Comic Riffs

‘Doonesbury’ cartoonist
Garry Trudeau: ‘If
Trump wins, I’ll miss
civilization as we know
it.’
By Michael Cavna August 29

GARRY TRUDEAU has been drawing electoral commentary for nearly a half-century, as well as
rendering GOP nominee Donald Trump for the majority of those years. And for the “Doonesbury” creator,
the current presidential campaign stands out as distinct from any other.

“What I once regarded as harmless buffoonery is in fact dangerously symptomatic,” the left-leaning
Pulitzer winner says of Trump today. “Whatever else this election is about, it’s primarily a referendum on
mental health.”

Ahead of Election Day, Trudeau — who was satirically imagining a Trump presidency as far back as 1987
— has collected his many jabs and japes at the candidate in the new collection “Yuge!: 30 Years of
Doonesbury on Trump” (Andrews McMeel).

And ahead of Trudeau’s appearance Monday afternoon at Politics & Prose bookstore in Northwest
Washington, The Post’s Comic Riffs caught up with the cartoonist to talk satire — both electoral and
general — in 2016:

MICHAEL CAVNA: For many cartoonists, Trump is only a recent satiric bonanza, but you’ve been

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mining his gray-golden fleece for several decades. Are you still finding new facets of him to skewer, or is
it more like listening to the same solid-gold hits of a reunited classic-rock act? What’s your approach in
2016?

GARRY TRUDEAU: No, no new facets — my 30-year survey of Trump in the field makes it pretty clear
that nothing’s changed. Since Trump’s need for attention is insatiable, my “approach” has simply been to
not miss a news cycle. What has deepened is my understanding of what’s going on. What I once regarded
as harmless buffoonery is in fact dangerously symptomatic. Whatever else this election is about, it’s
primarily a referendum on mental health.

MC: Hillary Clinton’s been on your radar for decades, too. What is most interesting to you about her
now, for the professional perspective of an editorial archer?

GT: Nothing. When you’re obsessed with Trump, which, let’s face it, all of us are, going after Hillary feels
like homework. She’s a well-intentioned technocrat, flawed to be sure, and in the interest of fairness, most
of the talking heads point out her weaknesses. But they always seize the first opportunity to pivot back to
Trump. Except for sex and coffee, he’s all anyone’s thinking about.

MC: What, for you, has been the single most fruitful thing or theme about 2016, from a cartooning
aspect?

GT: I know you’re looking for something more substantive here, but I’m afraid it’s the hair. Whenever I
sit down to make sense of it, it never fails to engage. It’s an unknowable triumph of weaving, laquering
and taxidermy, and I’ll never quite get it right. The coif is my Moby Dick.

MC: You’ve talked about creating comics and streaming TV series in a world of seemingly infinite more
platforms — and diversions — than when Doonesbury launched in 1970. On this current landscape,
what most fascinates you about the modes of creating and delivering satire in 2016?

GT: I have to admit I love some of the satire in rapid-response tweets. Not enough to actually hunt for it,
but the best stuff goes viral. Whenever Trump says something particularly inane, 10 minutes later it’s
raining ripostes on Twitter.

[Donald Trump will win in a landslide. *The mind behind ‘Dilbert’ explains why.]

MC: If one of your children suddenly wanted to be a satirist tomorrow, where might you start them?

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GT: Animation or live-action TV. Maybe graphic novels. I don’t encourage anyone to go into editorial or
strip cartooning anymore, because the number of people who can make a living at it just keeps
approaching the vanishing point. It saddens me, of course, but mine is hardly the only profession that’s
been upended by the digital onslaught.

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MC: With Election Day near, a campaign will — presumably — come to an end that has been like none
other we’ve seen before. What will you most, and least, miss about Road to the White House 2015-16?

GB: If Clinton wins, I’ll miss the daily outrage. If Trump wins, I’ll miss civilization as we know it. What
will I miss least? With all due respect to Nate Silver, I’d rather not be checking FiveThirtyEight every half
hour for the rest of my life.

Read more:

‘The Simpsons’ predicted a Trump presidency 16 years ago. The writer explains why.

Here is the true secret to mocking newly minted nominee Donald Trump

Writer/artist/visual storyteller Michael Cavna is creator of the "Comic Riffs" column and
graphic-novel reviewer for The Post's Book World. He relishes sharp-eyed satire in most any
form. ! Follow @comicriffs

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