{"id":13745,"date":"2017-10-13T15:52:02","date_gmt":"2017-10-13T14:52:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=13745"},"modified":"2017-10-13T15:53:25","modified_gmt":"2017-10-13T14:53:25","slug":"rumps-to-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=13745","title":{"rendered":"Rumps to Trump!"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

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.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Or, more specifically, to \u00e2\u20ac\u0098show their rumps to Trump.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The man behind the #ShowYourRumptoTrump<\/a> campaign has been a political gadfly since 2014, when Mike started a parody Twitter account Trumpton_UKIP<\/a>, which imagined a world in which Mr Mayor and his clerk Mr Troop of the 1960s children\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s classic TV series defected to the UKIP party.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The old-fashioned Trumpton series and the reactionary-disguised-as-nostalgia politics of UKIP were natural bedfellows \u00e2\u20ac\u201c not surprisingly, the Twitter account became a viral hit, spawning other anonymous Trumpton-themed Twitter accounts designed to poke fun at those in power.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Not only was Trumpton_UKIP immensely popular, it achieved what Mike was hoping for \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it angered the party<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s trade mark.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now, Mike has turned his satiric sights on President Trump, who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s become, naturally, a denizen of Trumpton.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mike created a daily Trump cartoon in the style of the Trumpton series on Twitter, which eventually led to a new graphic book \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Mr Trump Goes to Washington<\/em> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c out next week (October 20) and published under the pseudonym Michael Mayor.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Put a smile on your face\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis book will not leave you any more enlightened than when you started,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Mike tells UNITElive. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut hopefully it will put a smile on readers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 faces.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Indeed, if there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s any way to make sense of the rise of Donald Trump and still maintain your sanity, cartoons are perhaps the best medium.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr Trump Goes to Washington<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0 explains how we got in the mess we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in now, from when Trump first decided to run for president \u00e2\u20ac\u201c because \u00e2\u20ac\u015bMr Obama (Fake President) told some SAD jokes about Mr Trump, which made him mad\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c to his dubious connections with his Russian buddy \u00e2\u20ac\u015bVlad\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 and a \u00e2\u20ac\u0098who-has-the-biggest-missile\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 contest with Mr Kim of North Korea.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mike says he was inspired to create Trump cartoons similar to his Trumpton-themed UKIP work because he \u00e2\u20ac\u015bfelt the politics of America now occupied spaces similar to the politics of Brexit.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBesides, from a satirist\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s point of view,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Mike says, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bTrump is the ultimate gift that keeps on giving.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But he adds that the cartoons are a \u00e2\u20ac\u015bgentle poke\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 at Trump \u00e2\u20ac\u201c more toilet humour than stinging mockery.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bFor me the jokes should be seen from both sides of the political spectrum. Otherwise I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not doing my job,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he explains. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a more effective way of getting people to think critically.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Does he hope that the Donald himself will read the book?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI would love that \u00e2\u20ac\u201c I have already sent a copy to the White House,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Mike notes. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not sure he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s able to get through 60 pages though.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mike believes people shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t underestimate the power of humour to affect change.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bEspecially when we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re dealing with thin-skinned people like Trump, satire can prick their pomposity.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHumour is also more shareable \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a fart gag can have more traction, than say, a treatise on Trump\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s connections with Russia and can often convey the same exact message.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

During the War, his cartoons satirising the politics and personalities of Hitler, Mussolini and other fascists of the era appeared in the Evening Standard<\/em>. The cartoons drew the ire of Hitler and Goebbels, who called for Low to be removed from the Standard<\/em> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c he was even included in the Black Book, a secret list drawn up by the SS of British residents to be arrested.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The power of humour <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHumour, if you get it right, can have an immense influence,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Mike notes.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In many ways, humour \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and his dog Scrabble \u00e2\u20ac\u201c saved Mike\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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<\/a> he would post on Twitter, a process for him which helped battle depression.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Eventually, a publisher wrote to Mike\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dog, offering him a book deal which led to his first book, Mike & Scrabble: a Guide to Training your New Human.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

While Mr Trump Goes to Washington <\/em>is very different from his first book, the whimsical humour is the same.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mike believes the book will appeal to trade unionists, particularly those interested and engaged in politics.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bSometimes I think people who are politically active can often be a bit too earnest, a bit too serious,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Mike explains. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bSo I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s especially important for us to maintain a sense of humour, to retain that balance. I hope the book in part achieves this.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the meantime, Mike looks forward to Mr Trump\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s visit next year.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI think it will be a great opportunity for Brits to mobilise,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he laughs. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be some funny stuff I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

While Mr Trump Goes to Washington<\/em> is now available for pre-order on Amazon.co.uk<\/a>, Mike encourages people to order or buy the book from their local independent bookshop.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 \u00e2\u20ac\u0098show their rumps to Trump.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122   The man behind the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13746,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[93,158,672,154],"wps_subtitle":"Artist in \u00e2\u20ac\u0098show your rump\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 call ahead of visit","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13745"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13745"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13745\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13749,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13745\/revisions\/13749"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}