Political cartoon concept by Niharika Kandari and Taiya Viacrucis.
Art by Taiya Viacrucis.
Artist Statement: The 2024 presidential election campaign was quite eventful. Among many viral moments, one stood out from the Harris vs. Trump presidential debate. Trump made a controversial comment about Haitian immigrants in Ohio, stating, “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs, the people that came in. They’re eating the cats.” This wild and untrue quote quickly spread on social media, forcing me to ponder his reasoning behind such a specific claim. Through some research, I found that America has a long history of accusing immigrants of eating pets, reflecting an unwelcoming attitude towards immigrants in general. After several hours of research and drafting over a few days, I created my political cartoon on a notecard using Crayola colored pencils and a mechanical pencil. The final product took about forty minutes to complete. – Taiya Viacrucis
