Ukrainegate

Stalking Yovanovitch

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Lev Parnas, the hired goon who’s an associate of Rudy Giuliani and whom Donald Trump doesn’t know despite being in dozens of photos with, revealed through text messages with a Republican congressional candidate (this just gets better by the minute) that there were plans to stalk Marie Yovanovitch while she was serving as ambassador to Ukraine.

The Trump team, specifically Rudy Giuliani, was conducting a smear campaign to get rid of Yovanovitch. During one phone call with the president of Ukraine, Trump said that Yovanovitch was going to “go through some things.” The text messages released by the House Intelligence Committee reveal that Parnas and his friend, Robert Hyde,” were, trying to get her to “go through some things,” discussing stalking and perhaps making something else happen to her when Hyde wrote, “They are willing to help if we/you would like a price,” and “Guess you can do anything in the Ukraine with money.”

Hyde also referred to Yovanovitch as a “bitch” in multiple texts, once writing, “can’t believe Trumo hasn’t fired this b—h. I’ll get right in that.” I don’t know why he referred to Trump as “Trumo” or if that’s just a typo. He also texted about Yovanovitch’s location and the state of her security. He also said we need to “get that bitch out” and “fuck that bitch.” He later said he was just being playful because calling a woman “bitch” is funny and humorous to Republicans. Hyde is the kind of guy who makes tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to GOP candidates while falling behind on child support payments.

This should really help Robert Hyde with the “get the bitch” demographic.

Now, Ukraine is investigating this as they feel a responsibility for a foreign ambassador’s safety. This is NOT the investigation Donald Trump wanted that nation to announce.

I am glad Ukraine cares about Yovanovitch’s safety because our Secretary of State and State Department, under the Trump regime, does not. Neither the State Department nor Mike Pompeo has issued any statements regarding this.

We killed a foreign general after one of our embassies was demonstrated against. Donald Trump cited an “imminent attack” on four as justification for assassinating the general. But someone threatens one of our ambassadors and we hear nothing?

The Ukrainian government issued a statement saying, “the published messages contain facts of possible violations of Ukrainian law and of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, which protect the rights of diplomats on the territory of another state.” Where’s the statement from Mike Pompeo regarding an ambassador’s safety?

Ukraine also asked the FBI for assistance in investigating the Russian hacking of Burisma, the gas company Hunter Biden worked for. Isn’t it funny that Russia seems to be getting involved on the side of Donald Trump?

Morale is low at the State Department. Probably because its leader refuses to express any concern for the safety of its employees. Perhaps he’s afraid of angering Trump by expressing that he doesn’t want anything bad to happen to Marie Yovanovitch, whom Trump, with Giuliani and her stalker, has smeared. This is another example proving that all our government agencies are only working in the personal interest of Donald Trump.

And for that matter, I haven’t heard any Republicans express concern for our ambassador. I’ve heard a bunch of them, Kellyanne Conway, for example, say Lev Parnas is unreliable because he’s indicted and just trying to help his case by cooperating, but no concern about threats against a United States ambassador. What happened to patriotism? What happened to putting nation before Trump? What happened? Do you know who else should be expressing concern for the safety of a United States ambassador? Donald fucking Trump, the president (sic) of the United States of America. The new normal is that nobody’s pointed that out yet except me, a cartoonist.

Republicans have done nothing over the past three years except excel at being horrible, vile, disgusting creatures. And because all of this is a result of electing Donald Trump, we need to get that bitch out.

Support the cartoonist.

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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Don’t Mess With Nancy

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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.

Reporter James Rosen played off a Republican talking point last week when he asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi if she “hates Donald Trump.”

Rosen is a reporter for Sinclair Broadcasting. Sinclair is a right-wing organization that owns television stations across the country. They mandate conservative op-eds and other right-wing BS to be aired on those stations. Most people who watch local news that’s owned by Sinclair, don’t know it’s owned by Sinclair or that right-wing jargon is being mandated from corporate headquarters. It’s no surprise Rosen landed there after leaving Fox News after being accused of sexual harassment and texting “inappropriate” photos to colleagues.

