Tariffs

Idiot Jumpsuit

cjones10042019

We political cartoonists often use creative license in our work. I admit, there’s something in this cartoon I don’t believe will come true. That is, when Donald Trump does go to prison, I’m confident there will be an orange jumpsuit available for him.

Let’s get one thing clear. The talking points about Joe Biden, his son Hunter being investigated over serving on a corporate board in Ukraine, or some business about a “crowdstrike” server in that nation, are all conspiracy theories.

Ask yourself this question: What did Hunter Biden do that should be investigated? After hearing Republicans like Jim Jordan, Lindsey Graham, and Stephen Miller gaslight on news shows this weekend, that question hasn’t been answered. The one person who keeps screaming about Joe Biden hasn’t made it clear. That person is Donald Trump.

If Hunter Biden’s crime is making money from a foreign nation while his father was vice president, then why isn’t a crime for Trump and his children? This is just one of the details Republicans are deflecting attention away from.

The performances of several Republicans over the past weekend makes one thing clear and that is we’re in for a lot of gaslighting. Why are they doing this? Because the truth isn’t on their side. Donald Trump broke the law. Donald Trump is guilty and he should be impeached.

First off, it doesn’t matter what Joe or Hunter Biden did in regards to Donald Trump breaking the law. Even if these conspiracy theories were true, it doesn’t excuse what Donald Trump did. A bad guy on the other side doesn’t excuse the bad guy on your side.

Republicans were in total agreement with Democrats that collusion with a foreign government meddling in our election is bad and shouldn’t be allowed. Now, they’re OK with it. They’re also OK with a president withholding money from a foreign government until he gets help with his political campaign. They’re OK with a president threatening and intimidating witnesses.

To keep supporting Donald Trump, Republicans have to be OK that he stopped his vice president, Mike Pence, from attending the inauguration of Ukraine’s president, then withheld money that was designated to help that nation fight off Russian-supported insurgents, then told that president he wants a favor from him.

Republicans have to present an argument that there’s nothing wrong with an American president using taxpayer’s money to bribe, coerce, and pressure a foreign president to assist in his political campaign. Somehow, Republicans have to argue that it’s OK if Trump not only colludes with a foreign government assisting his campaign, but that it’s all right if he pressures them to.

They have to be cool with Trump sending Rudy Giuliani, his personal lawyer/goon, to Ukraine to dredge up conspiracy theories. They also have to be cool with Trump telling Ukraine’s president to talk to Giuliani and…get this…the United States attorney general. Why is the attorney general on board with cooperating with a foreign government in digging up debunked allegations and conspiracy theories about Donald Trump’s political opponent? Whatever that reason is, I’m sure Republicans are cool with it.

Republicans also have to be fine with Trump hiding records of the phone call in a secure server that’s normally designated for national intelligence. There’s nothing in regards to the national defense of Donald Trump congratulating a foreign president on his election victory. There are reports the same server is also hiding Trump’s phone calls with Putin and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince. Republican congressman Jim Jordan told Jake Tapper yesterday that Trump was justified in hiding records of those calls in that super-secret server since other calls between him and foreign leaders were leaked. If that’s the case, then why aren’t all his conversations stored in that server?

Finally, they have to be chill with Trump threatening witnesses and whistleblowers. Trump is saying he wants to confront the whistleblower and he’s accusing anyone else involved of treason. He’s even calling those doing the investigating, like congressman Adam Schiff, of treason.

Basically, Republicans have to think it’s no biggie that a president is acting like a dictator. They have to believe that anyone who says the “emperor has no clothes” is attacking the United States of America.

I want Republicans to give us a list today of what’s right and wrong so we can hold them accountable tomorrow. Because tomorrow, there’s going to be some new shit revealed that will contradict everything they’re saying today. At some point, I expect to see Jim Jordan and Lindsey Graham defending dead hookers in car trunks. There is no limit to what they will gaslight. There’s no limit to what they’ll change their positions on depending on what laws Donald Trump breaks tomorrow. By the time this week is over, what new crimes will we be aware of? Does anything actually matter anymore other than protecting Donald Trump?

Republicans are fine with all of this. I just hope they’re fine with Donald Trump going to prison. I know I will be.

