Editorial cartoons for Aug. 18, 2024: Presidential campaign, rally crowd sizes, stuck in space

A Detroit airport rally for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris drew thousands of attendees, leading Republican nominee Donald Trump to falsely claim the images were altered by artificial intelligence. Walt Handelsman leads this week’s editorial cartoon gallery with an aide breaking it to Trump that he’s not looking at a photograph but at a window onto the rally.

The crowd size controversy also elicited cartoons by Drew Sheneman, Jack Ohman and Mike Luckovich.

As Democrats head to Chicago for their convention, Bill Bramhall comments on their newfound swagger with a riff on R. Crumb’s iconic “Keep on Truckin’ " dude accompanied by the lyrics to “Good Vibrations.” Michael Ramirez criticizes President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plans as unconstitutional. Nick Anderson draws Trump’s live online interview with Space X founder Elon Musk as a failure to launch.

Cartoonists also take aim at missteps by vice presidential candidates Tim Walz and JD Vance; Robert F. Kennedy Jr. being booted off the New York ballot by a judge; and Harris’s reluctance to sit for media interviews.

Other topics in this week’s gallery include news that problems with the Boeing Starliner craft could strand two astronauts on the International Space Station until next year; strife in the Middle East; and the beginning of a new school year.

Cartoons were drawn by Jack Ohman, Nick Anderson, Bill Bramhall, Dana Summers, Drew Sheneman, Walt Handelsman, David Horsey, Phil Hands, Joel Pett and Joey Weatherford of Tribune Content Agency; and Mike Luckovich, Steve Breen and Michael Ramirez of Creators Syndicate.