaries because he didn’t like one of their editorials. He corralled members of the media covering his rallies into a pen and encouraged his supporters to jeer them. He’s ejected reporters from The New York Times and Telemundo out of events. His campaign manager manhandled a female reporter from Breitbart and that organization didn’t stand up for her…and Trump eventually made their chief executive his new campaign manager and now his chief White House strategist. A day doesn’t go by when he doesn’t refer to a news organization are “failing” or members of the press as “liars” and “terrible people.”

On Wednesday Trump’s spokesman Sean Spicer threatened to throw Acosta out of Trump Tower if he attempted to ask another question.

A lot of people are talking about Trump’s war with US Intelligence. Somewhere there should be a headline reading “Trump Hates Intelligence.

Intelligence is going to be a rare commodity for the next four years.

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