I don’t care if Donald Trump is naked or fully clothed when he’s in prison, just as long as he’s in prison.

Support the cartoonist.

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.

You can purchase a signed print of this cartoon.

Watch me draw.

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How To Tell A Recession Is Coming

cjones08312019

Bad news. Donald Trump is still president. Even worse news. A recession is coming and Donald Trump is still the president. If you think the Bush family didn’t know how to deal with an economic crisis, wait until Trump tries to wrap his Adderall-riddled, tiny mind around it.

Voters have short memories, especially Republicans. It’s why you never hear them complain about government spending when a Republican is in the Oval Office. They look at the economy today and give all the credit to Trump, ignoring the excellent economic numbers Obama handed over to the dotard.

Obama added over two million jobs a year for each of his last six. So has Trump during his first two, but fewer on average than Obama. That’s called a trend. Yet, during Obama’s tenure, Republicans called it the “worst economic recovery ever,” while not mentioning it was recovering from a Republican presidency. As soon as Trump was elected, they started calling it an “economic miracle.” Trump has actually claimed the economy started growing the day after he was elected based on enthusiasm over his victory. Trump likes to take credit for a lot of Obama’s accomplishments.

Trump’s only real accomplishment is that he hasn’t destroyed the economy Obama left for him…yet. But it’s not for a lack of trying. Trade wars, tariffs, increased spending, tax cuts for billionaires that aren’t paid for will eventually take its toll on the economy. It will eventually hit Wall Street, then Main Street. Farmers are already feeling it. Today, China increased tariffs on the U.S. and the stock market is going down.

There are two problems with Trump being president during an economic crisis: He lies and he doesn’t know what he’s doing. There are reports that his increased delirium is over his fear of the economy going south, thus making him a one-term president. They accuse Democrats and the media of wanting the economy to tank.

Nope. I want Trump out of office but I don’t want to starve to see it. I’d rather Obama’s economy keeps growing while we get Trump out of office for the multiple other valid reasons to remove him. When we get rid of Trump, we won’t feel like we’re winning while cleaning up his mess.

Donald Trump’s only real skill with economics is inheriting, and he’s not even good with what he does with it after he gets it. Trump claims he built his empire on a small $1 million loan from his father. The truth is, he received the equivalent today of at least $413 million from his father’s real estate empire. It’s easy to be rich when someone gives it to you. But Trump even screwed that up.

According to The New York Times, “at Trump’s Castle casino, where an $18.4 million bond payment was due in December 1990. Fred Trump dispatched a trusted bookkeeper to Atlantic City with checks to buy $3.5 million in casino chips without placing a bet. With this ruse — an illegal loan under New Jersey gaming laws, resulting in a $65,000 civil penalty — Donald Trump narrowly avoided defaulting on his bonds.” Today, Donald Trump doesn’t own any Atlantic City casinos. He didn’t sell them. They folded under this great businessman’s leadership. He bankrupted a business where people give you money.

In another move according to the Times, “Fred Trump spent $15.5 million to buy a 7.5 percent stake in Trump Palace, his son’s condo tower rising on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Four years later, tax returns and financial statements show, Fred Trump sold that stake for just $10,000.” The buyer was Donald Trump. Why did Fred buy a condo for $15.5 million and sell it for just $10,000? So Donald wouldn’t have to pay millions in taxes on a forgiven loan. The Times also wrote that it “appears to constitute both an unreported multimillion-dollar gift and an illegal tax write-off.”

Trump is really good at inheriting, cheating and lying about it, and crapping it all away. He’s doing the same thing with the inheritance he received from Obama. This is what happens when you elect a grifter to the nation’s highest office.

Donald Trump isn’t just too sleazy and dishonest to be president, he’s also too stupid. Our only hope is that the damage he inflicts is minimal before he can be removed. There are talks about his sanity, but honestly, an insane person would know tariffs are taxes. An insane person would have a hard time bankrupting a casino. Donald Trump is stupid.

When Donald Trump says he doesn’t see a recession, it means he’s too stupid to see it and he’s also lying. Everything Trump touches turns to crap and everything he says is a lie. When he says there’s no recession, it means we’re screwed.

Support the cartoonist.

