Last night I designed five different posters and signs designed to protest against Donald Trump. If you just want to download them without reading any further, you can find them here.
This will be a long post, so here are the different sections if you want to skip around.
Why? Donald Trump Has Dementia.
Donald Trump has dementia. That alone is reason enough to make him unfit for office. You can have your choice from a myriad of other reasons to want him gone.
Evidence
#1 Trump Takes Credit For Not Preventing 9/11
October 5, 2025 while making remarks at Naval Station Norfolk, President Trump claimed he knew about Osama Bin Laden one year prior to the 9/11 attacks.
Trumps remarks at Naval Station Norfolk, October 5, 2025.
And we don’t want to be politically correct anymore. And history will never forget that it was the SEALs who stormed the compound at Osama bin Laden and put a bullet in his head. Remember that. And please remember I wrote about Osama bin Laden exactly one year ago, one year before he blew up the World Trade Center. And I said, “You got to watch Osama bin Laden.” And the fake news would never let me get away with that statement unless it was true. But I said one year before to Pete Hegseth. I said one year before. Where’s Pete? In the book I wrote, whatever the hell the title. I can’t tell you. But I can tell you there’s a page in there devoted to the fact that I saw somebody named Osama bin Laden and I didn’t like it and you got to take care of him. And they didn’t do it. A year later he blew up the World Trade Center. So we got to take a little credit because nobody else is going to give it to me. You know the old story, they don’t give you credit, just take it yourself. And it was the US Navy that dumped his wretched corpse off the decks of the Carl Vinson to sink into the dark abyss. The Navy’s central role in the defense of our liberty continues to this day.
The book, The America We Deserve, was published January 15, 2000. It was ghost written by Dave Shiflett. This is the only mention of Osama Bin Laden in the book:
One day we're told that a shadowy figure with no fixed address named Osama bin-Laden is public enemy number one, and U.S. jetfighters lay waste to his camp in Afghanistan. He escapes back under some rock, and a few news cycles later it's on to a new enemy and new crisis.
There was no prediction or warning on his part, but Trump has claimed as early as 2016 that he warned everyone about Bin Laden attacking America. He can’t tell you the title of the book, because he didn’t write it anyway.
#2 This Meeting Could Have Been A Post-It Note
Or toilet paper.
On September 30, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and President Trump addressed approximately 800 generals and admirals at Marine Corp Base Quantico. These men and women were recalled from their stations all around the globe for what can only be described as a failed pep rally.
It went like this:
- 9 minutes of patriotic music.
- 3 minutes of General Dan Caine’s introduction
- 45 minute Pete Hegseth address
- 24 minutes of patriotic music
- 70 minutes of President Trump
Ignoring everything that happened before Trump, watching him was like chewing on aluminum foil. It felt like a 70-minute stream of consciousness. He covers everything from the Gulf of America renaming, how battleships should be prettier, how the Boeing F-47 is named after him, to how much better he is than Joe Biden (repeatedly). Very often I would find myself laughing, and then I had to remember that he’s the Commander in Chief.
You have probably seen clips of this here and there. A 20 second soundbyte doesn’t give this performance justice. Try to watch all of Trump’s speech. I dare you. I double dog dare you. Watch it and tell me this is a normal human being giving a normal address. Trump takes the stage at about 1 hour and 23 minutes.
#3 The Trump Tapes
This one is last because, sorry, paywall. It’s an interactive article at The Washington Post where Bob Woodward shares audio from 20 interviews with Donald Trump. It is a different thing to hear Trump answer questions versus just reading the answers. I paid $4 to get a trial subscription to check it out.
But Why Else?
The leader of the free world having dementia should be sufficient. We should be able to stop the conversation there.
However, my opinion is that he systematically testing how much freedom he can strip from Americans, and how much control he can exercise.
Stripping Free Speech
On August 25, 2025, Trump issued an Executive Order against flag burning. The announcement of this order also included a statement that flag burning would be accompanied by a one year prison sentence. The Supreme Court ruled in Texas v. Johnson (1989) that flag burning is a symbolic act protected by the First Amendment. I didn’t think much about this Executive Order, because often they don’t amount to much. Presidents can’t unilaterally pass new laws.
Then this happened:
This post from Trump’s Truth Social platform is promoting the idea of one year of prison for flag burning. But he’s also rallying ICE, law enforcement, and military to make these arrests. This was October 2, and it prompted me to read the Executive Order in full. My thought upon reading it initially was that flag burning was still protected under free speech, but it could be interpreted as means of inciting violence. I joked at the time that if you’re going to burn a flag, you better make sure you’re singing “Kumbaya” while you do it to make no mistake that you don’t intend to incite violence.
