Mike Luckovich hasn’t felt the need to pull any punches during his three decades of drawing political cartoons for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. But the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist admits even he’s a bit apprehensive as Donald Trump reoccupies the White House.
“It’s a little nerve-racking,” Luckovich said in a recent interview.
Trump’s reelection comes at a nervous time for the news industry, which is facing several challenges simultaneously. These include dwindling digital advertising rates, significant algorithm changes at Google and the growing impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on journalism. On top of that, there is a dwindling trust in institutions like news organizations — a shift Trump has exploited by railing against reporters and threatening to use the power of his incoming administration to stifle free speech.
“The media is tamed down a little bit. They like us much better now, I think,” Trump said during a speech last month at the New York Stock Exchange after being named TIME magazine’s Person of the Year. “If they don’t, then we’ll just have to take them on again, and we don’t want to do that.”
The impact has been felt especially hard by the nation’s editorial cartoonists, who continue to dwindle in number as news organizations — especially corporate-owned chains — pare back due to dwindling digital revenue.
Those cartoonists remaining on staff at news organizations — by my count, less than 30 nationwide — face two colliding forces. On the one hand, many organizations are afraid of strong opinions that will aggravate or drive away readers, leading to watered-down content. Daryl Cagle, owner of the cartoon syndicate Cagle Cartoons, posts a weekly list of their most popular cartoons, which are almost always dominated by softer topics like the weather and holidays. (Note: I have helped edit columns and contributed cartoons to PoliticalCartoons.com, which Cagle owns).
On the other hand, Trump has made it clear he will use the apparatus of government to go after his critics, making hard-hitting cartoonists and columnists easy targets. During the election, both The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times pulled editorials endorsing Kamala Harris for president in part out of fear of retribution by Trump. Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong has gone even further by developing a “bias meter” that will begin to appear next to news articles and opinion content, which many in the industry view as a sign of appeasement toward Trump and his outspoken followers.
Luckovich credited Opinion Editor Jamie Riley and the entire staff at the Journal-Constitution for backing him up and said he hasn’t felt any pressure to go easy on Trump or anyone else. But he’s also aware that he’s a liberal cartoonist in a red state that Trump won this time around. One of his cartoons could trigger an onslaught of angry emails, nasty phone calls or even subscription cancellations on any given day.
“I'm going to just keep doing my cartoons, putting out there what I think is right,” Luckovich said.
Luckovich spoke with Editor & Publisher about his approach to drawing Trump, the difficulty finding an online audience for local cartoons and the current state of the profession. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
E&P: How do you approach keeping your cartoons about Trump fresh?
Luckovich: People always tell me I’ve got it made with Trump in office, and I tell them it’s like being married to a nymphomaniac. It’s fun at first, but then it becomes a nightmare.
He’s a firehose of stupidity, lies and nonsense. It’s easier to cartoon people who are still somewhat competent and coherent because then you can raise the absurdity in your cartoon and reveal what’s going on. Whereas Trump is the guy at the end of the bar ranting nonsensically. So it’s hard to keep it fresh, especially after all these years.
E&P: George W. Bush kept shrinking in your cartoons during his administration. Have you done anything like that with Trump?
Luckovich: Well, [Trump’s] hands are minute, and I’ve almost gotten them to the point where I can’t make them smaller. That’s based on a moment in a debate in 2016 that had something to do with hand size and penis size.
I always drew him with his mouth open — kind of that pursed-lip look. Now, there are times I’ll actually draw his mouth closed. He’s got a large space between the bottom of his nose and the top of his lip and a scowl on his face, so that’s fun for me to draw.
He’s really a fun person to draw, just because he’s so odd-looking. And the way his makeup changes — he’s having an extra bad day because his makeup is extra orange and smudgy.
E&P: Has the response to your cartoons gotten more nasty since Trump has ascended to power?
Luckovich: It’s weird because things were pretty quiet during the election. I didn’t get a whole lot of emails from Trump supporters. But now that Trump has won, I’m getting a lot more from people telling me my woke agenda has failed, "Trump is in, so shut up.” I got one note today from someone who called me a "dumb liberal s*."
I have all these comebacks to that kind of nonsense, but I just don’t respond because who knows what these people are all about. It’s a cult, in my opinion, and I’m not going to upset cult members any more than I have to.
I remember years ago — probably 20 years ago, maybe longer — I went to the Pentagon and spent some time with [former Defense Secretary] Donald Rumsfeld. As we walked around, he would introduce me to various generals. More than one general said to me, “I don’t agree with your cartoons, but I will defend your right to make your points.” To me, that is what America was all about — and I hope it still is.
E&P: Are there any politicians you enjoy drawing?
[Trump’s FBI pick] Kash Patel looks insane. Believe me; I don’t want him in power in any way, shape or form. But if Republican senators somehow voted to confirm this guy, he would be very easy to draw. But he’s talking about going after the press, so maybe I’ll make him really good-looking, seven feet tall — like a Greek god.
Another person I enjoy drawing is JD Vance. He’s got those luxurious eyelashes; he must go through a single [tube] of Maybelline daily. There’s just a creepiness factor about him that makes it fun to draw him.
E&P: As news has gotten more national and more people see your cartoons on social media, what impact has that had on the local Georgia cartoons you draw?
Luckovich: I like doing local cartoons, but most people [across the country] don’t understand the issues occurring in Atlanta or Georgia. I sometimes post them on social media and explain that they’re local, but they get much less engagement.
E&P: What do you think about the state of political cartooning these days?
Luckovich: There are dwindling numbers, for sure. I think a lot of major newspapers are a little nervous about strong cartoons, and so it’s a bit of a downer.
I was talking to another cartoonist recently, and we were both down because we’ve been doing cartoons that show America what’s at stake, but America is not paying attention. So, it’s just a little depressing. … These last few years have really shown me how fragile democracy is.
I have a little granddaughter — a year and a half old — so I’m fired up to keep putting my stuff out there and trying to help America move forward in my own minor way.
Rob Tornoe is a cartoonist and columnist for Editor and Publisher, where he writes about trends in digital media. He is also a digital editor and writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Reach him at robtornoe@gmail.com.
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