How Political Cartoonists Are Watching The Presidential Campaign

For many voters, the 2016 presidential election has been refreshing. For others, contemptuous. For political cartoonists Marshall Ramsey, Darrin Bell and Gary Varvel, it has been a mixture of hilarity and sadness.

Here & Now's Robin Young checks in to get their view of the election, and how things have changed in reality and on paper.

What kind of campaign has this been?

Marshall Ramsey: “It’s amazing, it’s kind of a canary in a coal mine thing we had a couple years ago here in Mississippi where we had a long time senator that was beloved that suddenly had a challenger come up out of nowhere and nearly lost the election because everyone was really angry and so I’m thinking, man, 2016 is probably going to end up looking really intense, and sure enough, it’s just turned into a cartoonist’s dream.”

What do you like about drawing Donald Trump?

Darrin Bell: “To be honest, I don’t like anything about drawing him. I should say that I’m having an awful lot of fun having such horrible candidates to draw, but I’m not. I’d rather be challenged than have material just handed to me.”

Who do you miss from the presidential race?

Gary Varvel: “Who do I miss? Oh man, they were all so fun to draw. I’m just focused on the moment, I don’t worry about people who’ve dropped off the side. So, this is an ongoing love-fest for me, I’m having so much fun, and I also at the same time am having fun. I’m a little concerned about what the future holds.”