The American Gangster State: A Brief Comment on Matt Wuerker's Cartoon Depicting Donald Trump in the Mould of a Prohibition Era Gang Leader

Artwork: Matt Wuerker (Politico).

This image should include the military figures who blindly carry out illegal orders from an out-of-control, Wotan-like figure of a president who is using the US armed forces to promote his nefarious agenda of maritime blockade, regime change and resource theft.

As U.S. Marine Major General Smedley Darlington Butler wrote in his book War is a Racket which was published in the 1930s:

"I spent most of my time being a high class muscle-man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism."

© Adeyinka Makinde (2026).

Adeyinka Makinde is a writer based in London, England.