Space Purge

Hegseth is firing Black generals

The crew of Artemis II set a record for the farthest-traveled humans from Earth, and they still could not get away from Donald Trump. The mission had a 45-minute blackout from communication with Earth while flying over the dark side of the moon, and Donald Trump was waiting for them when they came out of it.

The astronauts had a very uncomfortable and awkward 12-minute Earth-to-space call, facilitated by NASA administrator and Trump acolyte, Jared Isaacman. During the call, Trump told the astronauts how they would be honored if he got their autographs. They were also honored by Trump blowing smoke up their asses and telling them that he had saved NASA from extinction when, in reality, he tried to cut their budget by 24% when he returned to office for his second term. Not just that, two days after Artemis launched its mission, Trump tried to cut it again by 23%. Trump also spent time on the 12-minute call talking about Wayne Gretzky and how we are the hottest country on the planet right now, which I'm not sure can be seen from space, but I'm sure pretty sure that they can spot Trump's ego.

At least they got off easier than the kids at the White House Easter egg roll, where Trump told children about the Iran war and gaslighted about Joe Biden's use of the autopen. What he should have talked to them about was tacos.

Hopefully, during his call with the astronauts, Trump wasn't aware that the mission's pilot, Victor Glover, is Black. Otherwise, Trump may have tried to have him removed. Currently, the Pentagon is purging Black generals. Glover is a naval officer.

Defense/War Secretary Pete Hegseth is blocking the promotion of four Army officers to be one-star generals. Two of the officers targeted by Kegsbreath are Black, and two are women on a promotion list that consists of about three dozen officers, most of whom are white men.

It is extremely rare for a one-star list to receive this kind of attention and scrutiny from a defense secretary. Whiskey Pete created a campaign to reverse policies that he says are prejudiced against white officers. The Trump administration isn't just trying to whitewash black history from the military archives, but to erase Black officers from the military.

It is also weird for the Pentagon to be firing and removing generals while we are at war. This shows just how unqualified and inept Hegseth and Trump are in their positions.

Since he became Defense Secretary, Hegseth has fired more than a dozen senior military officers, including, just last week, the Army’s chief of staff, Gen. Randy George, who was nominated by President Biden in 2023 for what is typically a four-year term.

On Thursday, Hegseth also removed Maj. Gen. William Green, who was the Army’s chief of chaplains, and Gen. David Hodne, who has headed the Army’s Transformation and Training Command since last year.

Hegseth’s purge of defense officials has also included the ousters of Air Force vice chief of staff Gen. James Slife; Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse; and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti.

In February, Hegseth ordered Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to remove one of his top advisers, Col. David Butler, who was retired Gen. Mark Milley’s spokesperson when he was chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

You would think that the last name for all of these officials was Enola Gay.

Hegseth has said repeatedly that he is determined to change a culture corrupted by “foolish,” “reckless,” and “woke” leaders from previous administrations. You know, smart, intelligent, capable, and qualified leaders who are not total and complete sycophantic morons.

According to some reports, Trump and Hegseth are removing officials who disagree with them. That in itself is extremely dangerous. You do not want to go to war with nothing but Yes Men, or in this case, Yes White Men. That's how you start a war with a country with an inferior military and still lose.

Tonight, and while writing this blog, Donald Trump agreed to a two-week cease-fire with Iran, TACOed out of his threat of destroying their “whole civilization,” and legitimized their control of the Strait of Hormuz. I think Donald Trump is too stupid to realize he just did that.

These negotiations were facilitated by Pakistan, but soon American negotiators will meet with Iranian negotiators in Islamabad. The American delegation is expected to be Steve Witkoff, Trump's stupid son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and possibly JD Vance. This is not exactly America's dream team.

Creative note: Of course, there is a lot of creative license in this cartoon, but one that should be noted is that NASA is not a part of the military, so Pete Hegseth could not fire a Black astronaut…I think.

Drawn in 30 seconds:

Support your local cartoonist: If you want to support the cartoonist, please donate through PayPal to “you know what they say about men with small hands? You can’t trust them.”@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 (clayjonz@gmail.com).
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.