Two days later, The White House held “A Roundtable on ANTIFA“. This was a spectacular grandstanding where hand picked journalists (using the term generously) were asked to give their accounts of encountering violent ANTIFA members. At 5 minutes 45 seconds Trump doubled down (tripled down?) on flag burning and implies that all flag burning will be interpreted as inciting violence and would be treated as such.
Now I don’t want to burn a flag, but I want to be able to. And if you tell me I can’t do something, I’m more likely to want to do it out of spite. Once we start infringing on freedom of speech, what is next?
Practice For Martial Law
Trump has already sent the National Guard to Portland and Chicago. In the September 30 Quantico meeting, he mentioned the idea of America’s military training and proving themselves in American cities. Now he’s doing it. People who stand up to him lose their jobs, so few do. He’s a guy who throws shit at the wall to see what sticks. The wall is getting sticky and no one wants to clean it.
ANTIFA is now a designated terrorist organization, but has no known headquarters, members, or structure as far as I can tell. It sounds like ANTIFA is anyone who loudly opposes President Trump. Am I ANTIFA because I am writing this blog post? My membership card must have been lost in the mail. How am I supposed to get my 10% discount at Ski Masks R Us?
With a hand tightening on free speech, the ability to label any antagonist a terrorist, and a military presence in major cities, it’s not a stretch to think this is a trial run (or initial steps) for establishing martial law. If citizens resort to violence against military forces, it will give him the justification he needs to invoke the Insurrection Act.
Inspiration
The inspiration to make posters came from President Trump himself. The design of some of them came from a conversation between Congresswoman Madeleine Dean and Speaker Mike Johnson.
Those Darn Poster Makers
During the ANTIFA Roundtable, President Trump made some remarks that just really irked me as a printmaker. It was just another great example of someone having all the answers without knowing anything about the subject. Around the 4:27 mark he said:
When you see the signs and they’re all made out of beautiful…beautiful paper, beautiful nice stiff, very expensive paper with beautiful wood handles, all the same. All the same color they come from very expensive printing machines. These are not people who write out their signs in a basement that believe in something. These are paid anarchists.
Do you know what I have in my basement studio? It’s a fully functional screen printing studio made from plywood, 2x4s, and refuse meant for the landfill. I could probably build the whole thing from scratch again for less than $1500. And I can make BEAUTIFUL PRINTS FOR PENNIES. (For as well funded as these ANTIFA guys are, none of that money seems to come my way.)
And so in a “hold my beer” moment I set out to design some signs and posters. I made five different designs. They are available to download in PDF format and printed at your local commercial printer, who will probably offer bulk discounts. And if you happen to know a DIY screen printer type, I’ve also made the Adobe Illustrator design files free, too. That should allow them to make film positives for photo stencils (though a little work will need to be done to them first).
“The President Is Unhinged.”
In a hot mic moment between Congresswoman Madeleine Dean (D-PA) said to Speaker Mike Johnson, “The president is unhinged. He is unwell.” And instead of outright denying it, he replied, “A lot of folks on your side are too.” She brought up the rambling September 30 Quantico meeting, which the Speaker said he didn’t see. She went on to say, “Our allies are looking elsewhere. Our enemies are laughing.”
Her impassioned plea to the Speaker was inspiration for four of the poster designs.
“Unhinged.”
This images features a stylized illustration of a well bronzed Trump, with part of his face drooping. It has been theorized that at some point the President may well have had a stroke based on a number of physical symptoms he has exhibited.
The words are directly from Congresswoman Dean.
18 x 24 Inch
24 x 36 Inches
Adobe Illustrator Design Files
“Allies.”
Words also by Congresswoman Dean, this shows a “No Trump” symbol at the top and the words, “Our allies are looking elsewhere.”
18 x 24 Inch
24 x 36 Inches
Adobe Illustrator Design Files
“Enemies.”
Words by Congresswoman Dean. It depicts a laughing drama mask with fangs and the words, “Our enemies are laughing at us.”
18 x 24 Inch
24 x 36 Inches
Adobe Illustrator Design Files
“Unfit.”
“Unhinged” and “Unwell” were both used by Congresswoman Dean to describe Trump. “Unfit” is my contribution.
While this is a very simple black on white design, it makes it that much easier for a DIY print maker to churn out a lot of them.