Pelosi had finished her press conference but turned back to address the question. She was upset. She said as a Catholic, she doesn’t hate anyone. She also said she prays for Donald Trump. I’m sure a lot of people pray for Donald Trump who aren’t really fond of the guy.

Here’s a question: Do Republicans hate Barack Obama? Republicans keep saying Democrats have been trying to impeach Trump since he “won” the election, but how many Republicans talked about impeaching President Obama? Let’s see…those who floated the idea are Representative Darrell Issa, Senator Ted Cruz, Rep. Michael Burgess, Sen. Jon Kyl, Sen. James Inhofe, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, Sen. Tom Coburn, Rep. Blake Farenthold, Rep. Kerry Bentivolio, Rep. Louie Gohmert, Rep. Allen West, and measures were passed demanding it from the Oklahoma legislature and the South Dakota Republican Party. Talk show hosts, Larry Elder and Rush Limbaugh, along with Sarah Palin, also called for impeaching Obama. The reasons vary from Benghazi, to birtherism, to the debt ceiling, to none at all.

In 2014, a YouGov poll found that 68% of Republicans were in favor of impeaching Obama while a CNN poll found the number of Republicans in favor at 57%.

So, Republicans why did you hate President Obama?

A lot of conservatives have gone off questioning Pelosi’s commitment to Catholicism. Many point out that she’s pro-choice, so that must mean she’s a bad Catholic. Of course, those same critics are in favor of the death penalty, but hypocrisy isn’t really an issue they concern themselves with.

I did a podcast last weekend where I was asked if I hated Trump. I gave the same answer I’ve given before. I don’t hate Donald Trump. I only hate President Donald Trump. If you love America, democracy, truth, the Constitution and oppose nepotism, racism, narcissism, and authoritarianism, and other assorted stupid shit, you hate President Trump too.

Support the cartoonist.

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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Moo Trouble For Devin

cjones12062019

Congressman and ranking member of the Intelligence Committee Devin Nunes is suing CNN. If you’re on Devin’s side, you should hope this lawsuit goes better than his cow lawsuit.

Devin Nunes sued a cow. Actually, he sued a fictional cow over a satirical Twitter account named “Devin Nunes’ Cow.” He’s also sued Twitter over an account titled “Devin Nunes’ Mom.” In a filing, one defendant’s attorney wrote, “No reasonable person would believe that Devin Nunes’ cow actually has a Twitter account, or that the hyperbole, satire and cow-related jokes it posts are serious facts. It is self-evident that cows are domesticated livestock animals and do not have the intelligence, language, or opposable digits needed to operate a Twitter account. Defendant ‘Devin Nunes’ Mom’ likewise posts satirical patronizing, nagging, mothering comments which ostensibly treat Mr. Nunes as a misbehaving child.” Nunes believes the “defamation” brought by the cow is worth $250 million. He’s upset the accounts have accused him of being friends with Russians and racists. Well, he is a Republican.

Nunes likes to sue.

Last April, Nunes sued the Fresno Bee and its parent company, McClatchy, for $150 million over a 2018 story that reported he was an investor in a winery being sued for civil rights violations. The Bee reported on a charity auction conducted aboard a yacht owned by the winery and that featured cocaine and prostitutes. Now that’s a party. Nunes wasn’t at the event but believes reporting the fact he’s an investor implies he’s involved with cocaine and underage prostitutes.

If I defend Nunes by arguing he only associates with prostitutes who are of age, will Republicans be able to tell it’s satire?

In another lawsuit filed by someone you would believe has to be on crack, he filed a $9.9 million suit against Fusion GPS, who commissioned the infamous “Steele dossier,” and a liberal watchdog group, Campaign for Accountability, accusing them of racketeering and attempting to interfere with the Trump-Russia investigation. I’m not sure why he’s the aggrieved party here. But seriously, can the guy be impartial as ranking member of a committee investigating Trump if he’s filing lawsuits on his behalf?

Also in September, Nunes sued a journalist and Esquire for S$77.5 million for a story alleging that Nunes’ parents had quietly moved their farm from California to Iowa and were employing undocumented immigrants.

