Donald Trump Inauguration Cartoons Are Too Real

Inauguration days are almost always festive, celebratory occasions. Crowds lining the streets of Washington, D.C. for a glimpse of the incoming president are usually excited, maybe even a bit raucous. After all, this is America, and every four years in January, the seat of our highest office gets passed peacefully from one outgoing POTUS to his (someday her) successor. Of course, not everyone is happy on Inauguration Day. So to vent that disappointment, frustration, and apprehension, letdown voters will turn to a variety of outlets. One of those escapes is humor in the form of that old standby of news-lite: the political cartoon. In this particular case, cartoons imagining a very Trumpian Inauguration Day.

Of course, no one knows exactly what Jan. 20 will look like, but since Trump has reportedly been in talks with reality TV producer Mark Burnett, it's not absurd to presume this might be a more... dramatic inauguration than Americans have come to expect. (There are rumors of a helicopter ride, perhaps reminiscent of Trump's grand entrance to the Iowa State Fair circa 2015.) For the cartoonists featured below, the president-elect has already provided them plenty of fun material to work with in creating humorous visuals that pack a loaded punch.

A New Inauguration Platform

This cartoon by Steve Sack of the Star Tribune plays on Trump's rather chummy attitude toward Russia in general and Vladimir Putin in particular. His inauguration stage looks straight out of Moscow.

Enough Said

Paul Noth at The New Yorker imagined what Trump might say if he started veering away from the pre-scripted lines and opted rather for his swearing-in to be done purely in Trump-speak.

A Great Performance By The... Rockets?

Since Trump has insinuated that he's totally cool with a brand-new nuclear arms race, it's kind of amazing that Matt Davies at Newsday appears to be the only cartoonist to riff on that angle. Here, he replaces the famed Rockettes dance troupe, slated to perform on Inauguration Day, with Trump's military ambitions.

A Different Kind Of Speech

Cartoonist Henry Payne here imagines what it might sound like to hear Trump bring his "locker room talk" to the national stage. All I can say is oh please, please, no.

As Inauguration Day draws closer, look out for more cartoons written and drawn to try and take the edge off for the millions of Americans who voted another way. And definitely stay alert on Jan. 20 itself, since Trump does seem to love a spectacle. There's just no predicting how his official swearing-in will go down.