Oval Office becomes UFC ring in Mark Knight depiction of Trump

We knew the second Trump Presidency was going to be an interesting ride, but I don’t think any of us imagined it as being quite as hair-raising as this rollercoaster ride is turning out to be. In just over a month we’ve seen the imposition of trade tariffs* on allied* and competing nations, Elon Musk’s DOGE* unit sacking thousands of public servants, the mass deportation of immigrants and the signing of multiple presidential executive orders winding back “woke*” ideology. Then there was the President’s bid to take back the Panama Canal*, make Canada the 51st state, rename The Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of “America” and turn Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East”, minus its Palestinian population. Phew!

President Trump restated some of these ambitions in his address to Congress this week. But all of that arguably pales next to his now infamous Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy on February 28.

President Zelenskyy was invited to Washington to negotiate a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine. That’s the war that was started when Russian dictator* Vladimir Putin’s tanks and troops rolled across Ukraine’s eastern borders three years ago in an attempt to invade the country and impose Russian rule.

In a David and Goliath* contest, the tenacious Ukranians resisted the Russian advance, punching well above their weight with the help of Western weapons. The war has eventually become a stalemate*, with thousands of lives lost, the Russians bombing Ukrainian cities and civilians while at the same time taking a heavy toll in Russian soldiers killed, and a huge loss of tanks and military equipment.

Donald Trump said he would end the war in a matter of days if he won the presidency. So when he moved into the White House, Zelenskyy was invited to the Oval Office to discuss peace. The problem for the Ukrainian leader was that Donald Trump has this strange bromance* with Vladimir Putin. Maybe President Putin has something on his American counterpart or Mr Trump admires the machismo* of the despotic* Russian leader. Who knows? But it looked like the cards were stacked against Ukraine. Mr Trump had already falsely called Mr Zelenskyy a “dictator” and said he was responsible for the deaths of thousands in this war he “started” despite the war being started by Putin’s Russian invasion.

The US President also said the peace deal hinged on Ukraine signing over to America the rights to billions of dollars worth of “rare earth” minerals to repay America for its military support so far. There was a “sign it or else” feel about the minerals deal.

Gathered before a media contingent in the Oval Office, presidents Trump and Zelenskyy had what you would call a polite but tense conversation. There was a dumb question by someone about why President Zelenskyy was not wearing a suit, then Vice President JD Vance stepped in and threw the first punch, calling the Ukrainian leader disrespectful to America. From there it went off the rails, with figurative fists flying.

Mr Trump verbally attacked the Ukrainian leader, saying he had “no cards” to play and should accept the deal. He accused Zelenskyy of not wanting peace – but the Ukrainian leader did not want it on Russia’s terms, which is what Trump appeared to be pursuing.

It was a critical moment in the Western alliance, to see the leader of the free world attacking a fellow Western, democratically elected leader for defending his country against an invasion by a non-democratic, despotic, one party rule state. I thought the topic qualified for my cartoon that day.

I couldn’t believe what I had just witnessed and its ramifications*. What I had to do was distil the political fist-fight into an image that illustrated the Ukrainian leader being ganged up on in the presidential Oval Office in front of the world’s media.

It reminded me of an Ultimate Fighting Championship event, which was ironic because one of Mr Trump’s biggest supporters during the election campaign was UFC boss Dana White. Trump attended a UFC event during the campaign. So I turned the elegant Oval Office, adorned with gilt-framed paintings of past presidents, into the octagon office with the now well known cage surrounding our seated leaders.

A UFC logo adorns the rug on the floor and Vice President Vance is wearing fighting mitts. The cartoon paints an ominous* picture of what might be about to happen. Indeed, in the cartoon I have Volodymyr Zelenskyy full of foreboding, sensing the situation and saying, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this”.

The indefatigable* Ukrainian leader has survived three years of total war, the destruction of his country by a much larger aggressor, and constant assassination attempts by the Russian military. Let’s hope he can survive peace negotiations with Donald Trump.

POLL

GLOSSARY

• trade tariffs: taxes charged on the import of goods from other countries
• allied: countries seen to be on the same side or working to protect one another’s best interests
• DOGE: the Department Of Government Efficiency was created by Donald Trump to slash government spending and is headed by the world’s richest man Elon Musk
• woke: being aware of social problems like racism, wanting equality for minority groups and expecting society to not leave anyone behind just because they don’t fit into the dominant culture
• Panama Canal: an artificial canal that was once controlled by the US but was completely handed over to Panama in 1999
• dictator: a ruler with total control over a country, usually obtained by force
• David and Goliath: a biblical story that is often used as a metaphor, whereby David defeated a giant, Goliath, with the crafty use of his sling
• stalemate: when neither side can change the frontline dramatically
• bromance: a very close relationship between two men
• machismo: aggressive masculine pride
• despotic: having unlimited power over other people and using it unfairly
• ramifications: consequences, usually bad ones
• ominous: worrying impression that something bad is going to happen
• indefatigable: persisting tirelessly

EXTRA READING
Trump touts Gaza MAGA makeover
Rural America puts pitchfork in DC
Two races that stopped the nation

QUICK QUIZ
1. What are two “hair-raising” things that US President Trump has done since entering the Oval Office?
2. Why was Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited to the Oval Office?
3. How many years has war been raging in Ukraine since the Russian invasion?
4. Why did Mark Knight turn the Oval Office into the “Octagon Office” in his cartoon?
5. What are some of the falsehoods stated by US President Trump in his meeting with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. What would you change?
Mark has chosen America’s UFC for his Oval Office cartoon. Imagine that his editor asked Mark to change the cartoon to use a sport played in Australia. What sport would you choose? Write an explanation of why you would choose it. Have a go at redrawing the cartoon by imagining Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is in Ukraine President Zelenskyy’s place!

Time: allow at least 25 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English

2. Extension
Do you know why tariffs are so important? Use your research skills to find out what they are, why some countries impose (or set) them and why they can cause problems.

Time: allow at least 45 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Economics and Business

VCOP ACTIVITY
What happens next?
Imagine this story is part of an animated series made up of three cartoons. The three cartoons tell the complete story and this article is only Part One. Think about what the rest of 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