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.

You can purchase a signed print of this cartoon.

Watch me draw.

Trump Has An Owie

cjones08232019

Donald Trump, the self-described best negotiator, has caved in again. Just like he did with Nancy Pelosi, Trump looked China square in the eye and blinked. Trump has taught the world that if they’re in a negotiation with him, all they have to do is wait him out.

Trump is delaying a ten-percent tariff on Chinese goods until after the holiday shopping season. While previous rounds of Trump’s tariffs didn’t affect clothing (Ivanka’s fashion line and “Make America Great Again” products made in China), the next round will , in addition to electronics and toys. In case you’re not a parent, kids like to get clothes, electronics, and toys for Christmas.

Trump still claims China is paying all the costs of the tariffs, though reality proves U.S. consumers are paying the price for the previous rounds imposed by Trump. So basically, Trump is saying American shoppers don’t pay for tariffs but let me delay this round of tariffs so American shoppers won’t have to pay for them until after Christmas.

Trump’s stubbornness and stupidity are two reasons the stock market is tumbling and there are new fears of a recession. While consumers and economists have had confidence in the economy, they don’t have it in Trump.

Donald Trump inherited a great economy from Barack Obama. It’s his greatest accomplishment, as inheriting is his greatest life accomplishment. His other big accomplishment is that even he hasn’t destroyed the Obama economy…yet. It appears that is about to change. Just like his daddy’s money, Trump will burn what Obama left for him. And, when the economy starts reeling and stockbrokers realize the guy in charge of the government doesn’t understand tariffs or taxes, they start selling. Yesterday was the worst day of the year for the Dow.

Trump raised tariffs 10 percent, then 25 percent. He initially left off items like clothing and cell phones, but the next round, which is now scheduled for December 15, will hit $300 billion of almost all Chinese goods at 10 percent. Some tariffs will still take effect on September 1.

When tariffs are raised, companies like Wal-Mart and Target have three options. They can find a new source for goods (like Vietnam or Mexico), or they can eat the increased prices themselves (which a lot of them have been doing), or they can pass the price increase to their customers. Even if American consumers don’t pay the higher fees, American companies will. Americans are still paying for these tariffs, not China.

I am not an economic expert, but apparently I, a guy who draws funny pictures and makes fun of people for a living, understand this topic better than the president of the United States.

The one thing that’s been keeping the Trump dumpster fire afloat has been Obama’s economy. Voters have short memories and they suck at seeing the future. But they do live in the present. When their pocketbooks and bank accounts are hurting in November 2020, Captain Bone Spurs will finally feel their pain.

Many economists believe it was good policy for Trump to back down on this latest round of tariffs, but they don’t like the politics of it. Nearly everyone agrees China has taken advantage of us in trade, but hardly anyone agrees we can win a trade war…or that anyone can win a trade war. Trump now has to find a way to end another crisis he created.

The only hope with the next round of tariffs is that Trump chickens out again. It can go either way. The guy is stubborn while also being a coward. Let’s hope the chicken wins over the jackass. Or, he delays the next round, then hopes everyone forgets about it. With his supporters, that’s very possible.

But trust me on this, when we go into battle, over a trade war or a real war, Captain Bone Spurs will save himself and once again, avoid doing any of the actual fighting.

Support the cartoonist.

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.

You can purchase a signed print of this cartoon.

Watch me draw.

A Cave For Mexico

cjones06122019

Great news! Donald Trump has saved our nation from another crisis…that he created.

