Cognitive Dissonance Skippy

Would you like your cognitive dissonance creamy or with nuts?

Last week, the Supreme Court overturned Donald Trump's executive order revoking birthright citizenship. Unfortunately for Trump, birthright citizenship is protected by the United States Constitution.

Birthright citizenship is explicitly guaranteed to anyone born under the legal "jurisdiction" of the US federal government by the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution (adopted July 9, 1868), which states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

It does not get any clearer than that. It is so clear that this case should not have even made it all the way to the Supreme Court. Despite that, three of the conservative justices, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch, voted to uphold Trump's racist and unlawful EO.

Last week, Trump called Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, and asked him to review the suspension of Folarin Balogun, the top scorer of the US team, who was given a straight red card during the round of 32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, and thus suspended from playing in last night's game against Belgium.

On Sunday, FIFA overturned the suspension and allowed Balogun to play in the game thanks to Trump's intervention and meddling. This move outraged the soccer world, as it looked like the US team was receiving special treatment and that the FIFA president was, once again, currying favor with Trump.

It was to no avail, as the US team lost 4-1 to Belgium last night. Many speculated that Trump once again jinxed a sports team. Everything Donald Trump touches dies. Are you tired of winning yet?

But Trump's hypocrisy and lack of irony need to be pointed out. Folarin Balogun is an American citizen only by birthright citizenship.

Balogun was born in New York City after his mother, who was born in Nigeria and lived in London at the time, could not board a flight back to England because airline employees said she was too pregnant to fly.

Shortly after his birth, Balogun and his mother traveled back to the UK, where he was ultimately raised. Balogun is eligible to play for Nigeria, the UK, and the US, and ended up deciding to play for the U.S. senior national team, with the decision only possible because of the United States Constitution guaranteeing birthright citizenship.

Trump’s unlawful EO, issued after he returned to office in January 2025, required a baby born on US soil to have at least one parent with citizenship or permanent legal status to gain birthright citizenship. Neither of Balogun’s parents was a US citizen or a permanent legal resident at the time of his birth.

If Trump's EO had been upheld by SCOTUS, Balogun’s citizenship would have been revoked, and he would not have been qualified to play for the US team.

When this was pointed out to White House deputy press secretary Kush Desai on Monday, he dismissed the irony of the situation, saying, “I would say it’s kind of an asinine observation.”

The spokesgoon said, “What the president has regularly called out is the fact that birthright citizenship is unfettered. It was meant originally, as the president discussed before, the babies of freed slaves, that they would … have American citizenship and have the rights of Americans, which we fought an entire Civil War to guarantee.”

None of what Desai said actually addressed Trump's irony or hypocrisy. MAGAts suck at comprehension.

Still grasping, Desai said that “birth tourists,” or those who come to the U.S. to have children and then leave the country, are taking advantage of birthright citizenship. “That’s not what birthright citizenship was intended for, and the administration will continue to kind of look into this issue based on the law.”

Based on the law, Balogun and everyone else born on United States soil, no matter if their parents are citizens or not, are United States citizens.

On Sunday, the same day that FIFA overturned Balogun’s suspension, Speaker Mike Johnson said of birthright citizenship, “We do need to address it. We’re looking at all angles,” and, “If there’s some legislative fix, we’ll advance that immediately. If it’s a constitutional amendment, it takes a little more time. But we’ve got to address this. It really is a serious, serious issue.”

Johnson added, “It’s a threat to the rule of law and national security.”

Babies born to non-citizen parents can grow up to become terrorists…or soccer players.

Creative note: Originally, it was going to be cognitive dissonance chocolate, but after consulting with Laura, she agreed that nationalist chocolate was better, as both MAGAts in the cartoon are suffering from cognitive dissonance.
I miss peanut butter cups.

Subscribers: Building my subscription base here is kind of slow, so I want to thank Michael and Mary, who both became paid subscribers this week. That almost makes up for the three lost subscriptions over the July 4 weekend. How did I lose three paid subscribers on America's birthday? I didn't get a hot dog or any barbecue either.

Drawn in 30 seconds:

Support your local cartoonist: If you want to support the cartoonist, please donate through PayPal to clayjonz@gmail.com, Venmo to clay-jones-87, or snail mail it to Clay Jones, P.O. Box 3721, Fredericksburg, VA 22402.
I also take Zelle.
All support is appreciated.

Signed prints and books: I cannot take orders for signed prints or for my books at this time. So please do not send me money or place orders for them until further notice. Because of the stroke, it is an ordeal for me to get to the post office, so we’re gonna hold up until I’m fully capable of doing so. Thank you for your understanding.

Merch: Did you know there’s a Claytoonz store? My cartoons are printed on mugs, clothing, caps, and even a Peezy T-shirt. If you ever want a specific cartoon on some merch, let me know, and I’ll add it.