A sailing vessel named America appears on rough waters beneath stormy skies. The American flag flies from the mast with the number 250 added in red. Waves crash against the hull while lightning streaks through purple clouds on the right side of the scene.
Arend van Dam's cartoon shows a gray battleship marked USA, complete with guns and missiles, driven by a figure in a suit at the wheel, as it goes over a waterfall between rocky cliffs under a blue sky. The image captures the essence of strategy failure in the Strait of Hormuz, tying into themes of Iran, ayatollahs, war, battleship mishaps, Middle East conflicts, oil, gas, energy, and economy. Such visuals often poke at misguided military moves, where the ship's plunge represents a dramatic downfall in strategic planning. The dry humor lies in the absurdity of a warship treating a strait like a river rapid, underscoring potential economic fallout from regional tensions. Cartoons like this thrive on clear, exaggerated metaphors that resonate with readers familiar with global news.
Dave Whamond's cartoon shows a wooden pirate ship tilting over waves, with a figure resembling Trump in a skull cap saying 'Nothing against the women but these boys are doing a heckuva job!' Women labeled Leavitt and Tulsi stand on a plank, another labeled Bondi splashes in water wearing a cowboy hat. A suited man steers, a shirtless man holds a raccoon, tying into tags like AG Pam Bondi ousted, Trump loyalist, walking the plank, Kristi Noem, Tulsi Gabbard, dead women walking, Kash Patel, incompetence, Trumps kooky cabinet, and ship metaphor for political upheaval.
The cartoon reimagines the Mayflower voyage with an ICE-labeled iceberg in its path. Agents stand ready on the ice as the ship labeled Mayflower approaches under full sail. The top text poses a hypothetical about applying current enforcement standards to 1620 arrivals. Publication falls near Thanksgiving 2025 during heightened focus on deportation operations and border policy.
A blue pickup truck labeled tariffs flies off a paved road marked courts in this September 2025 cartoon. The vehicle is inverted with wheels up and a red strap trailing. Dust and debris scatter as the truck leaves the surface. The image responds to a recent court ruling on tariffs affecting small businesses and the broader economy.
A sailing ship bearing an Earth flag approaches a massive wall labeled TARIFF amid stormy seas. Dark clouds overhead form the face of Donald Trump. Lightning bolts strike the wall as the vessel navigates turbulent waters on August 4 2025.
A European-flagged cargo ship laden with export containers sails directly toward a 15 percent iceberg flying the American flag. Bold text above the scene reads TARIFFS RIGHT AHEAD. The image captures rising trade tensions between the European Union and the United States over new tariff measures scheduled for late July 2025.
The cartoon shows a graduate in cap and gown reaching for a mortarboard marked college cost that floats away. Subsequent panels depict the same figure in graduation attire looking upward with diminishing prospects. The sequence ends with a graduate extending a hand in a resigned gesture. The work addresses the persistent challenge of rising tuition and resulting student debt for degree recipients around spring 2022.
