Today’s editorial cartoon in the Gannett owned Tallahassee Democrat shows a police officer gassing a peaceful protestor – which appears to be Jesus – as President Trump looks on.
The cartoon was created by Andy Marlette who is listed as a cartoonist and columnist for the Pensacola News Journal, another Gannett owned newspaper.
TR has asked William Hatfield, the editor of the Tallahassee Democrat, if the cartoon was approved by officials in Tallahassee. We have yet to receive a response.
Political cartoons integrate caricatures of public figures with hyperbole and satire to express an opinion and question authority and draw attention to corruption, political violence and other social ills.
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Labeled as opinion, political cartoons often times ignore or do not address certain facts in favor of making a broader point that may be out of context.
The cartoon by Marlette is addressing the narrative that the Trump administration ordered the use of tear gas on peaceful protestors to create a photo opportunity after President Trump held a press conference addressing the protests and riots taking place across the country.
Trump’s Monday press conference came hours after Sunday’s protests became violent in D.C. The Washington Post described the evening’s protests as a “night of destruction in D.C.”
A statement from the United States Park Police (USPP) is at odds with the narrative of Marlette’s cartoon and can be read in its entirety here. A part of the statement is included below.
On Monday, June 1, the USPP worked with the United States Secret Service to have temporary fencing installed inside Lafayette Park. At approximately 6:33 pm, violent protestors on H Street NW began throwing projectiles including bricks, frozen water bottles and caustic liquids. The protestors also climbed onto a historic building at the north end of Lafayette Park that was destroyed by arson days prior. Intelligence had revealed calls for violence against the police, and officers found caches of glass bottles, baseball bats and metal poles hidden along the street.
However, parts of the USPP statement have been questioned by other reports. From one report:
“According to multiple reporters who were on the ground documenting the events, the protests were entirely peaceful. “We didn’t see projectiles thrown at police. Certainly no bricks or ‘caustic liquids,’” Alexander Marquardt, a CNN reporter who was at Lafayette Square that evening, tweeted on Tuesday.”
Tallahassee Democrat Political Cartoon Shows Police Officer Gassing Jesus added by Steve Stewart on
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Lets tear down the Tallahassee Democrat!!
This is just a terrible thing to post and you should be ashamed that you even drew this.
I think this is an excellent time to defund TPD. Let’s get rid of the Union once and for all. Let the Sheriff’s office patrol the entire county. We can all chant and protest while, at the same time, yell and scream that we should defund TPD. Think about it, we could have one law enforcement agency under the command of an elected Sheriff? Boom! Functional Consolidation at last and tax relief to all.
I wonder if your comment would be the same if we had a white Sheriff.
The radicals from the north east came down south and bought out all of our local newspapers and immediately began their leftest, marxist, radical propaganda. They hate America. They hate conservatives. They hate Christians. They will never stop until America is destroyed. FSU, FAMU, and TCC are packed with instructors who are of the same ilk. Their sole purpose in life is not to educate but preach their hate. Many of our public high school, middle school, and even grammar school educators are teaching the destruction of America. They KNOW that if they gave all sides and equal voice that their side would loose in a landslide.
Spot on, Willie.
The GateHouse/Gannett merger last year means one company controls 260 daily and 300 weekly newspapers in the country.
A terrible thing.
The good news is, circulation numbers keep falling and falling, with no turnaround in sight.
Willie you are spot on! That is exactly what happened!
Enough said:
https://www.bostonherald.com/2020/06/03/fall-river-man-beat-up-trump-supporter-82-over-political-sign-cops-say/
Yeah, we need and appreciate our cops!
bunch of baby fascists in these comments
Looks right to me!
I see a lot of people didn’t seem to notice that no one was looting or rioting in the park. This is not how you deescalate a situation, if it needed to be, and it didn’t. This particular protest was ENTIRELY peaceful until the police and MPs starting rushing them. You do not use the military on your own citizens, unless you are a fascist. This is America and we are allowed to PEACEFULLY assemble and voice or concerns, which is exactly what was happening in Lafayette. You do not beat the the snot out of peaceful demonstrators and tear gas them just so you can get a photo op. These tactics might’ve been acceptable if they were used on rioters and looters. They were not. Instead, they were deliberately used in a situation that did not warrant their deployment as part of a deliberate strategy on the part of the administration to further polarize the population ahead of the election. This was not done to secure life or safety or property. It was done to send a message that Trump tolerates no dissent and that he will not hesitate to fight opposing ideas with incredibly disproportionate physical force. This was a calculated display to his base. It was a disgusting and reprehensible abuse of our MPs and policemen. And if you are ready to see your fellow citizens physically assaulted, tear gassed, detained, arrested, etc. because you don’t like the politics they are calmly discussing, you’re no American but you most definitely are a coward. There was a time when Trump was a useful bludgeon against our corrupt elite, but that is long gone. He now embodies the most disgusting traits of our degenerate elites. But hey, let’s get upset about the accuracy of a political cartoon, because that’s way worse! Lol
Here’s the one he did on ICE agents arresting Jesus the “immigrant:”:
https://tallahasseereports.com/2019/04/27/tallahassee-democrat-injects-jesus-into-illegal-immigration-debate/
I looked to see if he had any cartoons of Muhammed, couldn’t find one.