In a lawsuit he’s since dropped, he went after four of his constituents for accusing him of being a fake farmer. Maybe, CNN can sue him for accusing them of being “fake news.”

Yes, that description is in his filing against CNN. Nunes says CNN aired a “demonstrably false hit piece” when it reported that Nunes traveled to Vienna and met with Ukrainian former prosecutor-general Victor Shokin to discuss digging up dirt on Joe Biden, which is an accusation made by Lev Parnas, a now-indicted business associate of Rudy Giuliani. In the suit, the complaint says, “CNN is the mother of fake news.” Again, can Nunes be a bipartisan juror on a case involving Trump if he’s co-opting his terms, such as “fake news?”

Nunes’ complaint calls Parnas an “indicted criminal” and says it’s “obvious to everyone, including disgraceful CNN, that Parnas was a fraudster and a hustler.”

Parnas is an indicted criminal and a hustler which probably explains why Nunes has had at least FOUR different conversations with the guy. What?

Yesterday, the House Intelligence Committee released call logs that revealed Nunes had multiple conversations with Parnas and Giuliani. Nunes could have explained the calls to Giuliani as butt dials but tried to sell the idea the calls to Parnas never really happened. He told Sean Hannity, “Why would CNN rely on somebody like this? I will go back and check my records, but it seems very unlikely I will be taking calls from random people.”

Except, they are on the record. They’re not relying on Parnas. They’re relying on the call log which shows Nunes spoke to Parnas, or at least to his phone for nearly nine minutes. Why would you talk to someone for nine minutes that’s unreliable?

Maybe he thought he was dialing a cow…except cows don’t have opposable digits needed to operate a phone.

Support the cartoonist.

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.

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Putin’s Minions

cjones12052019

Senator John Kennedy from Louisiana is not a stupid man. If you’ve seen him question Trump’s nominees to the judiciary, you know he’s no Cindy Hyde-Smith. But if you’ve seen him on news shows recently talking about foreign governments meddling in the 2016 presidential election, you’ll think he’s very confused.

A week ago, he went on Fox News and said Ukraine meddled in the election in favor of Hillary Clinton. The next day, he went on CNN and said he couldn’t understand the questions on Fox and he misspoke. Russia was the only nation that meddled in the election. Last week, he was stating it was Russia AND Ukraine. He said it was a “fact” that Ukraine’s former president got involved in our last election to help Hillary Clinton.

It’s not true. Sure, a lot of Ukrainian government officials weren’t in love with Donald Trump, a candidate who didn’t just express an affinity for Russian President Vladimir Putin, but also indicated he didn’t have any problem with that nation invading and taking land from Ukraine. Of course, they didn’t like Donald Trump. Not liking someone is not proof of meddling. If it was, then nearly every world leader meddled in the last election (in case you’re a Republican, it’s because most world leaders don’t like Donald Trump).

There is no proof, nothing, nada, zip, that Ukraine meddled in our last election. There are no “facts” that support Kennedy’s claim that the former President of Ukraine got involved in the presidential election. None. Every intelligence agency of the United States has stated Russia meddled in the election. At this very moment, there are court cases proceeding against Russians in this nation for meddling in our election. There are none against Ukrainians. Fact, fact, fuckity fact. And, John Kennedy knows this. He knows it well. Since Kennedy knows this, and he’s not an idiot, yet he keeps saying something that’s not true, what is the explanation?

Easy. Senator John Kennedy is a coward.

John Kennedy is afraid of Donald Trump. More to the point, he’s afraid of the Trump cult. Every Republican’s worst nightmare is that Donald Trump will send a nasty tweet their way and they’ll end up like South Carolina’s Mark Sanford. It’s why Lindsey Graham doesn’t have principles anymore. It’s why Ted Cruz is fine with Trump insulting his wife’s looks. It’s why Mitch McConnell is now Moscow Mitch. Now, we Kremlin Kennedy.

John Kennedy is a coward afraid of Trump, but his support of this idiotic conspiracy theory also aids Vladimir Putin. Putin is the creator of this conspiracy theory. There are no facts to support it which is OK for Donald Trump, but Kennedy? John Kennedy is a smart man. He shares a name with a greater man who stood up to Russia. He’s a Senator in my home state. He should be better than this. He’s telling us he’s not. He would rather serve Putin in his cowardice than represent his constituents and defend America.