Trump created a crisis with North Korea by throwing childish nicknames at their ruthless dictator. After becoming BFFs with Kim Jong Un and declaring they’re “in love,” his cultist give him credit for averting a crisis in the form of nuclear war.
Trump has created a crisis on the southern border. He created a crisis when he pulled us out of the nuclear agreement with Iran. Trump created a crisis by ending DACA. Trump created a crisis with the government shutdown.
Now, just like with the government shutdown, Trump has ended a crisis by negotiating a deal that gives him nothing.
Donald Trump shut down the government while he had an offer from Democrats for funding for his racist vanity project in the form of a border wall on our border with Mexico. After a month of the shutdown, Trump negotiated a deal ending the shutdown that gave him…nothing. Donald Trump, the self-proclaimed great negotiator, negotiated himself from receiving funding to getting nothing.
Last week, Trump was being kind to outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May by saying she’s a better negotiator than he is. May is being tossed from office for being unable to negotiate a Brexit deal, but Trump was right. She’s still a better negotiator than he is.
Trump created a crisis with Mexico by threatening to levy tariffs on them, while not understanding that U.S. consumers are the ones who would pay those tariffs. Democrats, Republicans, and everyone else in the northern hemisphere with half a working brain understand that tariffs are taxes and that levying them on our largest trading partner would hurt millions of Americans. The reasoning for his tariff war with Mexico was immigration, which is an issue totally separate from trading with our Mexican friends and allies.
Trump was facing opposition not just from Democrats, but also from Republicans. He was also facing legal challenges he would likely lose. On top of all that, the damage done to American farmers and avocado eaters may have turned into a backlash even he couldn’t withstand. Trump cultists eat avocados too despite the fact their Dear Leader doesn’t eat fruits and vegetables.
Trump claimed he struck a new deal with Mexico where they promised to put more Mexican National Guard troops on their southern border to stem the flow of immigrants from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. He also claimed that the Mexican government promised to increase its purchases of U.S. agricultural goods.
Two problems with Trump’s claims. The first is, the agreement with Mexico about troops on their southern border was struck months ago, even before Trump made his tariff threats. The second problem is, the government of Mexico does not buy produce and farm equipment from us. Private businesses in Mexico buy produce and farm equipment from us. The Mexican government is not China and can’t order Mexican private businesses to increase purchases from the United States.
Donald Trump attacked those facts the same way he always does, which is to label them as “fake news.” After being debunked by the New York Times, he attacked that news outlet. Later, he was debunked by…wait for it…Mexico.
Basically, the new deal with Mexico that averted a tariff war is that Donald Trump will not make good on his tariff threat and in return, he’s to receive nothing. Other governments have learned from Nancy Pelosi and Trump’s own actions that the man talks more than he walks and he’s a pushover. Trump bullshits, flakes, and caves, and everyone knows it except his cult.
The cult will give Trump huge credit for ending a crisis that wasn’t there until he created it because he told them not to believe what the see and hear. Trump has yet to face a real crisis. The problem for our country is, when that crisis does come, the man occupying the executive branch is still liar, flake, coward, who can’t negotiate, and caves at the slightest pressure.
Donald Trump is dangerous to this nation and except his cult, everyone knows it.
Creative note:
I finished this cartoon about 10:00 a.m, and then the internet went out. I apologize for its tardiness.

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.

Avocado Boom Boom

cjones06042019

I give my conservative cartooning colleagues a lot of crap over their devotion to Trump, producing cartoons that are based on fear, hate, propaganda and conspiracy theories while being totally devoid of facts. Mostly, I give them hell for abandoning principles they held decades before Trumpism, such as patriotism, law and order, family values, democracy over fascism. But now I’ve seen at least three of them go against Trump and his tariffs.

Republicans have traditionally been against increasing tariffs, knowing that when we increase tariffs that they’re paid for by Americans. They are basically tax increases. Donald Trump continues to say the nations he raises tariffs on will pay them, which isn’t just fundamentally wrong, but a lie.

So, to those conservative Trump supporting cartoonists who have publicly expressed opposition to Trump tariffs, in all seriousness without making fun of you, kudos. Oh, and if you’re one of those conservative cartoonists, “kudos” means congratulations.

After increasing tariffs on China, Trump got into the tariff zone and is now proposing a five percent increase on tariffs on Mexico to pressure them on an unrelated issue, immigrants from Central America. The five percent increase will take effect June 10 and gradually increase to 25 unless, as the White House issued in a statement, “Mexico substantially stops the illegal inflow of aliens coming through its territory.”

A report by the right-wing group the Tax Foundation says Trump’s new tariffs will be the largest tax increase on Americans in three decades.

The study says that with the five-percent increase alone, “GDP would fall by an additional 0.50 percent ($124.82 billion), resulting in 0.33 percent lower wages and 387,041 fewer full-time equivalent jobs.”

