Althouse: There's a special place in Hell...

February 15, 2016

There's a special place in Hell...

... for Trump supporters.

77 comments:

traditionalguy said...: So the New Yorker dreams of the burning pit at the bottom of the World Trade Centers to be the Trump Ring of Hell. That's so special.

This is where we Donald Chauvinists usuallysay all publicity is good publicity.; 2/15/16, 11:12 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: The people in the rings of Hell get smaller as the rings descend, but the devils all stay about the same size.

Don't introduce perspective if you are not going to use it.

Also:

There's a special place in Hell for smug cartoonists who can't draw.

I am Laslo.; 2/15/16, 11:14 AM
Dave D said...: My new litmus test for "spot the Liberal" is if they state how ignorant people are for supporting the Trump campaign, but don't indicate what an unworkable mess Sanders would create if elected.; 2/15/16, 11:16 AM
Anonymous said...: I got a chuckle out of it, but I think it depended on AA's intro.; 2/15/16, 11:17 AM
Limited blogger said...: The New Yorker now believes in Hell? Good, we're making progress.; 2/15/16, 11:23 AM
rehajm said...: A joke as old and stale as the Clinton campaign.

Fresher when it was done in Deconstructing Harry; 2/15/16, 11:25 AM
Mr Wibble said...: Explain to me why I should consider smug pretentious twits like this my countrymen, or even as human beings?

The certainly don't grant me the same courtesy.; 2/15/16, 11:27 AM
Ann Althouse said...: For the record, I'm not approving of the cartoon.

It's holier than thou.

Humor using religion should be self-deprecating or challenging. This is cocoon-y. Show me your drawing of Hell as a cocoon... a horrifying cocoon as retribution for a life spent in the cocoon.; 2/15/16, 11:32 AM
Saint Croix said...: For the record, I'm not approving of the cartoon.

It's holier than thou.

Bingo. People need to see the devil in their own hearts. If you can't do that, you might be doing the devil's work.; 2/15/16, 11:41 AM
Bay Area Guy said...: The NewYorker is pathetic. Many more people in New York support Trump than read that elitist, esoteric rag.; 2/15/16, 11:53 AM
Bob Boyd said...: If there is going to be a special place in Hell for Trump's supporters, it's gonna be YUUUGE!; 2/15/16, 12:00 PM
Mike said...: Yet another New Yorker cartoon that would be improved with, "Hi, I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn."; 2/15/16, 12:00 PM
retired said...: Funny, atheists fantasizing about hell for their political opponents. Heaven for themselves? Won't be so funny in the future...; 2/15/16, 12:06 PM
damikesc said...: Humor using religion should be self-deprecating or challenging. This is cocoon-y. Show me your drawing of Hell as a cocoon... a horrifying cocoon as retribution for a life spent in the cocoon.

My idea of Hell is being stuck in an elevator, forever, with people from NY, NJ, and Boston.; 2/15/16, 12:09 PM
The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...: It's actually pretty funny, riffing on Trump the real-estate developer and, perhaps, recognizing the cartoonist's own overwrought partisanship. They're by no means common anymore, but I do occasionally meet a Lefty with a Larry David-esque appreciation of the contradictions and hypocrisy inherent in middle-class liberalism.; 2/15/16, 12:11 PM
Michael K said...: The New Yorker helped to create Trump so I don't mind them mocking their own work.

I am not a supporter but <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-sanders-and-the-american-rebellion-1455236273>Peggy Noonan </a> and I know where he came from.

<i>We’re in the midst of a rebellion. The bottom and middle are pushing against the top. It’s a throwing off of old claims and it’s been going on for a while, but we’re seeing it more sharply after New Hampshire. This is not politics as usual, which by its nature is full of surprise. There’s something deep, suggestive, even epochal about what’s happening now.</i>

Ritmo accused me of wanting a revolution. No, but we are getting it.; 2/15/16, 12:17 PM
Saint Croix said...: My new litmus test for "spot the Liberal" is if they state how ignorant people are for supporting the Trump campaign, but don't indicate what an unworkable mess Sanders would create if elected.

What the New Yorker is oblivious to is the similarity between Trump and Sanders. Both men are extremely class-conscious. Like Obama! This is what is shocking and new on our political scene. Bernie Sanders is just like Obama, except he's worse. He's angry Obama, uncontrolled Obama. He's Obama on the warpath. And Trump is a fascist reaction to Obama. Trump is the Revenge of the 1%. These two men, like Obama, are very, very class-conscious. And that's a new thing in American politics.

