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The Cuban-American Artist That Made This Controversial Trump Piece Is Saying He’s Not Sorry About It

By February 6, 2017 at 4:44 pm

You might have never heard of Edel Rodriguez before but chances are you’ve seen his work on any number of magazines over the years. The 45-year-old Cuban-American artist’s provocative work has caught the attention of fans and critics alike, but his most recent contribution to magazine Der Spiegel, a German publication with a circulation of around 1 million, has stirred controversy and heated debate.

The cover of Der Spiegel features President Trump holding the Statue of Liberty’s head as if it was beheaded.


According to BBC News, Edel Rodriguez said the image depicts Trump’s “beheading of democracy.”

The cover was inspired by President Trump’s controversial “immigration ban.”


For Rodriguez, the Statue of Liberty symbolizes the importance of immigration in U.S. history — an important theme in his work.

a cover I illustrated 20 years ago #ERcovers

A photo posted by Edel Rodriguez (@edelrodriguez) on


Rodriguez designed this cover for Time magazine 20 years ago.

Edel Rodriguez created the Der Spiegel cover to compare ISIS to President Trump, both of which he considers to be extremists.

that time I unfurled the American flag at El Morro castle in Havana, Cuba. A flag that hadn't been seen there since 1961.

A photo posted by Edel Rodriguez (@edelrodriguez) on

The Washington Post reports that Edel Rodriguez, who fled Cuba in 1980 when he was 9 years old, was “angered” by President Trump’s immigration “ban.”

The Der Spiegel cover isn’t the first time Edel Rodriguez has drawn inspiration from President Trump.


This Time cover highlighted a tumultuous time in Trump’s campaign last August. He had just replaced his campaign manager with Kellyanne Conway and brought Stephen Bannon aboard. At the time it appeared that Trump’s ship was sinking, however, this ultimately proved wrong.

Edel’s “Meltdown” motif was updated a few months later after Trump’s campaign suffered another major hit.

my NEW cover for TIME magazine is out today. Thanks to art director D.W. Pine and editor Nancy Gibbs for the opportunity. They're doing a great job this election season. From TIME magazine: "The Oct. 24 issue of TIME may look a little familiar to some readers. In order to capture the latest twists in Donald Trump’s campaign and the rising anger within the Republican party leadership about their standard bearer’s behavior, we asked artist Edel Rodriguez to reprise his illustration of Donald Trump which appeared on the Aug. 22 issue of TIME—this time with just one small twist. (Read TIME creative director D.W. Pine on the impact of Rodriguez’s original image.) Rodriguez was formerly an international art director for the magazine and has since completed a variety of covers for TIME, including the cover that followed the 2015 attacks on Paris. This week mark’s the sixth time—and the fifth since he launched his presidential campaign in June 2016—Trump has been on magazine’s cover. The businessman first appeared on the cover in 1989. By comparison, Trump’s opponent Hillary Clinton has appeared on TIME’s cover 31 times; she was first on the cover in September 1992 when her husband Bill was two months away from winning the White House." #time #edelrodriguez #studioedel #election2016 #edelcovers

A photo posted by Edel Rodriguez (@edelrodriguez) on


This cover came shortly after the leaked audio between Donald Trump and Billy Bush surfaced, and around the same time as the disastrous final debate. Polls at the time suggested Trump’s chances to win the presidency were very slim. Again, this proved wrong.

Edel Rodriguez’s work has been featured on the cover of Der Spiegel before. The image featured a familiar face.

My new cover for Germany's Der Spiegel magazine, "The End of the World (as we know it)" #ercovers #edelrodriguez

A photo posted by Edel Rodriguez (@edelrodriguez) on


Yep, Donald Trump. This cover was released a few days after the November elections and features the title: “The End Of The World (as we know it).”

Though Rodriguez’s design for Der Spiegel has drawn a lot of criticism, the Cuban-American artist defends his choice.


Rodriguez defended himself on Instagram, saying, “history has shown that shedding light on hate is better than hiding it so here you go.”

Rodriguez has his own reasons for his disdain of Trump’s policies, not the least of which is that he is a Cuban refugee.


“I don’t want to live in a dictatorship,” Rodriguez told the Washington Post. “If I wanted to live in a dictatorship, I’d live in Cuba, where it’s much warmer.”


READ: In Protest Against Trump’s Immigration Ban, 1,000 NYC Bodega Owners Closed Up Shop For A Day

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Rihanna Hilariously Took A Jab At Trump While Taking Out The Trash On Inauguration Day— ‘I’m just here to help’

Fierce

Rihanna Hilariously Took A Jab At Trump While Taking Out The Trash On Inauguration Day— ‘I’m just here to help’

By January 26, 2021 at 2:57 pm
BY  | January 26, 2021 AT 2:57 pm

Rihanna just proved that she’s capable of just about anything. Last week, the class act proved that she can class up even the trashiest of things. While on a walk to the curb with bags of trash the singer rocked diamonds and a pair of satin pink peep-toe heels and gloves in a pointed jab at former President Trump. 