America deserves better than these Vichy Republicans who will sacrifice their nation for the Trump cult. The only reason their spines don’t break from the constant bending over is that they don’t have any. Yesterday, Republicans issued a report that was over 100 pages, full of lies, exonerating Trump asking a foreign nation to meddle in our next election.

Trump asked a foreign nation to meddle in our last election (Russia, if you’re listening). Recently, he asked another to meddle in our next election. Republicans are looking at the facts that he cheated once and attempted to cheat again, and are now saying let him go ahead and play the game.

I thought the Minions in Despicable Me were cute as hell when that film first came out. After the subpar sequels, their own spinoff film, and trillions of memes and products, I hate them. They’re everywhere and it’s not cute anymore. But yet, they’re not as annoying as Putin’s Republican minions who are also everywhere.

Republicans like John Kennedy should stop being minions and be representatives serving our nation. Stop serving Putin. And trust me on this, it’s not cute and it never was.

Support the cartoonist.

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.

New Book: Tales From The Trumpster Fire

Watch me draw.

Sondland Who?

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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.

After Gordon Sondland’s testimony this week before the House Intelligence Committee, where he said there definitely WAS a quid pro quo, Donald Trump said he barely knew the guy.

He barely knew the guy, yet after being asked to explain the comment he was credited to making to Trump, “Zelensky loves your ass,” he said their conversations are full of curse words. Maybe Trump curses at everyone he knows but for me to jokingly curse with someone on the phone, I have to be pretty comfortable with them. That means I have to know them.

Sondland gave Trump’s inauguration committee a million dollars. Trump, in another quid pro quo, made him ambassador to the European Union. From there, trusting Sondland to do his dirty work more than he trusted the ambassador to Ukraine, he put Sondland in charge of Ukraine matters (even though Ukraine is NOT in the European Union). He gave Sondland a direct line to him. Then, Trump trusted him enough to be called from a secure line, or too stupid, that he had a conversation with Sondland who was on a cell phone calling from a public restaurant in Ukraine.

There’s also the tiny little matter that Trump lies.

Support the cartoonist.

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.

New Book: Tales From The Trumpster Fire

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Devin Has A Cow Over Corruption

cjones11282019

Devin Nunes, the top-ranking Republican on the Intelligence Committee (which held impeachment hearings over the past two weeks), says reports he met with a former Ukrainian prosecutor a criminal campaign against him by a “totally corrupt” news media.

Nunes was chairman of the Intelligence Committee during the first two years of the Trump administration where he did all he could to stifle and obstruct the committee’s investigation into Russian meddling. During the present impeachment inquiry, he’s used his time to argue that all Trump wanted to do by withholding money from Ukraine was to get to the bottom of Joe Biden’s corruption. But I’m starting to think a guy who believes reporting the news is corrupt probably isn’t a guy qualified to decide who is and isn’t corrupt.

Lev Parnas, who was recently indicted and worked on the Ukraine pressure campaign with Rudy Giuliani, said through his lawyer that he learned of a meeting in Vienna (in case you’re a Republican, that’s in Austria…NOT Australia) in 2018 between Nunes and Viktor Shokin, the former Ukrainian prosecutor general who has emerged as a key figure in Republican attacks on Mr. Biden and his son Hunter Biden. Parnas says he learned of the meeting from Shokin.

Shokin was a corrupt prosecutor and he claims (falsely) that he was fired because he was investigating a company where Joe Biden’s son was a director, and has participated in Giuliani’s public smear campaign against former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch. Trump, Giuliani, and other Republicans have attempted to make the corrupt prosecutor the victim in the story. Keep in mind, these are the same people defending Russian spies who attacked America.

Parnas also claims he met with one of Nunes’ aides at Trump’s Washington Hotel, which is not the best hotel in Washington but the favorite location to engage in shady dealings with goons and henchmen.