Mexico is the United State’s biggest trading partner and is the largest market for U.S. corn and pork and supplies one out of three fresh fruits and vegetables consumed in the United States. Yet, Trump tweeted that they are an “abuser” that takes but never gives to the U.S. In his announcement that he was running for the presidency, Trump accused Mexico of sending rapists and murderers to the U.S. Throughout the disaster of his presidency, he’s accused Mexico of sending us an “invasion” of drug dealers, cartels, human traffickers, people smugglers and immigrants.

Some U.S. business groups are considering lawsuits against the administration, questioning the legality of mixing immigration policy goals with trade retaliation.

This strategy is as useless as the proposed racist wall and monument to Trump since the majority of undocumented immigrants, drugs, and weapons enter through legal ports of entry.

U.S. farmers are already feeling the pinch of reduced sales after Trump increased tariffs on China and they retaliated. Now, the Mexican market may dry up for them as well. Will Trump throw them another bailout with money borrowed from China to pay farmers not to sell to Mexico and China?

If you are a freak over avocados, get ready to pay more. While California produces the fruit, they do so for only eight months of the year. Mexico produces avocadoes year-round, and the U.S. consumes 74% of that nation’s exported avocadoes. Mexican farmers believe we’re such devotees of the fruit, that Trump’s tariffs won’t hurt them. Apparently, avocadoes are like crack. You’ll keep purchasing for your fix no matter how high your dealer raises the price.

If China and Mexico are smart, and they are, they’ll follow Nancy Pelosi’s lead in negotiating with Trump. The man has a history of bailing on his promises and walking away from a negotiating table with significantly less than he argued for…or nothing at all.

I expect the avocadoes to blow up in Trump’s face.

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.

Farmer Bang Bang

cjones05152019

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump said he could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot someone and he wouldn’t lose any voters. He was right, but at that time, he would have lost support from his party. Today, he could shoot farmer after farmer and the GOP would only yawn (unless it was a black guy and then they’d get excited).

Trump’s not going to shoot anyone on Fifth Avenue. If he shoots anyone, it’ll be in a soybean field in Iowa, and then maybe a stockbroker on Wall Street.

Republicans used to be all about free trade and anti tariffs. They’ve always argued that tariffs are taxes on American consumers and nobody wins a trade war. They were right. Today, they’ve sacrificed their previous position, just as they’ve expunged their positions on law and order, patriotism, defense, morals, etc. as if they underwent a political colonic.

Today, after China retaliated by raising $60 billion in tariffs on American goods, Trump said he “likes the position we’re in.” You have to remember, this is a guy who “liked the position he was in” when he shut down the government for 30 days before losing a negotiation with Democrats. We are putting our stock, our businesses, our economy, our farms, and our people in a guy who won’t accept that Americans pay for tariffs.

A trade war will hurt both countries, but it will be felt more by American consumers and the politicians they vote for. In case you’re a Republican, nobody votes in China and there’s not a free press that can criticize President Xi Jinping or even report facts that are critical of his positions. The only pressure President Xi is under is, don’t lose a trade war with an orange shitgibbon. Xi is basically president for life, but losing a negotiation to an idiot like Donald Trump could very well shorten that life.

Farmers who voted for Trump are typical Trump cultists. They’ll continue to believe in Trump, even as soybeans from last year are rotting in storage because there’s no longer a market for them. But maybe around the point that they’re literally losing the farm, they might realize this entire Trump experiment isn’t working out. They may actually realize that Donald Trump is a malignant narcissist who only cares about the malignant narcissist. His current welfare plan for farmers is only designed to uphold their support of him, but that won’t last. How long can you borrow money from China to help farmers not sell their crops to China?

Unfortunately for me and you, nearly everything we own is made in China. If we could buy crap made cheaper in Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia, we would. We are cheap consumers. We haven’t been holding off from buying products made in thirder-world nations than China because of loyalty or ethics. We’re cheap. We would have already been doing it.

Trump may not feel any pressure from other consumers because fortunately for him, his supporters aren’t known for shopping at Wal-Mart (insert eye roll here).

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 the video.

