This cartoon by Tom Toles was published in 2020 in the Washington Post. It is a comical
commentary on the president of the Unites States’ – Donald Trump – management of the
pandemic. It focuses on his conduct with respect to the Centre for Disease Control. Themes
such as corruption and misadministration emerge as we engage with this text. This essay
aims to explore the cartoonist’s use of style and structure to enhance the meaning of his
message through the use of representation, layout and text.
Toles cartoon is a single panel, with more weightage given to the image than any text
present. His work , published in the Washington Post, is primarily targeted to anyone
interested in the current affairs, in conjunction with the recent pandemic. The cartoon
depicts this situation through a caricature of Trump himself, in the CDC, with a humorous
twist on their measures to contain the virus. The CDC itself is represented by a person,
gagged in a chair behind Trump. It was released shortly after tensions between Trump and
the CDC began to flare, making this comic representation all the more necessary, to inform
the public as to the status of the situation while parallelly humanising it and making a grave
situation slightly comedic.
The use of caricature as mentioned before is a key element in creating a tone of mockery
and humour in this piece. Trump being a well-known figure, is easily recognized by most
familiar with the situation, due to his iconic representation in caricaturing. Given his role
being in centre stage in the conflict, he is in the foreground. His facial features are given
majority of the graphic weight, as they are highly contrasted with the colours around them.
His nose and mouth have been distorted, adding to the comedic effect of his actions. His
eyes are noticeably missing, a possible comment on him turning a blind eye to the situation.
Toles makes a skilfully subtle mockery of Trump’s conduct with his action in this cartoon.
The figure is wiping his hands vigorously. The hand shown is ridiculously small, adding to the
distortion of the body, and possible insinuation of Trump’s lack of control. It also adds to the
slapstick humour, of Trump furiously wiping his tiny hand with “Finger-print wipes.” This out
of place object reflects Trump washing his hands of the situation. Even though there is
movement, the lack of emanata in the piece make is seem like a snapshot of the situation, a
moment in standstill. While the mockery is laced with humour, the artist’s intent to bring to
light Trumps crude management is clear.
Toles makes subtle but vital use of the layout. As mentioned, Trump as a main player in the
situation is in the foreground. The midground is noticeably empty while the background is
filled with a figure who represents the CDC, and their measure to curb the spread of the
virus littered around him. This deliberate position of the elements of text is to reflect the
current situation in the United States. The CDC, and their plans for actions, have been
subdued and remain overshadowed by Trump. Even though he is washing his hands off the
situation, he remains in the foreground, or the focus of the event. The camera angle seems
to be angled from above, to show the situation in its entirety. To emphasize the dimensions
of the image, Toles has made the caricature of Trump considerably larger than the gagged
figure. This adds to the clear ideas of distance and depth-perception of the viewer.
Toles also uses texture, shadows and colours to add to this effect. The mood created is
slightly foreboding, with and ominous atmosphere. This is made apparent by the frame of
shadows in the single panel. Noticeably, the largest mass of these shadows lie above Trump,
insinuating his role in these circumstances. The cross-hatching also add the idea of
dimension; they create the effect of foreground and background, yet again emphasizing the
CDC as whole has been silenced and disregarded. The true background of the image is lilac
purple, to add graphic weight and contrast and bring to focus the more important elements.
The curtain in the image is turquoise, similar to curtains seen in a hospital. It symbolises the
measures suggested by the CDC to slow the spread and the idea of healthcare in the
country. Both the figure that symbolises the CDC and Trump wear blue suits. Trump’s suit is
darker, showing he is frontstage, literally and figuratively , in the situation. A speech bubble
above Trump is a similar colour to his hair, reinforcing the connection between it and him.
This yellow, is another contrast to the purple background, making it eye-catching and
apparent.
Toles uses irony to create the sense of mockery of the conflict between Trump and the CDC.
While masks are recommended to prevent spread of the virus in public, masks here have
been used to gag the ‘CDC’ themselves, pulled over their eyes and mouth. The figure is also
tied down to a chair, an ironic representation of staying at home as to not spread the virus,
or lockdown. Social distancing has also been ironically mimicked, where the distance
between the figure and Trump is marked out as a safety measure. In reality this distance
signifies the differences in ideas of the two entities and the difficulty they lend to the
situation.
The text shown is present mainly as a complement or explanation of the artists intentions. A
yellow speech bubble above Trump reads, “Centre for a Diseased Control of the Centres for
Disease Control.” This play on words, suggest Trumps overshadowing and disregard for the
CDC’s measure is, “diseased.” This is an ironic statement, given the pandemic, where the
country faces an actual disease. However, it also summarises in a simple phrase the
situation. The very obvious arrow under it points to Trump, making it clear he is the
recipient of the title. Another placard on the desk in front of him shows an abbreviation of
this title: “CDCCDC.” It is long, and repetitive, possibly reflecting the degree of unnecessary
actions on Trump’s part in ignoring the CDC’s ideas. Other text (give textual evidence of that
as well) is scattered around the image, labelling specific elements that are symbols of the
CDC attempts of legalisation of what? to decrease propagation of the virus. They are
handwritten, adding to the simple comedic effect of the irony, and overall tone of mockery.
In conclusion, Toles uses style and structure to create a simple, memorable snapshot of a
comedic portrayal of the image. His use of colour, layout, texture and text come together
organically to inform readers of the situation, while communicating his criticism of the
situation. He creates a skilled balance between comedic mockery and humour, and mature
social commentary. This nuanced take shines light on the impunity of the government and
its tendency to absolve itself of all responsibility during critical moments.