The above cartoon is by Chappatte and was published in Le Temps today. The inscription on the canon reads, Commercial War. Trump is saying, “Take that, Chinese.” To which the glum official points out, “There? That’s Canada.”
The whole farcical situation of the Trump presidency underlines the fact that not everybody, no matter how bloated their ego or how bent on destruction their followers, is suited to head a country. The very complexity of the task in the modern world requires both knowledge and mental capacities. In addition, grasping complex situations requires mastering a sufficient level of language to be able to understand and reflect on such issues. Judging from his performance, Trump clearly has neither the knowledge nor the competences, not to mention the mastery of language, to be able to carry out the task of president.
The farce veers to tragedy if not catastrophe when the President tries to arm teachers in schools, when he favours oil and coal over renewable sources of energy, when he denies the existence climate change and decries science, when he blames immigrants for the American woes, when he wants to use nuclear-armed missiles instead of his pea-shooter.