Politico pulled a disturbing cartoon amid backlash over its antisemitic imagery that featured President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The outlet issued a statement about “ethnic stereotypes” and “tropes” after a wave of criticism over the political cartoon published as part of its “Cartoon Carousel” last week, which also included Republican members of Congress with blood-stained Jewish prayer shawls and yarmulkes.
“The cartoon, drawn by former New York Post cartoonist Sean Delonas, depicts the lawmakers aboard a rowboat labeled ‘Ship of Neocons’—a play on the Hieronymus Bosch painting Ship of Fools—that is about to plummet over a waterfall,” The Washington Free Beacon reported. “A bag of blood-smeared money crowns the mast, and the word ‘Amalek,’ a reference to a historical enemy of the Jewish people from the Hebrew Bible, appears in the background.”
BREAKING & Disgusting
Anti-Trump blog @Politico Publishes Antisemitic Cartoon Depicting Trump, Republicans Wearing Blood-Covered Jewish Prayer Shawls, Yarmulkes Amid Bags of Money & Mocks @netanyahu with Jewish troupes
h/t @FreeBeacon pic.twitter.com/TImMr9n2c6
— Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) March 28, 2026
“Netanyahu, depicted with an exaggerated nose, is also shown wearing a blood-covered Jewish prayer shawl and eating from a table covered in blood, while Trump, also in a Jewish prayer shawl, is drawn underneath the word ‘Amalek,'” the Free Beacon reported on the cartoon, which also depicted Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., SC), and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) as well as Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
Politico, which is owned by the German publishing company Axel Springer, faced a torrent of criticism after the cartoon was included in its weekly roundup, eventually yanking the image from its site and issuing an editor’s note.
“We removed a cartoon by independent cartoonist Sean Delonas from this week’s gallery after weighing comments from readers that it did not meet our standards,” the note reads.
“Sharp arguments and provocative imagery in political cartoons are within bounds. Images that could be reasonably interpreted to rely on ethnic stereotypes or employing tropes that have been involved in historically hateful ways are not.”
The cartoonist, for his part, responded to the backlash in a blog post, claiming “neocons have been criticizing me and fellow journalists lately for our anti-war stance.”
“All the figures have exaggerated features — it’s a cartoon. I drew more exaggerated noses on Senator Ted Cruz and the GOP elephants in the cartoon than on Bibi. Is that anti-Semitic as well?” Delonas wrote. “Neocons have been contacting publications that use my work for years, and sometimes are successful in getting them to stop publishing my work. I don’t blame news outlets or other publishers for not using my work — they just don’t want the hassle. I also don’t have a problem with people criticizing my work, but do have a problem with people trying to get me banned. So much for the Freedom of Speech.”
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
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