Donald Trump: our hyperactive president
Yesterday, I finished things up by saying I really hoped I could find something to draw about other than Donald Trump.
Well, you can see how that went.
I drew the cartoon you’re looking at as more and more people in the White House tested positive for the coronavirus, which seems like a pretty big deal for an administration that’s been denying there’s a problem.
Turns out trying to ignore Donald Trump is like trying to ignore a hyperactive seven-year-old who just consumed two Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, a Snickers, a family-sized bag of M&Ms and a 24-ounce Mountain Dew, happens to own a bullhorn and is in the backseat of your car commenting on whatever catches his attention and pretty much everything catches his attention.
You might tell yourself to ignore the noise, but in reality it’s damn hard to do.
What follows is an incomplete list of the Donald Trump-related news made in the last 24 hours.
Mitch McConnell and the coronavirus
Back home in Kentucky, Mitch McConnell said this about the West Wing outbreak:
"I actually haven't been to the White House since August 6, because my impression was their approach to how to handle this was different than mine and what I insisted that we do in the Senate, which is to wear a mask and practice social distancing."
So when it comes to his own health, Mitch McConnell — not exactly a left-wing radical — doesn’t trust Donald Trump.
The coronavirus is fake and I want the cure
According to some doctors and nurses who have to deal with COVID-19 patients, their job is made harder by the people who think the pandemic is fake and refuse to wear masks or follow social distancing guidelines.
Also, some of those same people want hydroxychloroquine.
So Trump has managed to convince some people coronavirus is fake and there’s a cure for the thing that doesn’t exist.
Drugs? You don’t need no stinking drugs
Trump claimed that the experimental treatments he received at Walter Reed were responsible for making him feel better and he’d make sure every American had access to them, but then had this to say not all that much later:
"What happens is, you get better ... you know, you don't really need drugs."
I feel…(hack, cough)…great
Trump talked to Sean Hannity about the rally he might do on Saturday night and while explaining how great he felt, coughed twice.
No wonder Mitch McConnell is avoiding the White House.
It wasn’t law enforcement or the military; it was those Gold Star families
When news first got out about Trump being sick, he said this:
“It’s very, very hard when you’re with people from the military, or from law enforcement, and they come over to you, and they want to hug you and they want to kiss you because we really have done a good job for them. And you get close, and things happen.”
But yesterday, said this:
"I got a lot of things doing. And again, when I want to say hello to Gold Star families, what I -- I'm not going to be in a basement saying, 'Hey I can't see you as you traveled in from California and all the different places.' It's OK."
So now the guy who loves America is done blaming law enforcement officers and people in the military and has started blaming families who lost someone in combat.
What’s the point in having power if you don’t misuse it?
Not all of yesterday’s Trump-related news concerned the coronavirus.
Trump also went after Attorney General William Barr for not doing more to prosecute his political enemies. Trump wants Obama-era officials arrested for illegally spying on his campaign even though he doesn’t have any evidence to back him up. Apparently, Trump also wouldn’t mind seeing Joe Biden arrested.
The debate about the debates
In World Record time, Trump’s took several positions on the next presidential debate: not showing up at all, delaying the debates two weeks and then saying the debate could go on as planned.
Give him another 24 hours and Trump may offer to hold a Sudden Death, Scissor, Paper, Rock tournament, which would actually be more informative than the last debate.
After their first debate was a chocolate-covered mess, I had my own ideas on how their next meeting should be handled:
Our hyperactive president
OK, so Trump has clearly been a very busy boy for the last 24 hours.
The Bolsheviks at CNN claim people are starting to wonder if Donald Trump’s illness and the treatment he’s receiving are causing him to be erratic; an analysis you know is politically motivated because Trump’s always been erratic.
Nevertheless, here’s yet another example of the kind of stuff CNN is talking about.
After Trump announced he wouldn’t negotiate a coronavirus economic rescue package until after the election, I drew this:
And then before the cartoon ink was dry, Trump reversed course.
I think I speak for cartoonists everywhere when I say it would be helpful if politicians could stick to one poorly-thought-out position long enough to get our cartoons in the paper.
Considering the last 24 hours, here’s a definition you might find useful:
“Hyperactive behavior usually refers to constant activity, being easily distracted, impulsiveness, inability to concentrate, aggressiveness, and similar behaviors. Typical behaviors may include: Fidgeting or constant moving. Wandering.”
Sound familiar?
I don’t know if it’s the drugs he’s taking or this is just Trump’s natural personality unchained, but I don’t think “hyperactive” is all that much of an exaggeration. I’d like to think I won’t draw about Trump again today, but the way he’s going lately I can’t make any promises.