Iowa paper sorry for slurs against Vivek Ramaswamy in offensive cartoon.

An Iowa Newspaper Apologizes for Offensive Cartoon Depicting Republican Candidate

An Iowa newspaper recently stirred controversy when it published a political cartoon featuring Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. The cartoon portrayed Ramaswamy as the target of racial slurs from his own prospective Republican supporters. However, the Quad-City Times, the newspaper responsible for the cartoon, has since issued an apology for the offensive depiction.

The cartoon, published on June 21 in the opinion section of the Quad-City Times, depicted Ramaswamy at a sparsely attended campaign rally. In the cartoon, all three attendees can be seen shouting insults at him.

During the rally depicted in the cartoon, Ramaswamy addresses the crowd by saying, “Hello my MAGA friends,” referring to Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) campaign slogan. Ramaswamy has also used the phrase “make America great again” in his own campaign materials.

One of the attendees in the cartoon is shown shouting, “Get me a slushee Apu!!!” at Ramaswamy, who is of Indian descent. The name “Apu” is a likely reference to a character from the cartoon series “The Simpsons,” who has been criticized as a caricature of Indian immigrants.

Another attendee in the cartoon is depicted shouting, “Muslim!!” at Ramaswamy, who is actually Hindu. This inaccurate religious reference may be a factual error by the artist or a suggestion that Republican voters do not understand the distinction between the two religions.

The cartoon also shows a third attendee shouting, “Show us your birth certificate!!!” This seems to imply that Ramaswamy is not a natural-born citizen, which is a constitutional requirement for a presidential candidate.

Ramaswamy took to Twitter to express his disappointment with the cartoon, stating, “It’s sad that this is how the MSM views Republicans. I’ve met with grassroots conservatives across America & never *once* experienced the kind of bigotry that I regularly see from the Left. Iowa’s [Quad City Times] absolutely has the right to print this, but it’s still shameful.”

Newspaper Issues Apology

Following the backlash, Tom Martin, the executive editor of the Quad City Times, issued an apology for the offensive cartoon.