18 x 24 Inch
24 x 36 Inches
Adobe Illustrator Design Files
The Epstein Files
This is not a thing I get terribly worked up about. First the Republicans were excited because Clinton was going to be in there. Then the Democrats were excited because Trump was going to be in there. Everyone assumes there is a client list, but as far as I can tell the existence of an actual client list is wishful thinking. It’s just that, if it did exist, that would be one hell of a “Gotcha!” for whomever exposes it.
But let’s talk about this birthday card. The one the Wall Street Journal exposed.
Donald Trump made that birthday card. How could anyone believe otherwise? He will never admit it is his signature, but if he did, does the card really prove anything? We already know Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein were good friends for many years. There is ample evidence to that fact. We also know Trump has had a consistently inappropriate and misogynistic approach towards women.
But he keeps doubling down about how it’s all a hoax and there’s nothing there to see. Do I have to drive over the state line to Missouri? Show me. And thus the inspiration for the final poster.
“Release.”
It’s a simple poster with a blown up image of the Epstein birthday card, Trump’s alleged signature circled in red, and three simple words in all caps: “RELEASE THE FILES.”
18 x 24 Inch
24 x 36 Inches
Adobe Illustrator Design Files
Now What?
Take these signs and download them. Hang them in your store fronts. Wave them at your protests. Protect democracy! Save the republic!
If only it were that easy.
A Word About Empathy
Empathy is hard. Really hard. Most people confuse empathy for sympathy or caring for the underprivileged. Empathy is really putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. It’s asking why a person might vote for someone who you greatly oppose and really trying to understand those reasons.
I don’t know what my breaking point was. It certainly hasn’t helped that I haven’t had a steady job since January and it’s now October. Maybe having enough time on my hands has brought out the activist in me.
If you’ve been out there trying to do something, anything, and you can’t figure out why people don’t feel the same way as you, it’s this: Most of us, most of the time, are just trying to keep our heads above water. If I were working a 40+ hour week job, do you think I’d spend 70 minutes watching Donald Trump stumble through an address to generals and admirals at Quantico? Or would I wind down the day by listening to 1997’s Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space by Spirtitualized? (Which, for my fellow music nerds, is precisely 70 minutes long).
Most people have a hard time staying informed and an even harder time staying objectively informed. Stack on that trying to take that information and take at stand in your community. Most people don’t have the energy. So I understand if you’re not ready to make full use of my new and exciting imagery.
And if you voted for Trump, I can have empathy and understand that too. I didn’t, but I realize that many times when it comes down to picking a candidate that it comes down to just one or two issues. You made a choice and that’s okay. But if you watch that 70 minute address at Quantico and tell me that seems perfectly normal, I’m going to start to wonder about your cognitive abilities.
Barriers To Protesting
I’ve never been much for public protesting, but I always wish I felt that strongly about something. My issues are two-fold. I’m extremely introverted and don’t like crowds of people. The exception I make is for live music. Second, I feel that events are too broad in hopes of attracting more people. If the event organizer says, “We want X, Y, and Z!” but I only want “X and Y”, I feel like my presence implies I also want “Z”. That makes me uncomfortable, especially if I’m opposed to “Z”.
Events often take on a kind of tribalism and I don’t have a clear cut tribe. Nor do I think it’s a good idea. I’m very tired of these “us versus them” conversations. Why can’t we focus on the things we clearly agree on? Lately I have been working my way through the book The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided on Politics and Religion by Jonathon Haidt. It takes a methodical approach at breaking down why people on both ends of the spectrum are very bad at using logic and instead rely far too much on emotion for our intuition. Emotion is a powerful thing that can drive people to do things like protest, and that’s good. I just wish the protests were thought out more.
Other Ways To Participate
- Put a sign in your yard or the window of your home.
- Write your Congressional Representative and Senators.
- Write the President
- Phone your representatives using 5 Calls.
- Send The Trump Letter to cabinet officials and Republican members of Congress.
- Share the Social Media images to your various platforms.
And All The Rest
To my designer friends, I know that these are not award winning posters. I still think they are decent iterations given that I did five of them in a few hours. I may continue to update the designs as time goes on. As far as I’m concerned they remain relevant so long as Donald Trump remains in office.
Shout out to Frank Artinghard. The silhouette of Trump I used in to of the poster designs comes from his Trump Letter, which is a riffing on the Epstein Letter.
Apologies for the great deal of words here. I know it’s more essay than blog post. I believe fundamentally that the Internet is not a good medium for intellectual discourse. That’s a subject for another time. If you hung in here and read it all, I appreciate you.
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