An iconic image of defiant Donald Trump alters course of US election

Former president of the United States Donald Trump had an assassination* attempt made on his life at an election rally in Pennsylvania last weekend.

A bullet, fired by a gunman on a factory rooftop adjacent to the event where Mr Trump was on stage speaking, grazed his ear, sending the event into chaos.

Sadly and tragically, a man seated in a grandstand with his family was killed by a bullet from the would-be assassin* and two others were seriously wounded.

By now I imagine you have all seen pictures of a bleeding but defiant* Donald Trump being shielded by secret service agents as he was moved off the stage.

A consummate* performer, Trump had the awareness in a chaotic situation to stop his security detail before he left the stage so he could raise his fist and punch the air, shouting the word “fight” to his supporters at the rally, who roared their approval.

It was an iconic* moment, history in the making, and a moment that changed the course of history.

It would dominate world news, so I set about drawing a cartoon for the Herald Sun on this despicable* attempt on the former president’s life. I did not have a lot of time with a tight deadline, and I kept being drawn to the now famous photo of Trump, bleeding from his wounded ear, his fist raised, surrounded by agents.

The American flag fluttering from a crane in the background completed what must be the most perfect piece of photojournalistic composition*.

I started to draw the scene in the picture, which in its own way helped me to process this heinous* crime, unfortunately one America has seen too many times. Presidents Abraham Lincoln* in 1895, James Garfield* in 1881, William McKinley in 1901 and John F. Kennedy in 1963 were all killed by an assassin’s bullet. In 1981 President Reagan was felled by a gunman’s bullet but fortunately survived. America is a nation with more guns than people, so should we be really surprised?

When I had drawn the scene I thought about a possible caption. The inescapable conclusion was how lucky Mr Trump had been. He was millimetres from being fatally wounded. His action to raise his fist and rally his supporters despite his wounds not only signalled that Trump was okay but it turned the US presidential election overwhelmingly in his favour.

We had just witnessed a week of President Biden stumbling politically in the debate, mixing up the names of other leaders and having his cognitive* ability questioned.

The contrasting images of Trump shrugging off an assassination attempt against his frail Democrat* opponent was a decisive* moment in the campaign.

With this contrast in mind, I captioned two of the agents assisting Donald Trump, one informing him that he had been “shot” and the other informing him that he had “just won the next election.”

We will see in November this year, when the presidential election is held, if the cartoon was right.

POLL

GLOSSARY

• assassination: to kill someone famous or important, often for political reasons
• assassin: someone who murders another person in a planned attack
• defiant: showing resistance, choosing to challenge or fight back against something
• consummate: masterful, very skilled and accomplished
• iconic: important or impressive, seems to symbolise something bigger and more significant
• despicable: contemptible, reprehensible, hateful
• composition: how different elements in a picture or other artwork are combined or arranged
• heinous: atrocious, abominable, evil, extremely bad and shocking
• Abraham Lincoln: served as 16th President of the United States, issued the Emancipation Proclamation freeing Confederate slaves in 1863 and was assassinated April 14, 1865
• James Garfield: served as the 20th President of the United States and was assassinated just 200 days into his term and died on September 19, 1881
• William McKinley: served as the 25th President of the United States from 1897 until 1901 after leading America to victory in the war against Spain and raising tariffs to promote domestic industry
• John F. Kennedy: served as the 35th President of the United States on January 20, 1961, and died from his wounds after being shot as his motorcade drove through Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963
• cognitive: mental process involved in knowing, learning and understanding things
• Democrat: member or supporter of the Democratic Party in the US, the oldest political party in America, currently in power with the Republican Party, the other major party, in opposition
• decisive: conclusive, key, pivotal, final

EXTRA READING

Assassination attempt echoes America’s past

Trump’s golden sneakers sell out

Trump’s mugshot makes millions

QUICK QUIZ

1. Donald Trump sustained a minor wound to which part of his body?
2. What did Donald Trump do immediately following the attempt on his life?
3. Name the four former US presidents who were assassinated while in office?
4. What does Mark Knight regard as a perfect piece of photojournalistic composition?
5. What had President Biden done in the week prior to the assassination attempt?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. What happens next?
Imagine this cartoon is part of a story that is made up of three cartoons. The three cartoons tell a complete story, and Mark’s cartoon is the start of the story. Think about what the story could be and draw the next two cartoons that tell the story.

Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Visual Arts, Visual Communication Design, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
Being able to draw is only one of the skills needed to be a great cartoonist. Write a list of all of the other skills that you think cartoonists like Mark need to do their job.

Next to each skill, write a sentence that explains why that skill is important or helps them to do a great job.

Time: allow at least 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and Social Capability, Media Arts, Visual Communication Design

VCOP ACTIVITY
Describe it
Look at the cartoon and make a list of five nouns that you see. Then describe those five nouns with five adjectives. Now add a preposition to those five nouns and adjectives.

Finally, choose your favourite bundle and put all the words together to make one descriptive sentence.

(For lower reading level articles, remove “add a preposition”)