Wonder why?
Doug had a great one:
“What Would Muhammed Drive?” Look it up.
A parody of “WWJD.”
That cartoon can’t be accurate. If you know anything about the Bible you know Jesus was crucified because of the truths he told. We all know the left hates truth and free speech.
Sorry, but I’ve forgotten all about George Floyd… what with all the rioting, looting, arson, destruction, and murder being done in his honor.
My empathy and sympathy now rests with the families of Patrick Underwood and David Dorn. Both black gentlemen murdered (in Floyd’s honor) by black Democrat-financed anarchists.
The completely avoidable and tragic deaths of good men, and their blood is on the hands of Democrats and their Media PACs.
RIP good sirs, and thank you for your service.
Counting the days too, Paul.
Andy Marlette is a poor man’s version of his uncle Doug Marlette, a Pulitzer Prize winner for his Jim & Tammy Faye ‘toons, who is spinning in his grave seeing this dreck.
This is the second contemptible ‘toon about Jesus Andy has penned; the first was written about on TR too.
Deplorable cartoon! Peaceful protests are acceptable, looting and burning and destroying businesses are not.
I delivered newspapers for the TD as a kid and into my teens in the ’60’s and ’70s. Had opportunity to venture into the newsroom, the business and circulation departments, and saw the presses run in the wee hours of the morning. Pretty cool stuff to see as a kid, and I have nostalgic feelings about those memories. Yet, after years of seeing the TD engage in garbage reporting, ignoring blatant local government corruption, and advancing a left-leaning agenda, I will not shed a tear when they finally fold the tent. All they had to do was maintain a shred of objectivity, and I might have felt different about it. Let the free market reign on them.
We will never have unity as a country as long as Baptists allow themselves to be called Southern Baptists. 11:00 a.m. on Sunday morning is the most segregated time of all…
John’s comment is disturbing and should be flagged for further review and concern.
Southern Baptists are not Southern anymore, nor or they Baptists. They no longer believe in the validity of sacred scripture, and they support the Marxist BLM!
Sadly you are all wrong.
If you take a good look at cartoonist Andy Marlette’s depiction of the man getting sprayed – its not Jesus.
Oh no Andy Marlette is making a disgraceful cartoon depiction of Islam’s Prophet Mohammad.
That’s not very smart Andy.
Trump is so stupid, so chronically unfamiliar with Christianity, he literally did not even know he was holding a bible upside down! Can anyone imagine how hilarious it would have been if someone had asked him to lead a small prayer for the division in our country while awkwardly holding his prop bible and prop general?
I remember the part of the Bible where Jesus recommended ‘total domination’, flashbangs, and tear gas. I’m pretty sure that was like at least 50% of his deal, right?! Also, the part where he makes fun of fat women or disabled people. Sounds like Jesus to me!
Remember the part of the Bible where Jesus talked at length about Muslim bans? Or building walls to keep people out? Those were some good bible passages! I’m also pretty sure that if Jesus had seen the white nationalists marching in Charlotte, he’d have agreed that there were some pretty good people in the crowd too!
I guess Trumps four deferrments from Vietnam for bone spurs could be seen as a pacifistic, in a sense, so that’s kind of Jesu-esque.
We are talking about a guy who is on his third wife, whom he cheated on with a porn star while she was pregnant, our Philanderer in Chief, whose ‘locker room talk’, apparently, includes bragging about grabbing women by the genitals. Just like Jesus taught us!
Anyone who tells the outside world, or themselves, that they hold the teachings of Jesus Christ dear to their hearts, but continues to support Trump is a total, complete hypocrite and Jesus is ashamed of you.
DeepStateDooDoo:
You’re BUSTED.
https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-fact-check-trump-hitler-bible-photo/fact-check-image-of-hitler-holding-the-bible-is-photoshopped-idUSKBN23A2T6
Some pajama boy added a Bible to a Getty photo of Hitler.
And I think you meant Charlottesville, not Charlotte.
Sorry, meant “John.”
These comment threads have never been very user-friendly.
How do you know what Jesus looked like? Professional guesses from forensic experts, etc. have suggested a person of Jewish decent living in the time that Jesus purportedly did, have Jesus being much darker in skin color, his hair style and clothing would have been different, etc.
Come on Steve, you can do better…
Discuss the image going around showing the resemblance of photo of Trump with Bible versus Hitler with Bible. The Lord works in mysterious ways…
If the BLM protests in Tallahassee are going to be a daily occurrence, may I suggest they gather in locations that will actually be effective in stopping the murder of innocent black men and women. Every day in Tallahassee, white “doctors” in the abortion mills around town are murdering black babies (on average, 1,876 black babies are aborted each day in the US [1]). If the protestors blocked the streets around these locations, rather than the streets of Midtown, they could save precious black lives that indeed do matter.
[1] http://www.blackgenocide.org
#OnlyCertainBlackLivesMatter
Tony the tyrant
If the police officer is wrong, the THE OFFICER is at fault.
The government shall not prevent freedom of speech.
If a Police Officer tells you to leave the area and you refuse, YOU are no longer a peaceful protestor.