A New York Times editorial cartoon mocking US President Donald Trump’s orders to send troops to the Mexican border instead of fighting wars in the Middle East has drawn ire from Americans calling it elitist and out of touch.
The cartoon, published Friday, shows a line of US troops in desert camouflage uniforms being ordered by Trump to the border with Mexico. One of the soldiers leans over and whispers to another, “I enrolled to fight in the Middle East… not in the midterms.”
While reflecting the prevalent narrative in the media and amid Trump’s Democrat critics that his crackdown on the US-bound migrant “caravans” from Central America is all about the impending midterm election, the cartoon was almost universally panned on social media as tone-deaf and ignorant, starting with the use of "enrolled" instead of the correct "enlisted."
One Twitter user called it an example of the “cluelessness of the liberal elite” who don’t understand military service.
Many others have pointed out that defending their own border is the obvious mission for the US military, while going abroad to invade other countries is, well, not.
Another Twitter user went so far as to replace the speech bubbles in the cartoon with something he thought more authentic and appropriate, complete with a hashtag referencing the Times’ recent controversial hire.
This comes at a time when even the commander of US forces in Afghanistan has admitted the 17-year war against the Taliban is unwinnable. Currently there are US troops in some 160 countries around the world.
The cartoon was signed by Patrick Chappatte, a Lebanese-Swiss cartoonist who lives in Europe and draws for the International New York Times and a number of French and German publications.
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