So if we're going to hell--either metaphorically or literally--it's Obama who opened the door.; 2/15/16, 12:17 PM
Jaq said...: IDK, I think it was funny. I think it comments more on the people condemning Trump supporters as overwrought, and any suggestion that the New Yorker actually believes in Hell is pretty funny too.; 2/15/16, 12:17 PM
Michael K said...: Hmmm. No links.; 2/15/16, 12:17 PM
s'opihjerdt said...: Hanlon's razor:

Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity; 2/15/16, 12:23 PM
khesanh0802 said...: Michael K You left off the last quotation mark after the 3. When I do a link I check it using the preview button before I post it. It has saved me many times.; 2/15/16, 12:25 PM
Anonymous said...: AA: For the record, I'm not approving of the cartoon.

It's holier than thou.

Humor using religion should be self-deprecating or challenging.

Isn't dictating how religious humor should be used a bit humorless?

I don't get the butthurt. I am second to no man in my desire to punch the faces of smug coastal libtards. I'll probably vote for Trump. But Trump is a property developer. We'll all take a swig in hell from the bartender at one of his infernal casinos.

If it bothers you that much, just think of Trump Circle as the only place libtards will be able to find rental units in their own special place in hell.; 2/15/16, 12:27 PM
khesanh0802 said...: I must admit that the "Bush lied" trope by Trump bothers me. To a certain extent he is not wrong. Books I have read say that Cheney's group slanted the intelligence to appear more of a confirmation than the CIA believed.; 2/15/16, 12:28 PM
Sal said...: I thought it was a twist on Madeleine Albright's comment. I liked it.

New Yorker cartoons also have talking animals occasionally. That doesn't mean the cartoonists believe that animals can talk.; 2/15/16, 12:30 PM
Thorley Winston said...: And Trump is a fascist reaction to Obama.

I’m sorry but so long as we have a presidential candidate who has actually told people that her litmus test for Supreme Court nominees is whether they will reverse a decision that held that the First Amendment protects the right to make a movie criticizing her personally, Trump will never be the “fascist” in the race.; 2/15/16, 12:31 PM
Jaq said...: I would love these people calling Trump a fascist to explain how Obama is not one. Would love to hear it, but don't expect to. Remember that fascism was a "third way" between capitalism and socialism. But actually, it is just socialism with window dressing and better tailors.; 2/15/16, 12:34 PM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: The Cracker got it right. I'm not much of a New Yorker cartoon fan, but I like this one.; 2/15/16, 12:37 PM
Bill Peschel said...: It's shrug-worthy. Trump is an easy target, so it's the first stop for hack cartoonists like the New Yorker, Trudeau, and Berke Breathed.

What's sad is seeing the country's humorists fall silent before the Big O, despite all the great material he's handed us. The beer summit with the black professors and the cop? The 57 states he wanted to visit? His inability to tell the Declaration and the Constitution apart? His endless golf? His "can't I eat my sandwich" complaint? That he gave the Queen of England an iPod containing his speeches, and a DVD box set to the Prime Minister that wouldn't work in Britain? The time he got locked out of the White House?

(Yeah, I'm sure some comics have said something, but it has never penetrated the areas I read.); 2/15/16, 12:39 PM
Henry said...: Subtext: Hell is DeBlasio's New York.

Context: This is barely a religious cartoon. The hell depicted is Dante's, based on a metaphysics that went out of fashion 500 years ago. It is much more a literary reference than a religious one.; 2/15/16, 12:43 PM
Meade said...: Make Hell Great Again.; 2/15/16, 12:49 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: The cartoon i believe means to depict Trump supporters as ravid overzealous supporters.

On reputation alone I shied away from them, until i came across a Trump tweet sent recently enough to dip my big toe in the water and recent enough to hold out hope he might even read it. (I notice sometimes Trump answers the glowing tweets directed at him)

In my case however, I was not complementary.

Link

The Trumpkins were all over it. But for the most part they were not frothing a the mouth, ALL CAPS, take no prisoners Trump supporters. It was a civil exchange, considering how bad i had it before, on give and takes with Liberals.; 2/15/16, 12:51 PM
Anonymous said...: tim in vermont: I would love these people calling Trump a fascist to explain how Obama is not one. Would love to hear it, but don't expect to.