Thanks, Obama

cjones05082019

Have you talked to a Trump sycophant? Have you ever talked to one who hasn’t said, “But Obama?” No, you haven’t. According to the cultists, Obama was a failed president who left a disaster for Donald Trump to clean up. Yet, despite all of Obama’s failures, the biggest accomplishments they hand to Trump actually belong to Obama. I mean, Obama couldn’t have been that bad if you gotta steal his credit for Trump.

One of my conservative colleagues spent eight years calling Obama the most “divisive president in American history” and accusing his administration of not being transparent. This same guy has never mentioned Trump’s constant Twitter attacks on the most mundane and petty stuff, or his inciting violence from his followers. He’s never mentioned Trump’s lack of transparency when it comes to his taxes, refusing to testify to Robert Mueller, and now preventing members of his administration from testifying. So, it shouldn’t be a surprise that this guy spent the majority of the Obama era saying his economy was the “worst economic recovery ever,” while calling today’s economy an “economic miracle.” The real miracle is that these people’s faces don’t warp like Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ from constantly fighting to keep them straight.

Trump sycophants only seem to remember “if you like your doctor,” Fast and Furious, and the IRS scandal from the Obama administration. They don’t recall that we were in one of the worst recessions in American history when Obama entered the White House in 2009. The nation lost 3.6 million jobs during Bush’s last year in office and over five million in Obama’s first. During his second year, Obama added over a million jobs and for his remaining six, he added over two million each year.

Two million jobs added per year for six years straight is a trend. Trump has also added two million each of his two years, though slightly less than Obama. That’s eight years of constant growth. But, the cultists want to give all the credit to the guy who inherited a trend. They’re ignoring the six and praising the two. Republicans are literally giving credit to an old rich white guy for the job done by a black man.

Trump promised 25 million new jobs over ten years if he was elected. That’s actually an easy number to reach if the trend started under Obama continues. The economy was already adding jobs when Trump made that promise, so basically, he promised to inherit and take credit for Obama’s success.

We are still in a booming economy because of Obama. The economy is so strong that even Donald Trump, who doesn’t understand anything, hasn’t messed it up yet.

Donald Trump doesn’t understand tariffs are taxes. He believes that money from increased tariffs paid for by Americans and funding his racist border wall is somehow Mexico paying for the wall.

He started a trade war with China that hurt America’s farmers. He gave the farmers nearly $8 billion in a bailout to help them during his trade war with China, which is money borrowed from…wait for it…China. Trump is borrowing money from China to pay farmers to not sell their crops to China.

He promised more coal mines would open. Instead, more are closing.

Gas prices are rising.

He gave permanent tax cuts to the rich and itty, bitty temporary tax cuts to the middle class that has increased the deficit to over $900 billion.

Have you noticed Republicans, who are always warning us about Democratic spending, are always the ones who do the most spending? Have you noticed that Republicans screw the economy while Democrats repair it?  Public debt went down under Clinton, Carter, Johnson, Kennedy, and Truman, while it went up under our last four Republican presidents, George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, Reagan, and Ford. Our current Republican president is on track to continue that tradition. Debt is something Republicans only warn us about when a Democrat is in the White House.

Debt did decrease under Eisenhower and Nixon. Trump is no Ike, firstly because the majority of the country doesn’t like Trump. He’s only like Nixon when it comes to lies and corruption. Nixon, however, understood stuff like economics and government spending. Trump believes Canadian cheese is a threat to national security.

I want to see Trump defeated in 2020 but I also want the economy to continue the trend Obama started. Trump should not be given credit for inheriting a booming economy. But, if Trump continues his policies, the only credit he’ll receive during the next election will be for a faltering, maybe crashing economy. There is only so much in the area of stupid actions this economy can take. This is a man who fired the Chairman of the Federal Reserve because he thought she was too short.

Obama was criticized for saying, “You didn’t build that.” In the case of Trump and the economy, the GDP, and jobs, he’s right. Trump didn’t build that. This is still Obama’s economy. He cleaned up after a Republican and in the future, another Democrat will be cleaning up after Trump, and Republicans will be saying, “Worst economic recovery ever.”

Obama left us in great shape to deal with an impending disaster like Trump. And for that, thanks, Obama.

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 the video.