The best answer Nunes could give when asked if it was true was, “Everybody’s going to know all the facts, but I think you can understand, I can’t compete by trying to debate this out with the public media when 90 percent of the media are totally corrupt.” He’s promising to sue CNN and The Daily Beast for reporting Parnas’ claim. If Devin’s cow claims he was too hard on her udders and the press reported it, even then, he wouldn’t have a lawsuit.

In case you’re a Republican, let me point out the irony in this situation if it’s all true: Donald Trump has been accused of asking a foreign nation to help his re-election campaign. He’s been accused of using extortion to gain that help. Devin is on the committee investigating it after he’s asked foreigners to help with Donald Trump’s re-election campaign.

The problem in Washington is the swamp. We’re asking corrupt people to investigate other corrupt people. Naturally, the corrupt people believe the other corrupt people are innocent.

If this is true, it’s not surprising. During the 2018 midterm campaign, Devin was secretly recorded telling supporters the GOP needed to preserve their majority because they were the only ones who could protect Trump (knowing he’s corrupt). While he was chairman of the committee, he rushed information to the White House (they already had) that the committee was investigating, which was basically giving them a heads up. He recused himself from the Russia investigation after being accused of leaking material to the media and the White House. He pushed out the memo condemning the FBI (without specifying any laws broken) for conducting surveillance on suspected spies. He’s been a champion of debunked conspiracy theories clearing Russia of meddling and helping Trump.

Really? Devin Nunes did something corrupt? Shocking.

At this time, Nunes needs to remove himself from the committee. If this is true, he failed to report his actions. If this is true, he’s just as guilty as Trump. Being that he served on the 2016 Trump campaign, he shouldn’t be on the committee in the first place.

Nunes’ constituents and all Americans would be better served if his congressional seat and spot on the Intelligence Committee were occupied by Devin’s cow.

Support the cartoonist.

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.

New Book: Tales From The Trumpster Fire

Watch me draw.

Photo Bomb

cjones11272019

Before we even get the lie in the latest Trump whine and victimization, the absurdity of it should be acknowledged.

Donald Trump removed Marie Yovanovitch from the ambassadorship of Ukraine. Before doing so, Rudy Giuliani and the fuckwits on Fox News engaged in a smear campaign of Yovanovitch. While most Fox News viewers had never heard of Yovanovitch, the audience was left with an impression of what a horrible person she was…though they couldn’t even pronounce her name. Trump even complained about her to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Yovanovitch testified before the House Intelligence Committee and owned the Republicans on the committee. She didn’t advocate for impeachment. She laid out facts. She schooled and scolded Republicans for pushing debunked conspiracy theories that aid Russia. She described in detail the smear campaign Trump’s goon Rudy Giuliani engineered against her and how her removal wasn’t for fighting corruption, but for enabling it. During her testimony, Trump attempted to intimidate her in tweets.

He’s arguing she’s a horrible person. Since Trump has said it, his base will believe it. What are the offenses for being horrible? No, she didn’t refuse to sell him Greenland. According to Trump, she’s an Obama person. There’s no proof of that as she’s served in several administrations. Trump whined to Fox News, “She said bad things about me, she wouldn’t defend me.” There’s no evidence of this before her removal. Now, her greatest offense seems to be that she waited a long time before hanging Trump’s photo in our embassy in Ukraine.

This is what’s ridiculous before we get to the lie in his claim. Donald Trump is so petty, that not hanging his photo is a crime against him. It’s sacrilege. What’s even worse is that his supporters will say the same thing. It’s like the charge that someone’s a “Never Trumper.” What the hell is that? Someone is not to be believed or trusted because they will never support you politically?

Do you know who else had to deal with politicians who would never support them politically? Every politician in history. Even George Washington had haters who accused him of treason. Nancy Pelosi was never going to support George W. Bush, but she worked with him. Newt Gingrich was never a Clintonite, but he was still legitimate (hypocrite, but legitimate). Every time John Boehner or Paul Ryan opposed Obama on an issue, he didn’t cry out, “But they’ve never liked me.” Why not? Because President Obama isn’t a narcissistic manbaby. Tip O’Neill once said Ronald Reagan is “the most ignorant man who had ever occupied the White House.” He died before Trump was elected, but he was definitely a Never Reaganite. But Reagan said they were friends “after 6:00 PM.” Instead of crying that O’Neill never liked him, Reagan handled their relationship with humor like the time he said he received a Valentine’s Day card from O’Neill, and said, “I knew it was from Tip because the heart was bleeding.”