I think frenzied enforcers of coercive social engineering trying to revive their moldy old "authoritarian personality" b.s. to use against Trump is even funnier than their use of "fascist".; 2/15/16, 12:51 PM
Saint Croix said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/15/16, 12:53 PM
Dan Hossley said...: Looks like the 6th level of hell...I would have put him on the 8th level.; 2/15/16, 12:58 PM
Dan Hossley said...: The Bush Lied conspiracy just won't die. I watched George Tenet testify before Congress that 1) George Bush was skeptical of the intelligence on WMD and 2) that Tenet told him it was a "slam dunk".

I don't care what books you've read that suggest otherwise, unless they take that testimony into account, it is just more BS.

Which is why Trump belongs on the 8th level of hell, reserved for panderers, seducers, flatterers, sorcerers and false prophets, liars and thieves.; 2/15/16, 1:03 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: If Bernie ever assumed power over The New Yorker - he'd demote the Editor, elevate the copy boys, unionize the staff, and de-emphasize the excessively "rigid" fact checking. The next issue would come out looking like an illiterate multi-page ransom note.; 2/15/16, 1:06 PM
Larry J said...: khesanh0802 said...
I must admit that the "Bush lied" trope by Trump bothers me. To a certain extent he is not wrong. Books I have read say that Cheney's group slanted the intelligence to appear more of a confirmation than the CIA believed.

And Woodward's book says otherwise. You can find books that claim just about anything. The hard part is determining if what the books claim is true. It's pretty disturbing to hear that Trump may well be a Truther.

Special circles of Hell should be judiciously created for the very worst people. I'm talking about mass murderers, serial rapists, and whomever it was that screwed up the user interface on Microsoft Office.; 2/15/16, 1:10 PM
Roughcoat said...: tim in vermont said: "But actually, [fascism] is just socialism with window dressing and better tailors."

The great historian Paul Johnson said that facism was nothing more than a "Marxist heresy," replacing universalism with nationalism and class with race. I've always thought that's the best definition, but yours is good too. Nazi uniforms were always spiffier than the Soviets.

Anglelyne: Excellent comments!; 2/15/16, 1:15 PM
traditionalguy said...: Final Judgement is a good topic. Like Matt Drudge and Andrew Breibart, Mr.Trump has brought us face to face with lots of good topics.

How will the narrow liar Brigades ever get the airtime to beat that?; 2/15/16, 1:16 PM
Henry said...: Cult of violence, folks. If you don't have that you don't have fascism.

There are a lot of words to describe different types of political regimes. Fascism is one of those types. It is not a generic type nor a generic quality. It serves no purpose to use the word willy nilly except for the sound and fury of signifying nothing.; 2/15/16, 1:24 PM
robother said...: Wasn't it Oscar Wilde who said, "Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company?"; 2/15/16, 1:25 PM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: I suppose I could complain that the denizens depicted seem to be universally, as near as I can tell, white, if I were of a mind to give a shit.; 2/15/16, 1:49 PM
Fernandinande said...: robother said...
Wasn't it Oscar Wilde who said, "Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company?"

No, apparently Benjamin Franklin Wade.; 2/15/16, 1:51 PM
Michael K said...: "Michael K You left off the last quotation mark after the 3."

You're right but the italics tag didn't work either. It must be a plot.

I think Trump made a big mistake Saturday night and it may cost him. Maybe he just lost his temper at Bush.

The election will tell us a lot after this.; 2/15/16, 1:56 PM
dick said...: Imo WTC 911 was allowed by Jamie Gorelick and Clinton and their infamous "wall of separation" between the FBI, CIA, NSA agencies. They had their hands tied behind their backs -- thanks to a Clinton appointee and directions plus Clinton passing on taking out OBL twice.

Too bad Trump does not get this?; 2/15/16, 2:05 PM
Static Ping said...: Hey, lay off Berkeley Breathed. In his Bloom County prime he was very fair and even-handed with politics, even to the point that he received thank you notes from Republicans. True, his bias came out more and more after that, but he was a lot of fun for a good long time. And, yes, towards the end of Bloom County he slammed Trump good and hard but that was well before his political ambitions.

As to the cartoon, this is recent right? Seems out of place. If this was the Trump known for developing real estate, then this would be clever, but we are dealing with politician Trump right now. I suppose this could be trying to convey that we are going to hell in a hand basket with Trump, but if so I want my damn hand basket. Anyway, if Trump was building in hell he would be building up, selling penthouses with nice views of Purgatory.