Paris…France…Underpants

cjones12112018

Like most things, Donald Trump does not understand the riots that have been ongoing in France. He retweeted a tweet from one of his sycophants saying the protests are about “radical leftists” fuel taxes and “We want Trump” was being chanted through the streets of Paris. Other conservatives have been claiming that the protests are against socialism.

The protests are partly about fuel taxes, which French president Emmanuel Macron planned to raise by about 30 cents a gallon and continue to increase over the next few years in a nation where gas is already over $7.00 a gallon. The protests aren’t against socialism, as the taxes aren’t going to social services. People aren’t screaming for an end to the government’s health and education system. And, there has been no chants of “we want Trump.”

Even the most rabid socialist doesn’t want to pay $7.00 a gallon for gas. This increase is hitting the middle class and hurting the rural population in France, making them feel that Macron has abandoned them and bailed on his promises.

Macron is using the tax to expand France’s economy and make it more pro-business. He’s trying to encourage the rich to invest more in the nation. A lot of people in France believe the rich are overtaxed, but they don’t want to be the ones to pick up the slack while cutting them a break.

Macron has actually been cutting social programs, scaling back labor protections, made it easier for companies to hire and fire, and fought unions to end subsidies. Shortly after taking office, he cut taxes for corporations and the wealthiest 10 percent of French households. He’s no Hugo Chavez.

France’s economy is growing, but slowly. Most of the growth is centered in the major cities, like Paris. The rural areas of the nation feel left out and the gas tax hurts them more than their urban countrymen, who don’t need to own cars as much.

The protests are more about an out-of-touch elitist president whose policies favor the wealthy and corporations at the expense of working-class French people than they are a middle-class rebellion against Marxism. And, they’re definitely not a call for a leader like Donald Trump. I doubt the French would want a president copying the mega tax cut Trump has given to the rich in the United States.

Donald Trump has experts in intelligence, economics, and foreign relations who can explain things to him. Of course, for him to learn from them, he would have to actually listen and comprehend the information. Unfortunately, the president of the United States is much like your crazy uncle and gets most of his information from memes on social media. This is why Trump still believes, even after having it explained to him twice by Bill Gates that HPV and HIV is the same thing. Why he’s harassing poor Bill Gates about that, I do not know.

Trump understands the French protests, HIV, and HPV about as well as he understands tariffs. Trump says he’s a “tariff man,” which is like saying he’s a tax guy. He brags that his tariffs are bringing in millions, not understanding that money is mostly coming from Americans paying for his stupid tariffs. Tariffs are taxes.

Now, thanks in large parts to Trump’s tariffs, the stock market is weakening and doing scary stuff, the economy is slowing down, Factories are closing, people are losing jobs, the deficit is growing even larger, and the U.S. trade deficit is at its highest level in over a decade. In fact, the deficit with China, in particular, is at a record high.

Trump lied about having a deal with China and the stock market started to rebound. When it was discovered, and the administration actually admitted, that Trump lied about a deal, the market started to tank again. Trump has based his entire economic prowess on the stock market and the trade deficit. Now, we’re seeing what we already knew. There is no prowess. Traders need to stop making decisions based upon the shit that comes out of Captain Dumbass’ mouth.

Tariffman is not a slow learner as there’s no learning whatsoever.

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.

Tarified Farmers

cjones07282018

While speaking to the VFW in Kansas City Tuesday, Trump told his followers now to believe what they read and see. So, farmer who voted for Trump, those aren’t food stamps in your wallet or frightening socialism in the heartland. They’re compensation for your sacrificing in MAGAing.

Not only are we “tired of winning,” but there’s so much MAGA all over the place, you’re bound to step in it. America’s farmers stepped in it by voting for Trump. Now, they’re rolling around in it by still supporting him. That’s not fertilizer you smell.

Trump’s trade war will be felt on American farmers in red states who supported him. Tariffs enacted by China in retaliation will hit this Friday while a lot of our trading partners are finding new partners to avoid Trump’s tariffs.

Farmers for Trump are betting the president’s self-indulgent trade war will pay off and the pain that’s coming will be rewarded. They’re placing their bets on a billionaire who campaigned on “buy American,” while his entire product line is made overseas. They may want to take off those MAGA caps and check the labels. Irony is literally sitting on top of their heads.