Previous presidents never had the delusion that EVERYBODY was supposed to line up and kiss their ass, that everyone was in their servitude, that everyone who didn’t worship at their altar was to be viewed with suspicion, should probably be investigated, and most likely breaking the law with something-something. Why, if they don’t hang up their photo, they should be removed from office. Tomorrow (because today is Sunday), go to your local post office and see if the mailman should be reported for subversion. That’s some real North Korea shit right there, where every citizen is required to display a portrait Dear Leader.

In North Korea, portraits of the Dear Leader are to be hung on the most prominent wall in the living room. There is to be nothing else on that wall. The wall is to be devoted entirely to Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il (soon, Kim Jong-un. They’re still developing that cult). It needs to be hung high and looking down on the rest of the room. The portraits are to be kept clean and hung appropriately, and North Koreans better do it as they’re subject to random checks each month. If the picture is dirty, maligned, or even slightly askew, there is an investigation where the “criminal” may be punished by serving a day of hard labor. When a person moves, the very first thing they have to display in their new home are the portraits.

The complaint about the photo is another clue as to why Trump loves authoritarians so much. Even your casual narcissist wouldn’t demand that you hang his photo. At what point will Donald Trump require girls to throw rose petals before his feet?

If you’re a Trump supporter, when do you get tired of this childish, ridiculous bullshit? The man is crying someone wouldn’t hang his photo. You’re going to give credibility to that indignation? You’re going to pretend it’s an actual offense? Next time Nancy Pelosi is at the White House, she should stick her finger three inches from Trump’s face and say repeatedly, “I’m not touching you.”

Here’s the truth about the portrait: Yes. Portraits of the president are to be displayed in every embassy and consulate. They’re in every post office. They required in other federal offices too. But, for the photos to be displayed, they have to be delivered. According to Lewis Lukens, who ran the U.S. embassy in London for much of Trump’s first year in office, it took the Trump administration nearly 15 months to deliver the official portraits of Donald Trump and Mike Pence to our embassies. Now, imagine going to work every day and see those two faces constantly.

I guess Marie Yovanovitch’s true crime is that she didn’t make it happen. Why, if she was truly supportive of our Dear Leader, she would have purchased an appropriate photo of Donald Trump and had displayed it prominently for everyone to see and kneel before. She would have done it at her own expense and have been proud to do so. Everything else on her agenda would have been set aside until a portrait was displayed. For not doing so, she truly is horrible.

This incident is another example of Trump’s tone-deafness or just a display that he ignores or fails to acknowledge facts. Or, maybe he just tells himself we don’t know what we know. What do we know?

We know Donald Trump displayed fake Time magazines with him on the cover in his crappy golf resorts. Trump claims he’s been on the cover of Time more than anyone else in history. We know that’s a lie. Many of us know the person who’s been on the cover the most is Richard Nixon. We also know that’s not good company.

What else do we know? We know that Trump spent $10,000 for a portrait of himself to hang in one of his clubs. We also know that $10,000 was not his and belonged to his charitable trust, the Trump Foundation (which has seen been dissolved because it was a criminal ring). We know that Donald Trump stole from a charity in an act of narcissism.

There are damn good reasons to be a “Never Trumper.” If anything, it should give a person credibility. It tells a person you’re not a dumbass who is an easy target for grifters. A person who will never support Donald Trump is a person who doesn’t support racism, anti-Semitism, narcissism, nepotism, cruelty, bullying, childish taunts, cult worship, lies and just assorted, stupid-ass bullshit.

I am proud that I will never support Trump but I don’t need the label “Never Trumper” because not supporting Trump is just the rational and logical thing to do.

