A cartoon by Adam Zyglis that ran in The Buffalo News this week has sparked outrage and even death threats.
In the one-frame image, a man wearing a MAGA hat appears to be drowning in the flood waters while holding up a sign with a message decrying big government. People were angered by the sentiment and targeting of Trump supporters, but even more so because so many people have died as a result of the flood, including children.
The Museum of Journalism was planning an event that would feature work by Zyglis, but it was postponed out of caution.
The Associated Press reports:
Death threats over Texas flooding cartoon force museum journalism event to be postponed
An event in support of local reporting was postponed after death threats against a journalist for his newspaper editorial cartoon about the catastrophic flooding in Texas, according to a union.
An online fury erupted this week over an editorial cartoon in The Buffalo News by Pulitzer Prize-winner Adam Zyglis showing a man in a MAGA cap being swept away by the Texas floodwaters. Nose deep in the water, the man is holding up a sign that reads “Help” and a speech bubble floating downstream says: “Gov’t is the problem not the solution.”
At least 120 people were killed in the Texas flooding and more than 170 were missing.
The Buffalo Newspaper Guild said a happy hour event Thursday at the Buffalo History Museum called “Drawing Support for Local Journalism” was postponed amid the backlash. The free, public event was planned to highlight the need for local journalism at a museum exhibit of Zyglis’ work.
You can see the cartoon, and some angry comments, below:
It takes a special type of evil to mock Kerrville Texas Flood victims. The message from @adamzyglis and the @TheBuffaloNews is clear: if you support @POTUS then you and your children deserve to die.
Now Zyglis is whining because he got backlash.
Gee, who could have foreseen… pic.twitter.com/MtN8wU7yJd
— Red (@MisanthropeFLA) July 11, 2025
DISGRACE: @TheBuffaloNews runs a VILE cartoon by artist Adam Zyglis, appearing to mock Texas families affected by the floods because they voted for Trump pic.twitter.com/PJkodyXFsI
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 9, 2025
Human garbage cartoonist Adam Zyglis, who works for the Buffalo News thinks its funny that over 100 people, including dozens of children lost their lives in the catastrophic floods in Texas pic.twitter.com/EI0wdshyQ8
— The Conservative Read (@theconread) July 11, 2025
How SCUMMY can one get??
So let me get this straight…
Adam Zyglis for the Buffalo News thought it was funny… to mock flood victims in Texas…28 children drowned…
105 lives lost…
And he draws a cartoon making fun of them—while they scream “HELP”? pic.twitter.com/HMSl1N7aWw
— A Gene Robinson (@AlBuffalo2nite) July 11, 2025
What is wrong with leftists? Why do so many of them seem to react with glee to situations like this?
Read the full article here