Has the cartoonist depicted himself in Hell? I think that is required to be taken seriously.; 2/15/16, 2:06 PM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: "Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company?"

Texas for the rental income.; 2/15/16, 2:07 PM
Sammy Finkelman said...: I am not sure what the cartoon means, but first, it is mocking Trump's penchant for putting his name on everything. Trump says or was at one time, a developer, so now he's adding something to Hell - only he is aaying it good. If it is a place for Trump himself to live, this would be Trump and others like him. The cartoon is probably more designed to be funny than to have a point. The funny part os he is now adding an addition to Hell.; 2/15/16, 2:09 PM
Alexander said...: #HellSoWhite; 2/15/16, 2:11 PM
robother said...: Benjamin Franklin Wade. Of course. I should've realized such worldly sophistication could've only originated in Ashtabula OH.; 2/15/16, 2:21 PM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: The cartoon would be funny if Satan looked like Madeleine Albright.; 2/15/16, 2:27 PM
David said...: I love the New Yorker Hell where everyone looks bewildered and nobody looks tortured. Hell as Socialism, methinks.; 2/15/16, 2:29 PM
Wince said...: Needs a caption:

"Well, at least we've located all those 'shovel-ready" jobs Obama talked about."; 2/15/16, 3:10 PM
Interesting,not crazy said...: Meade said...

Make Hell Great Again.
.....slyly acquired with eminent domain; 2/15/16, 3:17 PM
YoungHegelian said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/15/16, 3:18 PM
YoungHegelian said...: I just got a FB posting from a lefty friend who posted an article claiming that Ted Cruz's father & by extension Ted Cruz are Christian Dominionist** bastards.

Yet, I come here & what do I find but Prof. Althouse posting The New Yorker using its very own form of theological discourse to wish eternal damnation upon its political opponents.

Opposites meet, I guess.

** The modern American Left is sure that the world of Evangelicalism & Fundamentalism is simply full of Dominionism, in spite of the fact that the reaction of every Christian Rightie to this claim is "Uhhhhmmmm, what?".; 2/15/16, 3:19 PM
Sandra said...: This gets into New York inside baseball stuff. Trump is an "outer boroughs" guy. As far as the New Yorker is concerned, all those outside Manhattan are already in a circle of hell. It's one reason why Trump looked at Cruz like he had ten heads when he said "New York values." Cruz meant Manhattan and all the smug liberal superiority that comes with it; Trump assumed it meant the cops and firemen and plumbers and carpenters and electricians, none of whom live in Manhattan (nor would they be welcome). Hard to understand if you were not marinated in it. Think of it in terms of Guiliani being an outer boroughs guy, and DeBlasio fitting in well in Manhattan.

Nobody outside New York cares about this and see it as one place. Not so among the inhabitants.; 2/15/16, 3:26 PM
YoungHegelian said...: By the way, a satirical view of Hell by someone who actually seems to have paid attention when he/she read Dante.

@Sandra

Thanks for the NYC cultural insight! It makes sense now that you point it out.; 2/15/16, 3:34 PM
Saint Croix said...: It's pretty disturbing to hear that Trump may well be a Truther.

See for yourself.; 2/15/16, 4:02 PM
Bob Loblaw said...: There's a special place in hell for people who keep making up special places in hell.; 2/15/16, 4:58 PM
n.n said...: Catastrophic Anthropogenic Global Warming. CAGW is the politically correct shorthand for "hell".; 2/15/16, 5:02 PM
The Godfather said...: Winner of thread: EDH (3:10 pm)!; 2/15/16, 5:10 PM
The Godfather said...: My own theological opinion is that Tromp's supporters are (with a few exceptions, I suppose) misled, not evil, so it's Tromp himself who ought to be consigned to a special place in Hell -- perhaps eternally chained to Madeline Albright.; 2/15/16, 5:14 PM
tshanks78 said...: I think your interpretation is incorrect. I think the cartoon is in fact continuing Madeline Albright's thought that there is a special place in hell for women who do not support Hillary. In essence the special place these women are destined for by supporting Bernie Sanders will only result in the election of Trump. There is no salvation by voting for Sanders and all who do will feel the burn!; 2/15/16, 6:08 PM
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: The New Yorker literally has a cartoon with every fifth paragraph. Some are tiny thumbnails. They look to fill space and are rarely deep comments, but rather quick silly quips at best - many without even captions or dialogue. The best I saw recently was over the summer when a bunch of thumbnail sketches of Trump and his signature ducktail hairdo in profile were accompanied by mathematical notations indicating the consistent angles and ratios of his golden hairdo and underbite in profile.; 2/15/16, 7:29 PM
Guildofcannonballs said...: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_28700919/colorado-republicans-cancel-2016-presidential-caucus-vote

Colorado GOP acts like Democrats vis-a-vis caucus': just in case the little guys don't pick right and, well, then our delegates can't get bought off by Mike Bloomburg or Tom Stoyer or, oh yeah, Pat Stryker, we'll keep our guys in the game so they can gain graft and market value.

