As first reported by The New York Times, cartoonists picked up on the news in mid-January 2021 that an upside-down American flag had been flown as a distress signal outside the home of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. Justice Alito told the paper that the flag had been “temporarily put up by Mrs. Alito in response to a neighbor's use of offensive and personally offensive language on a yard sign.”
In the gallery's featured image, Jack Orman paints an upside-down flag on Alito's mailbox; Walt Handelsman connects the flag to ethics and the overturning of Roe v. Wade; Mike Luckovich shows Chief Justice John Roberts lowering the flag to half-staff in response to the Court's loss of credibility; Luckovich and Bill Bramhall capture Alito berating his wife.
The presidential election is another key theme in this week's gallery, with several cartoonists commenting on former President Donald Trump's circulation of a video that referenced a “united empire” if he won. Trump removed the video from Truth Social following backlash over his use of Nazi imagery. President Joe Biden has come under criticism for rising inflation since taking office.
Cartoonists also comment on Memorial Day. Notice how Dana Summers imitates the style of legendary cartoonist Bill Mauldin, who illustrates the dog-faced World War II soldier experience through a pair of shabbily dressed American soldiers named Willie and Joe. “Do you think anybody remembers us?” one asks the other.
Other news stories featured in this week's gallery include the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, insatiable artificial intelligence, and rising sea levels.
The cartoons were drawn by Tribune Content Agency's Jack Orman, Nick Anderson, Bill Bramhall, Dana Summers, Drew Shainman, Scott Stantis, Walt Handelsman, David Horsey, Phil Hands, Joel Pett and Joey Weatherford, as well as Creators Syndicate's Mike Luckovich, Steve Breen and Michael Ramirez.
Other Manga Galleries
- Editorial Cartoon, May 19, 2024: Michael Cohen's Testimony, Presidential Debate Agreement
- Editorial Cartoons for May 12, 2024: Stormy Daniels testimony, RFK Jr. brain worms, virtual graduation ceremony
- Editorial Cartoon for May 5, 2024: Presidential immunity, campus unrest, and Kristi Noem's dog
- Editorial Cartoon for April 28, 2024: Campus Protests, Trump Trial, Supreme Court
- Editorial Cartoons for April 21, 2024: Trump's jury selection, Israel-Iran conflict, aid to Ukraine