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Today, the FBI arrested Cesar Sayoc, a Florida national suspected of sending bombs to a number of prominent critics of President Donald Trump, including Democratic politicians and former leaders. . Images of the site of arrest – an auto parts store, according to The Guardian – shows the Sayoc van under a tarpaulin. While a new helicopter was following the covered vehicle, the wind lifted the tarp, revealing windows filled with decals from Donald Trump and other Republican personalities.
Not long after, several Twitter users tweeted pics appearing to be closeups of the same van, taken before Sayoc's arrest. Most of the decals were the same ones that had been circulating in the right social media. The most recognizable of them: an elaborate portrait of Donald Trump riding a tank with golden carvings, holding what appears to be a Barrett M821A rifle, while 100 dollar bills float behind him.
This image has become popular in conservative online spaces, having circulated virally in places like Reddit's / The_Donald since its creator, Jason Heuser, uploaded it on DeviantArt in 2016. It is an independent illustrator who has worked in the video game industry for seven years. , according to the biography section of his website, but he is mostly a political satirist.
"The Trump thing, with as in most paintings I do, it's just … they're painted because they're relevant at the time," Heuser said. The edge in a telephone interview. At the time, many people were asking him to paint a picture of the candidate of the time because they thought it made sense with his artistic style, and Heuser painted it because he thought it would be fun. "I am apolitical," he says. "I look at politics as a giant reality show," where he says his art comes from. The Trump tank paint, he adds, was not supposed to be taken seriously.
"It was supposed to be a joke, and I think people take it seriously, which is a little scary for me," says Heuser. "In my mind, it's such an obvious joke." For Heuser, the goal is to make the difference between sincerity and mockery. "Every time I create a piece of art, I want people to think," Wait, is he … joking? " Is it real? I do not know. "
What Heuser has created here is a meme, of course, but it's more than that. For Trump supporters, who appreciate the president's smiling face stuck to all sorts of images and gifs – and shirts – Heuser's image represents the president's vision every day: an incredibly rich man, dragging the world on incredibly expensive tank bands. That's why, on r / The_Donald, you will see redditors refer to Trump as GEOTUS – or God Emperor of the United States. It's a morbid and morally empty joke.
American leaders have always been mythified; Throughout the country's history, supporters have made concerted efforts to whitewash political leaders – presidents in particular – and to minimize the worst actions they have taken in the course of running the country.
It goes back as far as George Washington, who is more proud of winning the independence war than to own human beings, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, whose leadership during the Second World War eclipses his creation of camps. Internment for Japanese living in America. . Today, George W. Bush, the architect of the disastrous wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that claimed the lives of millions of innocent people, is a cheerful and old painter. On social media, he is retweeted by the Liberals when he poses for photos with Michelle Obama.
As the picture of Heuser shows, the pulse is slightly different in Trump. His followers do not just want him to be the leader of the country, they want him to dominate the world. Heuser's image is prominently displayed on Sayoc's van; the rest was covered with slogans attesting to Trump's greatness, as well as images of Democratic figures with crosshairs on the face.
The funny thing about Heuser's image is that it's not just complimentary. After a closer look, Trump has as much fun as possible: Heuser left a joke "69" at the back of the tank; he added a Big Gulp logo on his side, next to some Trump steaks and Trump vodka, two of the president's failed deals; Stickers near the front include the Howard Stern show logo, a New World Order pro wrestling decal, and a sticker saying, "You do not know who I am?" On the license plate, the box says "Tax without tax". representation, "a sentence that can be read as a dike with Trump's allergy to the release of his tax returns.
Nowadays, political satire is more difficult than ever, because the pace of news is increasing – partly because of the ease of dissemination of information around the world – and the many ridiculous titles published in the White House , everyday. day. He often feels like An onion write the stories that happen every week.
The fact that it's all so ridiculous – the fact that Sayoc liked Iron Trump's image of the ocean on a gold-plated tank in a non-ironic way and placed it on his van, which other people on the road had to also see – obscures much of the active prejudice that the Trump administration makes to the inhabitants of this country and to its political and current environment. Heuser sees things a little differently: "Donald Trump does exactly what he did on L & # 39; s apprentice, all right now, on a larger scale as president. President Trump is seeking ratings and staying memorable in the process.
A meme is a social virus. Each one spreads across a population according to its particular viral dynamics – some ricochet through a population and then exhaust, while others come and go with the seasons. Each meme is likewise replicative without thinking. The purpose of a virus is to replicate itself, and the purpose of a meme is to convey a unity of meaning, a unit that can be easily remixed by anyone.
On forums and bulletin boards that address people with a conservative political orientation, memes also function as metonyms: Pepe the Frog, a character created by cartoonist Matt Furie, has been claimed by 4chan and has been transformed over the years into a replacement for "Trump Supporter". In these spaces, memes also indicate membership.
But memes do not hide children permanently separated from their parents at the mercy of a policy of racist deportation – in fact, they often suggest it. The title of God Emperor is a joke; the people that the president's policy has hurt are not. Trump on a tank implies that there are ideas and people that need to be crushed.
"People like reality TV, but I do not know if politics should be at the same level as reality TV," Heuser said. "I mean, as I said earlier, I see it like that, because that's how I laugh a bit, and I say," Okay, well, we did not blow ourselves up today. "
Correction, 6:35 pm EST: Jason Heuser is an illustrator. An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that he was also a game designer.
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