A light unto the world
Unofficial presidential “artist” John McNaughton has perpetrated another “painting” illustrating how brave and heroic and self-sacrificing Trump and his gang are.
My new painting – “Crossing the Swamp”
“Never give up. Never lower your light.
Never stop till the swamp is dry.” – Jon McNaughton
For a list of figures in the boat: https://t.co/ZIPdkBgcFU pic.twitter.com/CTPndvK5LM— Jon McNaughton Art (@McNaughtonArt) July 31, 2018
Isn’t that a beautiful thing now? I especially love the naïve faith that Donald and Ivanka and Melania and Sarah would get into those ugly shapeless clothes and into a crowded little boat and poke the alligators with sticks.
Commentary from BloomJoy Collective:
McNaughton explained his painting in a video:
Over 240 years ago George Washington crossed Valley Forge to bring an astonishing victory to the Continental Army. This led to what many thought was impossible – to defeat a despot King and his formidable army.
Today, Trump endeavors to cross the “swamp” of Washington DC as he carries the light of truth, hope, and prosperity. The murky water of the deep state is laced with dangerous vermin, perfectly willing to destroy American prosperity for their personal ideologies and financial gain. The establishment Democrats, Never-Trumper-Republicans, Deep State, and Fake News Media will do all they can to stop the majority of the American people from succeeding.
As an artist, I paint what I feel needs to be said about the current state of our country. I hope Trump is remembered as the President that restored America’s greatness. I want to be on that boat for freedom!
I would also like Jon McNaughton to be on a boat brimming with assholes in the middle of a swamp, but that’s not up to me. Moving on.
First of all, Washington didn’t “cross” Valley Forge, he crossed the Delaware River on his way to Valley Forge. These guys are all “we love the Founders” but can’t even name any of their greatest hits!
It’s only swampy elitist intellectuals who know the difference between the Delaware and Valley Forge! Real Americans don’t care about the difference between a town and a river, and neither should you.
Secondly, notice how “the swamp” has morphed from big business lobbyists to “establishment Democrats, Never-Trumper-Republicans, Deep State, and Fake News Media.” Some people insist that’s always what Trump meant by “the swamp,” but it’s definitely not what he said. In his speech where he debuted his “drain the swamp” line, then-candidate Trump listed a raft of measures designed to curtail the power of lobbyists. Of course, once he was in power, he actually weakened ethics rules and has presided over one of the most corrupt administrations in U.S. history.
Even as I write this, Trump’s billionaire Treasury Secretary (and former Goldman-Sachs exec) Steven Mnuchin is considering unprecedented unilateral action to bypass Congress and give the wealthiest 1% another tax cut.
And yet this “conservative” painter has to re-imagine them as down to earth boat people to screen himself and his fans from the obvious truth: these people are rich greedy mobsters who stamp on the faces of The People, and there is nothing “conservative” about them. They’re Al Capone, they’re Bernie Madoff, they’re the bankers who trashed the world economy and walked away laughing – yet this moron somehow convinces himself they’re salt of the earth patriots who love The People.
That’s not right, either. The crossing of the Delaware in the painting occurred on Christmas night, 1776, when the rebel troops crossed over to surprise the Hessian troops outside of Trenton. Valley Forge was where Washington and his troops spent the winter and spring of 1777-78.
Even knowing the back story I find it hard to look at that painting and see it as anything but satire. I sincerely hope it has pride of place in the future Trump Presidential Library.
[Maybe someone can paint a picture of Trump with handcuffs and an orange jumpsuit, wearing that same pouty, arrogant expression, to hang next to it.]
“Today, Trump endeavors to cross the “swamp” of Washington DC as he carries the light of truth[HAHAHAH!], hope [I’m hoping he gets eaten by the alligators, but he’s likely too toxic for them], and prosperity [Trump’s prosperity only]. The murky water of the deep state is laced with dangerous vermin, perfectly willing to destroy American prosperity for their personal ideologies and financial gain [whereas it’s perfectly fine for Dear Leade rto defy, degrade or destroy the norms of governance and accountability on a whim and fill his pockets while he does so]. ”
Hack artist and hack aplogist. I suppose better artists than him have prostituted themselves to corruption and evil. How long before he goes for something like this:https://www.ushmm.org/propaganda/archive/painting-the-standard-bearer/
Hahaha and what even is “the light of truth, hope, and prosperity” anyway? That’s not a thing! “I bring you the light of truth, hope, and leveraged debt leading to corrupt millions from licensing deals.”
Anybody remember those leaves? You know, before Trump Tower? Damned if I can see it in this murk. What the hell happened to Washington, anyway? Think the Iranians did this? Never knew it would be this hard…
And so they all fall in the river on their way downtown to the local Wal-Mart, and are drowned?
@Gordon Willis,
Well, it has been raining quite a lot these last few months. Our garden is sort of starting to look like that.
Why is John Bolton taking a crap on Ivanka’s shoulder?
@Rob Hey! No kink shaming ;-)
I really don’t have words for this painting. Other than to say it might have been more accurate to paint this motley crew as the alligators.
Why is Melania hugging Pence and picking Trump’s pocket? Why is Huckerbee Sanders looking at that alligator like it’s a journalist who’s just asked a tricky question? Why is the idiot up front dangling a leg over alligator-infested water? Most of all, why, when several of the crew seem to have either a modern firearm, flashlight, or binoculars, are they in a boat with no motor, with Trump lighting the way with an 18thC candle lantern?
Is the artist really as sincere as his words suggest? If I didn’t know better I’d view the picture as subtle satire.
Claire, whatever works for them, honestly! I was just curious as to why :-)
I might add, isn’t it typical that a man gets to decide where the boat is going, but the only person actually paddling is a woman.
The string of IFIFY pictures people have posted is fairly comical.