Like many others, today I participated in the “Ides of Trump” postcard campaign, a campaign intended to deluge the White House with postcards critical of Donald Trump.
Some of my postcards were store-bought featuring photos of my hometown, San Francisco, as well as other Northern California cities and scenic areas. But others were homemade, printed on my color inkjet printer onto Avery postcards. These ones featured various Trump-related memes (like Trump as Bannon or Putin’s puppet, various impeachment-related messages, side-by-side comparisons of the 2009 and 2017 inauguration crowds, and one comparing Clinton’s popular vote total to Trump’s.
I did 32 postcards in all. Of these, 25 were addressed to Donald Trump, six were addressed to “President Bannon,” and one was addressed to Vice President Mike Pence. I used full-price stamps because I was too lazy to go to the post office. Some leftover holiday-themed stamps from my Christmas cards, but also quite a lot of Wonder Woman stamps and some Harvey Milk stamps as well.
Who knows if Trump himself will ever see or even hear about any of these. But in case he does, I wanted my messages to be unsettling, goading him about the things that gets under his skin (like the idea that someone else is calling the shots and he’s just a puppet, or unflattering comparisons against Obama or Hillary Clinton). And some implied a conspiracy between Mike Pence and Paul Ryan to further unsettle Trump. I made sure to steer clear of anything that could be construed as a physical or violent threat. Aside from being illegal, such rhetoric works against us by making us seem like violent extremists and them as victims.
Below the fold are the messages I sent to each:
Postcards addressed to Donald Trump
- Are you up at 3:00 a.m. because you are having anxiety attacks about your incompetence?
- Ask Paul Ryan about his 25th Amendment remedies comment.
- Bush, Clinton (twice) and Obama (twice) got more Electoral Votes. Hillary beat your Popular Vote. Obama’s crowds were much bigger. People just aren’t into you. [Other side: side by side photos of the 2009 and 2017 inauguration crowds.]
- Congrats! No President in history has had such a low approval rating after being in office only two months.
- James Buchanan is very happy he won’t be the worst president in history anymore.
- Mike Pence was thinking about the 25th Amendment when he picked your cabinet.
- Mr. President*, Hillary is more popular than you, too. Your election will always have an asterisk. [Other side: math equation showing “Hillary Clinton: 65,844,954” over “Donald Trump: 62,979,879,” which is underlined with the difference of “2,865,075” beneath it.]
- Mr. President, Your crimes are being exposed. Everything is unraveling already. Get out before they find enough to imprison you. [Other side: Time magazine cover of Richard Nixon with the caption “The push to impeach”]
- Please get psychiatric help.
- President Trump, Ask Pete Wilson how his election turned California bright blue. You’re ruining the GOP.
- President Trump, It’s not just peeing prostitutes. Putin knows about your illegal business dealings and mob activities, doesn’t he? [Other side: Putin holding a marionette of Donald Trump.]
- President Trump, It’s okay to resign. You hate the job anyway. [Other side: 1974 newspaper with the headline “Nixon Resigns.”]
- President Trump, Mike Pence has promised to make Paul Ryan Vice President after your impeachment. TRUST NO ONE. [Other side: image that says “Impeach Trump.”]
- President Trump, Obama is more popular than you are. Bigger inauguration. Bigger Popular Vote. More Electoral Votes. His first address to Congress had higher ratings. [Other side: side by side photos of the 2009 and 2017 inauguration crowds.]
- President Trump, Putin will expose your misdeeds eventually. Come clean now. [Other side: Picture of Putin holding a baby with Trump’s face Photoshopped over the baby’s.]
- President Trump, thank you for destroying the GOP.
- President Trump, The only way to prove your independence from Steve Bannon is to FIRE HIM. He will overshadow your greatness. [Other side: illustration of Steve Bannon with Donald Trump as a ventriloquist dummy on Bannon’s knee.]
- President Trump, We know you hate the job. It’s okay to resign. You wouldn’t be the first. [Other side: 1974 newspaper with the headline “Nixon Resigns.”]
- President Trump, You betrayed the transgender community. Don’t break your promises to LGB people as well. [Other side: photo of a rainbow pride flag.]
- President Trump, you could hide your criminal business practices before as a family business, but it’s all going to come out now. Your crimes will be exposed.
- President Trump, Your crimes will be exposed eventually. They’ll find enough to send you to jail eventually. [Other side: postcard photo of Alcatraz.]
- Pretty soon we will all know what Putin has on you. It’s all coming out.
- Shame on you for breaking your promise to LGBT voters.
- We gave you a chance and you blew it before inauguration. You woke an angry electorate. [Other side: scenic image that says “Welcome to the Resistance.”]
- Who is really in charge, you or Bannon? Prove it.
Postcards addressed to “President Bannon”
(Reportedly, Trump has been unnerved by the idea of people seeing Bannon as the mastermind in the White House. I figured if he heard about these ones, it might unnerve him and perhaps drive a wedge between the President and his Svengali.)
- President Bannon, He’ll turn on you eventually. Wouldn’t you rather quit before he does?
- President Bannon, No one elected you. Go away! [Other side: “Impeach President Bannon” sign.]
- President Bannon, You’ve awakened a sleeping giant. Your nationalism will doom the GOP in 2018 and 2020.
- The longer you remain in the White House, the more they will dig to expose all of your crimes. It’s all coming out.
- Voting in CA while claiming to be a FL resident to avoid CA taxes is TAX EVASION. Your crimes are being exposed.
- You are a wife abuser and a tax cheat.
Postcards addressed to Vice President Mike Pence
- Vice President Pence, When Trump resigns or is impeached, DO NOT PARDON HIM! Ford would have been re-elected if he didn’t pardon Nixon. [Other side: the text of the first paragraph of Nixon’s Articles of Impeachment.]