Make Art Great Again?

Artist and Trump superfan Jon McNaughton, conservatives, painting, and Americana

This April, Jon McNaughton, the “unofficial artist” of the Trump administration, unveiled his latest opus, MAGA Ride (see above). Since Trump’s election, McNaughton has produced a series of Trumpiana paintings, each more absurd than the last. MAGA Ride is perhaps the most absurd of all.

In the foreground, President Trump bestrides a “jacked-up” Harley Davidson coated with stars and stripes while Melania Trump rides behind him looking like the love interest in a 1980s Sylvester Stallone flick. Old Glory billows behind as Trump rides past the Capitol Building and an ostentatiously diverse crowd of MAGA cap-wearing onlookers. Little black and white boys chase after the president as he rides over cracks in the road that spell out MAGA. Make America Great Again. McNaughton gives us Trump Rampant.

McNaughton has depicted many visions of Trump: pensive border defender; running back obliterating the Democratic defensive line; Mueller confronter; wise teacher of millennials; flag respecter; hope-bringer to the forgotten man; and literally George Washington.

Critics deride McNaughton’s work as propaganda. He rejects the claim. Propaganda, he maintains, is a state enterprise. He’s just a citizen painting what…