Rumps to Trump!

As news surfaced this week (October 11) that US president Donald Trump is set to make his first official visit to the UK early next year, author, designer and illustrator Mike Dicks wants Britons to turn their backs on him.

Or, more specifically, to ‘show their rumps to Trump.’

The man behind the #ShowYourRumptoTrump campaign has been a political gadfly since 2014, when Mike started a parody Twitter account Trumpton_UKIP, which imagined a world in which Mr Mayor and his clerk Mr Troop of the 1960s children’s classic TV series defected to the UKIP party.

The old-fashioned Trumpton series and the reactionary-disguised-as-nostalgia politics of UKIP were natural bedfellows – not surprisingly, the Twitter account became a viral hit, spawning other anonymous Trumpton-themed Twitter accounts designed to poke fun at those in power.

Not only was Trumpton_UKIP immensely popular, it achieved what Mike was hoping for – it angered the party.  UKIP MEP David Coburn instructed party supporters to block and report the account and he threatened Mike with legal action for use of the party’s trade mark.

Now, Mike has turned his satiric sights on President Trump, who’s become, naturally, a denizen of Trumpton.

Mike created a daily Trump cartoon in the style of the Trumpton series on Twitter, which eventually led to a new graphic book – Mr Trump Goes to Washington – out next week (October 20) and published under the pseudonym Michael Mayor.

‘Put a smile on your face’

“This book will not leave you any more enlightened than when you started,” Mike tells UNITElive. “But hopefully it will put a smile on readers’ faces.”

Indeed, if there’s any way to make sense of the rise of Donald Trump and still maintain your sanity, cartoons are perhaps the best medium.

Mr Trump Goes to Washington  explains how we got in the mess we’re in now, from when Trump first decided to run for president – because “Mr Obama (Fake President) told some SAD jokes about Mr Trump, which made him mad” – to his dubious connections with his Russian buddy “Vlad” and a ‘who-has-the-biggest-missile’ contest with Mr Kim of North Korea.

Mike says he was inspired to create Trump cartoons similar to his Trumpton-themed UKIP work because he “felt the politics of America now occupied spaces similar to the politics of Brexit.”

“Besides, from a satirist’s point of view,” Mike says, “Trump is the ultimate gift that keeps on giving.”

But he adds that the cartoons are a “gentle poke” at Trump – more toilet humour than stinging mockery.

“For me the jokes should be seen from both sides of the political spectrum. Otherwise I’m not doing my job,” he explains. “I think it’s a more effective way of getting people to think critically.”

Does he hope that the Donald himself will read the book?

“I would love that – I have already sent a copy to the White House,” Mike notes. “I’m not sure he’s able to get through 60 pages though.”

Mike believes people shouldn’t underestimate the power of humour to affect change.

“Especially when we’re dealing with thin-skinned people like Trump, satire can prick their pomposity.

“Humour is also more shareable – a fart gag can have more traction, than say, a treatise on Trump’s connections with Russia and can often convey the same exact message.”

Mike tells of one of his heroes, the satirical cartoonist from New Zealand, David Low, who settled in the UK before the Second World War.

During the War, his cartoons satirising the politics and personalities of Hitler, Mussolini and other fascists of the era appeared in the Evening Standard. The cartoons drew the ire of Hitler and Goebbels, who called for Low to be removed from the Standard – he was even included in the Black Book, a secret list drawn up by the SS of British residents to be arrested.

The power of humour

“Humour, if you get it right, can have an immense influence,” Mike notes.

In many ways, humour – and his dog Scrabble – saved Mike’s life.

After undergoing treatment for leukaemia, Mike moved to Brighton to recuperate. Along the way he adopted a rescue dog and their interactions formed the basis of daily cartoons he would post on Twitter, a process for him which helped battle depression.

Eventually, a publisher wrote to Mike’s dog, offering him a book deal which led to his first book, Mike & Scrabble: a Guide to Training your New Human.

While Mr Trump Goes to Washington is very different from his first book, the whimsical humour is the same.

Mike believes the book will appeal to trade unionists, particularly those interested and engaged in politics.

“Sometimes I think people who are politically active can often be a bit too earnest, a bit too serious,” Mike explains. “So I think it’s especially important for us to maintain a sense of humour, to retain that balance. I hope the book in part achieves this.”

In the meantime, Mike looks forward to Mr Trump’s visit next year.

“I think it will be a great opportunity for Brits to mobilise,” he laughs. “There’ll be some funny stuff I’m sure.”

While Mr Trump Goes to Washington is now available for pre-order on Amazon.co.uk, Mike encourages people to order or buy the book from their local independent bookshop.