She might be a star but Rihanna isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty when it comes to taking out the trash on behalf of President Joe Biden.

Last Wednesday, the singer and fashion designer celebrated Biden’s inauguration and Trump’s exit with a silly post on her Instagram page. Dressed in stilettos, the “Love On The Brain” singer carried two bags of garbage out to the curb with a caption that read “I’m just here to help #WeDidItJoe.”

The comment was a clear nod to Vice President Kamala Harris and President Biden’s historic win and their ultimate swearing-in last week.

Dressed in a vintage tee-shirt reading ‘End Racism By Any Means Necessary’ Rihanna threw some shade and the trash away. 

Continuing to throw shade in the caption, Rihanna added: ‘I’m just here to help.’ The singer has proven herself to be an ultimate fan of the Biden-Harris ticket. Last year when they won the election she tweeted about their win writing “The faces of history makers, boundary breakers, and WINNERS!!CONGRATULATIONS to you both, and mostly to the American people!! So much work to do, so much hurt to undo! Let’s GO! I’m so proud of you America!”

Fortunately, it looks like Rihanna is showing no signs of slowing down her celebrations this year.

On Sunday, the Savage x Fenty owner shared a video of herself dancing in a hotel room while sporting some of her own line’s lingerie.

After doing some twerks and showing off a Savage x Fenty dotted mesh skirt, and a set of matching gloves, RiRi gave fans a fun Valentine’s Day champagne toast.

“Cupid could NEVA!” she captioned her post. “#ValentinesDayCountdown.”

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Trump Labels Cuba A State Sponsor Of Terrorism As His Own Supporters Face Similar Allegations

Things That Matter

Trump Labels Cuba A State Sponsor Of Terrorism As His Own Supporters Face Similar Allegations

By January 12, 2021 at 3:31 pm
BY  | January 12, 2021 AT 3:31 pm

In a move that is sure to complicate things for the incoming Biden administration, Trump has moved to put Cuba back on the list of nations that allegedly sponsor terrorism.

Obama had taken Cuba off of that list in 2015 and with four years to Cuba back on the list, many agree that Trump has simply put Cuba back on the list to make life difficult for President Biden.

The Trump administration has put Cuba back on the list of countries that “sponsor terrorism.”

With just days left in office, Trump has moved to label Cuba as a “state sponsor of terrorism” in a last-minute move that is sure to complicate things for the incoming Biden administration.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo justified the controversial move which reverses Barack Obama’s 2015 decision to remove Cuba from the list after more than three decades – by accusing Havana of “repeatedly providing support for acts of international terrorism in granting safe harbour to terrorists”.

Pompeo also alleged Cuba was engaging “in a range of malign behavior across the region”, highlighting its support for Venezuela’s authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro who Trump has unsuccessfully tried to overthrow.

The controversial step places Cuba alongside Iran, North Korea and Syria as state sponsors of terror.

However, most officials agree that Trump’s claims about Cuba are bogus.

Many international observers – including U.S. allies – aren’t impressed by the administration’s claims that Cuba is sponsoring terrorism.

In an interview with The Guardian, Christopher Sabatini, a senior fellow for Latin America at Chatham House, said “These are trumped up charges. Terrorism as an international definition is committing acts of violence against unarmed civilians intended to frighten the population. Cuba doesn’t do that. Yes, it represses its own people – but so does Saudi Arabia.”

Groups that favor greater U.S. engagement with Cuba criticized the announcement.

“There is no compelling, factual basis to merit the designation,” according to Ric Herrero, executive director of the Cuba Study Group, a Washington DC-based organization that supports engagement with the island. “Instead it appears to be another shameless, last-ditch effort to hamstring the foreign policy of the incoming Biden administration and set the stage for the next election in Florida, all at the expense of the Cuban people and relations between our countries.”

Many observers agree that Trump’s move is simply a gift to party hardliners in Florida, and likely a deliberate attempt to make life difficult for the incoming Biden administration who may wish to end deténte with Cuba.

Of course, Cuban officials reacted angrily to the announcement.

After the announcement, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez tweeted: “We condemn the US announced hypocritical and cynical designation of #Cuba as a State sponsoring terrorism. The US political opportunism is recognized by those who are honestly concerned about the scourge of terrorism and its victims.”

Reversing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s action would require the Biden administration to certify to Congress that there has been a fundamental change in leadership in Cuba and that the government is not supporting acts of international terrorism, has not for the previous six months and will not do so in the future.

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