Tariffs were raised by Bush in 2004 and Obama in 2009. Today, it’s hard to find an economist who believes America won with those actions. Trump isn’t trying to help America’s economy as much as he’s acting out of spite and hubris. I expect Trump and our trading partners to eventually cut a deal that brings us back to our previous tariff rates and the administration will call it a win.

Even Republicans in Congress don’t believe Trump understands how tariffs work or that nobody wins a tariff war. Trump has abused the power to raise tariffs by citing them as a threat to national security as if Canadian cheese poses a threat equal to that of ISIS. A few Republicans are now working on a bill that will redefine “threats to our national security” and limit the president’s power to raise tariffs.

Republicans are campaigning for the midterms on their tax cuts while their states and districts are being hit by tax hikes that are tariffs. This fall around election time, voters will be paying higher prices, losing their farms and businesses while watching Trump greet Vladimir Putin in the White House. Good luck, Republicans.

In the meantime, Trump is giving $12 billion in aid to America’s farmers. I don’t remember that from the campaign trail. I do remember better deals and that Mexico would pay for a wall, not “I’ll bail you out with welfare and you’re paying for the wall.”

Unfortunately for America’s farmers, none of them is the president’s daughter. Ivanka’s product line (which she’s going to discontinue soon), was exempt from the trade war.

Thank you for your support. Reader contributions really do help and are appreciated in a time of dwindling revenue for political cartoonists. You will also be supporting free speech and the First Amendment, and independent journalism while those in power are doing all they can to suppress it. You can also support by purchasing a signed print for $40.00. Just look at the right of this page and click the PayPal button, or you can email and make other arrangements. Thank you!

Watch me draw.

Trump Trade War

cjones04092018I watched Anderson Cooper interview Roger Stone last night on CNN, and Stone said that Trump is his own wordsmith. Are you kidding me? Trump can’t even spell “Smith.”

Someone commented on this blog earlier this week and took issue with the first sentence where I wrote about Trump’s stupidity. The reader leaving the comment said I’d probably have more readers if I didn’t start my columns with such a biased statement. That person might want to stop reading today’s entry right now.

Donald Trump is stupid. I don’t think it’s biased to believe he’s stupid. The man doesn’t know the difference between vocational schools and community colleges. He believes there are invisible airplanes. I’m still amazed people can support him, as being dumb is just a part of his collection of horrible traits. When you add corruption, treason, nepotism, lies, self-obsession, thin skin, immaturity, bad taste, and racism, the stupidity just compounds the danger our nation is in. And then, you have the illiteracy.

Donald Trump cannot read. OK, that’s not fair. He can read, but it’s at a third or fourth grade level. We decided to take the issues of national security, the economy, trade, Russia, North Korea, immigration, and hand it off to be solved by a guy who can’t read.

Sycophants support this. They support just about every dumb thing Trump does, and they make excuses for it, lie about it, or rejoice in it. Now, they can excuse, lie, or rejoice in the fact that many of them will be the hardest hit by Trump’s trade war with China.

In retaliation for Trump’s increased tariffs on that nation, China has imposed large sanctions on American products and agriculture. The bulk of these tariffs hit red Trump country. Trump has always complained that China’s leaders were smarter than ours. Well, they are now.

Trump is right that the disparity in trade between us and China is an issue, but he’s not the first politician to notice this. It can’t be dealt with as a challenge to his ego. He claims we’re not in a trade war, while he raises, tariffs, China retaliates by raising tariffs on us, and then he talks about raising them even more. Have you seen the stock market this week?

Trump’s policies are creating a trickle-down that’s going to trickle on all of us. But, it’s not going to be the good kind of trickle. It’ll be more like the kind Trump paid prostitutes for in a Moscow hotel room.

Nobody wins a trade war. Unfortunately, we have a president too stupid to understand that.

Here’s the video.

Please consider making a donation to keep the cartoons, columns, and videos coming. Reader contributions, small and large, really do help and are appreciated in a time of dwindling revenue for political cartoonists. You will also be supporting free speech and liberty while those in power are doing all they can to suppress it. You can also support by purchasing a signed print for $40.00. Just look at the right of this page and click the PayPal button, or you can email and make other arrangements. Thank you!