Supporting this childish complaint, and giving it any validity is another example of Republicans destroying our nation. Bret Stephens wrote for The New York Times that “we’ve been living in a country undergoing its own dismal process of Ukrainianization: of treating fictions as facts; and propaganda as journalism; and political opponents as criminals; and political offices as business ventures; and personal relatives as diplomatic representatives; and legal fixers as shadow cabinet members; and extortion as foreign policy; and toadyism as patriotism; and fellow citizens as “human scum”; and mortal enemies as long-lost friends — and then acting as if all this is perfectly normal.” A student asked me yesterday during a lecture about my goal with my work. Part of the answer was to fight this new normal. I reject that it’s normal to go after someone not displaying a photo of the president. Republicans, please stop for one minute and actually listen.

Can you imagine the outrage and mockery we would have heard from the right-wing if there was even a debunked rumor President Obama was upset over someone not displaying his photo?

I will never display a Trump-approved portrait of Donald Trump. If anything, I’ll get in trouble for the images I’m posting now.

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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.

New Book: Tales From The Trumpster Fire

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What’s Your Crazy?

cjones11252019

Fiona Hill went to Capitol Hill yesterday and schooled Devin Nunes and the rest of the Republican nitwits serving on the Intelligence Committee.

Dr. Hill, an expert on Russia, scolded the Republicans for pushing the false, debunked conspiracy theory that it was Ukraine meddling in our 2016 presidential election in favor of the Democrats, and not Russia helping Trump. From the expressions on the Republicans’ faces, it was like trying to teach the difference between the words “cheese” and “keys” to your dog. You know every time, that dog’s going to be thinking cheese.

Dr. Hill may want to keep in mind that there’s more than one conspiracy theory Republicans believe in. Once upon a time, they used to kind-of-sort-of keep them under wraps, as only truly crazy people pursue them. Now, Donald Trump is pushing the Joe-Biden-is-corrupt conspiracy along with the Crowdstrike conspiracy (where the Democratic National Committee server is stored in Ukraine for some dumb reason), and these theories were created and spread on 4chan. Republicans aren’t even trying to hide their crazy anymore.

After Dr. Hill’s mic drop of facts on Republicans, they still want to subpoena Hunter Biden and chase debunked conspiracy theories.

The thing is, you don’t have to be even kinda sorta smart not to fall for a conspiracy theory created by a Russian troll farm. Hell, you can even be slightly stupid and not fall for it. The thing with Republicans is, they don’t want to work with facts, logic, or reason anymore. You have to admit, with the way they’re smearing veterans, women, immigrants, diplomats, and anyone who’s served their nation, it goes well with their scorched-earth campaign.

Dr. Fiona Hill isn’t a new hero to the left. She’s an American hero.

Notes: I don’t have time for a highly-researched blog today as I’m running late. I had to jump on a train this morning and finish my cartoon in a Washington hotel. Then, I gotta go back to work for CNN. And my hotel room won’t even be ready until 4:00 PM.

I’m in Washington to speak or do a seminar at a journalism conference. Honestly, I’m not entirely sure what I’m doing here. Between the book, daily deadlines, CNN deadlines, moving, Amanda, and some light surgery this week, I didn’t pay that much attention. But I’m here. I know I’m doing something tonight and in the morning. I’m pretty interested to find out what I’m doing.

Support the cartoonist.

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.

New Book: Tales From The Trumpster Fire

Watch me draw.

A Trumpian Supper

cjones11242019

Yesterday, Gordon Sondland, Ambassador to the European Union, testified that he followed Donald Trump’s orders to pressure Ukraine to announce an investigation into Joe and Hunter Biden and that other top officials knew.

There is no argument that Donald Trump wanted Ukraine to investigate the Bidens and promote the debunked conspiracy theory that it was that nation and not Russia that meddled in the 2016 presidential election. Trump’s request is in the so-called transcript of his call with Ukraine and he’s made public statements wanting China to investigate the Bidens. It’s also a fact that asking a foreign nation to help your political campaign is illegal, even before you get to a “quid pro quo,” bribery or extortion.

