Cartoonist Henry Payne and conservative media outlet National Review have drawn public outcry for a political cartoon depicting Palestinian-American Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, representing Michigan’s 12th District, with a detonated pager.
Published as the National Review’s cartoon of the day on Friday, September 19, Payne’s comic references the recent swath of explosive attacks caused by intercepted personal devices across Lebanon this week. While implying that Tlaib is affiliated with the Lebanese Hezbollah party targeted in the attacks that have killed 37 and injured thousands, Payne titled the comic “Tlaib Pager Hamas” on his website.
Neither Tlaib nor a representative immediately responded to Hyperallergic’s request for comment, though the Congresswoman told Detroit’s Metro Times that “This racism will incite more hate and violence against Arab and Muslim communities and it makes everyone less safe.”
“It’s disgraceful that the media continues to normalize this racism against our communities,” she continued.
Though his column for Detroit News focuses on automobiles, Payne independently creates his own editorial cartoons which are syndicated through Andrews McMeel Syndication. While Payne signs off his comics with his staff email, Detroit News clarified that his comics haven’t been published on their pages for years.
Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud called Payne’s comic “absolutely disgusting” on X, and reiterated Tlaib’s criticisms, saying that “Anti-Arab bigotry & Islamophobia have become normalized in our media.”
Representing Michigan’s 11th District, Congresswoman Haley Stevens also condemned the comic on X, calling it a “racist, Islamophobic depiction of [her] colleague.”
In addition to featuring the comic about Tlaib, the National Review also spotlit Payne’s cartoon about Taylor Swift’s recent endorsement of Presidential candidate Kamala Harris, riffing off titles of some of her greatest hits with commentary about transgender people among other talking points.
Payne did not immediately respond to Hyperallergic’s request for comment.
Another comic about the detonated pagers was included in the round-up as well — illustrated by Las Vegas Review Journal cartoonist Michael Ramirez, whose “Human Shields” (2023) drawing was published and subsequently removed from the Washington Post last November following wide criticism from subscribers.
