Goodbye, 2020! Political cartoonist R.J. Matson shares some of his favorite posts from a truly odd year, starting with its singular event
We all felt like the subject in Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” when the pandemic first hit, as captured in “The COVID-19 Scream,” from March 4. (R.J. Matson/Capitol Ink)
“Strange days indeed!” as John Lennon sang some 40 years ago. As if an impeachment trial and a presidential election weren’t enough, both were eclipsed by a seemingly endless global pandemic. 2020 was, suffice it to say, a VERY odd year — one like no other before it.
But before we say goodbye to 2020, let’s a look back at the moments that made us pause and gave us cause, starting with this year’s singular event: the coronavirus pandemic.
Panic was all the rage in the early days of the pandemic leading up to the shutdown in The Keep Calm Before the Storm, published on March 11.Holidays were extra tricky this year. The Easter Bunny Gets Real, from March 26, depicts how festive the country felt while in lockdown. As the pandemic raged, everything was affected, including political primaries, as depicted in Voter PPE from April 4.Memorial Wall, from April 29, reflects on how out of control the virus seemed, with more than 55,000 deaths reported at the time.The Sorcerer’s Stimulus from May 18 lampoons the lengths to which Speaker Nancy Pelosi will go to get pandemic relief passed.June 25’s Fast Food Senate skewers Mitch McConnell’s apparent top priority during the pandemic — appointing federal judges.President Trump’s disastrous decision to hold a campaign rally in the middle of a pandemic is parodied in The Golden Driller from June 18.Welcome back Congress from Sept. 9 shows what awaited lawmakers after their August recess.Oct. 6’s Joy Ride sums up not only President Trump’s attitude following his own hospitalization from COVID-19 but also his entire handling of the pandemic.Take a journey into the uncanny valley of partisan dysfunction in Holiday classic from Dec. 9.
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