Trump’s supporters argue that he’s concerned about corruption in Ukraine and he was concerned about sending tax dollars to a corrupt nation. If he’s concerned about corruption in Ukraine, then why did he ask Ukraine to investigate his political opponent? Wouldn’t Ukraine be too corrupt for that? As for the money, he approved it. It was approved by a bipartisan vote in Congress and signed by Donald Trump. If he was concerned about Ukraine being too corrupt to receive American money, then why did he approve it? The fact is, he was withholding it as bribery. He never asked Ukraine about corruption. He only asked about the Bidens. As it was revealed yesterday, Ukraine knew they hadn’t received the money.

Sondland testified that he followed the directions of Rudy Giuliani. Republicans will now try to throw Giuliani under the bus. Unfortunately, Giuliani has been all over television stating how he was in Ukraine working for Donald Trump. Unfortunately, the so-called transcript has Trump asking Ukraine’s president to talk to Rudy Giuliani. The evidence is there that Trump sent Giuliani to run a “drug deal” in Ukraine.

Ambassador Sondland said Trump doesn’t care about Ukraine, and that he only cares about the “big stuff” in that nation. Not big stuff like war with Russia, but big stuff like investigating Joe Biden. Yesterday, Sondland said others were “in the loop.” He was talking about White House Chief-of-Staff Mick Mulvaney (who’s admitted there was a quid pro quo), Secretary of State Mike Pompeo )who’s too much of a coward to defend his staff from Donald Trump), Energy Secretary Rick Perry, and Vice-President Mike Pence.

Republicans like Jim Jordan argue that Ukraine got their money so there isn’t a crime. If you rob a bank then return the money, there is still a crime. The Trump administration gave Ukraine the money only AFTER Congress started looking into the whistleblower complaint. Ukraine also wanted an Oval Office meeting for Zelensky. He still hasn’t received that.

Trump has asked a foreign nation to assist his campaign. He used taxpayer money to extort Ukraine. He’s obstructed justice by not allowing his people, like Mulvaney, Perry, Pence, Pompeo, and John Bolton to testify. He’s intimidated and harassed witnesses, even while they’re testifying. Republicans don’t believe Trump’s offenses amount to being worthy of impeachment, yet they impeached Bill Clinton over a blowjob.

If election meddling, bribery, extortion, obstruction, and witness tampering aren’t impeachable offenses, then what is?

Support the cartoonist.

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.

New Book: Tales From The Trumpster Fire

Watch me draw.

Zelensky Loves It

cjones11222019

Donald Trump made an unannounced, surprise, mysterious visit to the hospital over the weekend. The White House is in denial mode that there was an emergency for the 73-year-old obese manbaby, and his physician issued a statement saying, “regular, primary preventative care.”

Presidents get physicals once a year so why all the speculation? Because this was unannounced, his last physical was in February, Trump isn’t a picture of health, and he and this White House lie.

Stephanie Grisham, the White House Press Secretary, was indignant as she attacked the press for speculating on the visit and described an incredibly fit president full of energy. I mean, what’s wrong with us that after over 13,000 lies, that we don’t believe this one? Who wouldn’t believe their explanation that Trump is taking his physical in stages?

Personally, I’m kinda surprised part of their defense isn’t that President Volodymyr Zelensky loves that ass.

While it hasn’t been reported if Trump underwent a colonoscopy during his last visit, there are plenty of sycophants who have crawled up that ass.

David Holmes, the political counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, testified before Congress in a closed hearing that he overhead Donald Trump speaking to European Union Ambassador Gordon Sondland over an unsecured cell phone. Holmes testified that he could hear Trump ask Sondland if Zelensky was going to investigate his political enemies. Sondland replied he would do anything Trump asks him to do and that “he loves your ass.”

After the call, conducted from a popular restaurant in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sondland told Holmes that Trump didn’t “give a shit” about Ukraine and only cared about the “big stuff” going on in Ukraine. No, not “big stuff” like the war with Russia, but “big stuff” like investigating Joe Biden.

Trump and the people who love his ass lie about everything, big and small, from a routine physical to bribing a foreign president. The more testimony that comes out about his dealings with Ukraine, the more his ass is exposed. The only thing that will save his presidency are the Republicans in Congress who love his ass.

The best thing for this nation will be Trump’s ass getting impeached. And take the rest of him with it.

Support the cartoonist.

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.

New Book: Tales From The Trumpster Fire

Watch me draw.