Like, duh, uh, why would you want votes to count in a primary?; 2/15/16, 8:11 PM
Guildofcannonballs said...: To be fair, these Colorado GOP have stood up for the 2nd Amendment as written, not improved upon by Leftists, and their reasoning, if the 24 delegates are truly representative, could indeed elect Ted Cruz POTUS.

The thing is hoping/trusting the reps to rep, which isn't possible.

Too much trust among too many persons would have to conspire (no intention pre-cascade prefererencewise) toward a mangledness ultra-sploofered.; 2/15/16, 8:22 PM
khesanh0802 said...: @Dan Hossely You're right. Tenet took the Cheney bit in his teeth against the advice of his staff. The lower level people were not completely convinced. Of course there is a lot of self justification in memoirs! BTW I think Bush was absolutely correct to go forward WMD or not. Saddam needed to be removed. The real problems came after we had some control. Bremer was not the guy to oversee the "nation building" Most of the military guys did pretty well in establishing governments in their areas. Bremer made mistake after mistake. It's hard to be right when you think you are God.; 2/15/16, 8:41 PM
Sam L. said...: I see it as the New Yorker endorsing Trump to everyone NOT in Manhattan.; 2/15/16, 9:12 PM
Original Mike said...: "there's a special place in Hell for Trump supporters."

Hell? No. The loony-bin.; 2/15/16, 9:15 PM
Saint Croix said...: If the New Yorker had a sense of humor, the next issue would have a Bernie circle of hell ("feel the burn!") and only women would be there.; 2/16/16, 1:15 AM
Saint Croix said...: For what it's worth, I think the Clintons are more corrupt than Trump and Bernie put together.

If we're talking about stability, on the other hand, I would say the Clintons are way more status quo and normal than Trump and Bernie.

Vote for Trump and Bernie if you do not like our country and you want radical change. I think a lot of Trump supporters are operating under the hope/delusion that Trump just wants to radically change the government.

Try to remember that Donald Trump is so cut off from normal society that he is a truther, and by that I mean he is untrustworthy. He is not worthy of your trust. I know you are thinking, "I am mad at the government and he is mad at the government." But you are putting him in the government, so ask yourself if he is worthy of your trust.

If you're just spitting mad, and you want to vote for the spitting mad leader, Bernie or Trump is your guy. I do not think being so mad that you are spitting is an effective form of leadership.; 2/16/16, 1:48 AM
Saint Croix said...: Actually I think the vast majority of Bernie supporters are not angry at all. They're liberals, they are operating under a happy delusion. They are so happy they refuse to think.

Trump supporters are so angry they refuse to think. Different emotion, but same phenomenon.; 2/16/16, 1:57 AM
averagejoe said...: Wow. This guy was a go-to celebrity, a television star, his catch-phrase swept a delighted nation, his dalliances and romances were faithfully chronicled and debated, he was pursued for his opinions and rascally wit. Then he ran for president as a republican, so now his erstwhile courtiers have decided that he deserves to be relegated to new depths of hell, deeper even than Nixon! Trump's big mistake was that he should have run as a democrat- Not only would he stand a damn good chance of winning the party nomination and general election, but the press would have LOVED him!; 2/16/16, 1:57 AM
Laura said...: Hell's Kitchen?; 2/16/16, 5:54 AM
Rick said...: Saint Croix said...
Actually I think the vast majority of Bernie supporters are not angry at all. They're liberals, they are operating under a happy delusion.

His supporters aren't liberals, they're far leftists. And if you don't think those people are angry you haven't been around too many of them.; 2/16/16, 6:20 AM
tshanks78 said...: Right on time...here comes the media to confirm my interpretation of the comic

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/16/why-a-vote-for-bernie-sanders-is-a-vote-for-donald-trump.html; 2/16/16, 8:41 AM