They include ‘The Swamp’, Trump riding a tank, and Obama on a tricycle smoking cannabis
The van seized on Friday by law enforcers in Florida that is believed to belong to mail bomb suspect Cesar Sayoc was distinctive to say the least.
Every window of the van was covered in pro-Trump stickers and memes. Here are some of the more notable.
Trump standing atop a tank holding a machine gun: This image appears to have been first shared on the website DeviantArt, a place where online illustrators share and comment on each other’s work.
It was created by an illustrator with the username SharpWriter who has also drawn Trump flying past Mount Rushmore on an eagle that fires cruise missiles and Abraham Lincoln as a topless MMA fighter.
Drain the swamp sticker: An enduring Trump slogan, this sticker is a collage of everything included in the Trumpian view of the Washington elite. As well as unsurprising inclusions like the Clintons and CNN, there are also nods to things that don’t seem particularly swampy like the grass roots Black Lives Matter movement and “criticising law enforcement”. A number of people featured in this image received pipe bombs in the mail, including the Clintons and Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
It’s not clear where this particular image originated but one of the earliest online uses was on a blog for National Black Republican Association, a group that was founded in 2005 by Frances Rice, a retired US army colonel.
Jill Stein, Michael Moore, Jill Stein and CNN’s Van Jones in crosshairs: Michael Moore and Hillary Clinton are common enemies of the Trump fan, but the other two figures are slightly unusual. Jill Stein has been largely absent from politics since the election, except when she’s been blamed by Democrats for acting as a spoiler and helping Trump ascend to the presidency. Van Jones does appear on Trump’s most loathed network, but is also working with the White House on prison reform and was recently criticised for being too soft on Jared Kushner in a rare sit-down interview.
Obama riding a tricycle and smoking cannabis: Potentially a riff on a real photograph of a young Obama riding a tricycle, this photoshopped image shows Obama superimposed on to a trike, with a cigarette poking out of his mouth and a cannabis leaf on his helmet. Obama’s more liberal approach to drug policy shielded legalised marijuana from federal intervention and enabled the pot industry to flourish. It was posted to a tricycle reddit two years before Trump took office. For good measure, Obama is also pictured in crosshairs.
Unconquered Seminole Tribe: Many of the stickers on the van appear to refer to Native Americans and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, including a large one on the rear window. Earlier today a spokesperson for the Tribe said there was no record of Sayoc being a member. “He’s not a member of the Seminole Tribe, has never been a member of the Seminole Tribe,” they told Politico.
