It ain't no joke: Putin and Trump caricatures win top prizes at World Press Cartoon awards
A drawing of the Statue of Liberty with her mouth sewn shut, preventing her from speaking. If you look closely, you realise that the lines sewing up Lady Liberty's mouth is actually Donald Trump's famous signature, which the US president loves to show on camera, signed in black marker whenever he seals an executive order. It's the work of cartoonist Darco, originally from Montenegro, and was published in the 21 March issue of Monitor magazine.
Awarded the Grand Prix, it was the big winner of this year's World Press Cartoon, the competition that brings together press cartoons and showcases the most accomplished, the funniest, and also the most thought-provoking images.
"In my opinion, Trump has suspended all the freedoms of the American people and wanted to make sure that each of his signatures shut the mouths of all free people. He also banned the publication of cartoons in well-known daily newspapers such as the Washington Post or the New York Times," Darco told Euronews. "Nowadays, there isn't much freedom in the world press, because newspapers have become private and are no longer the free press they used to be. That's why I think that even the directors and editors of newspapers have no idea what a cartoon is, what humour is, what freedom is," he adds.
The exhibition, which is as important to press design as World Press Photo is to photography, has returned after a two-year break and once again has Portuguese cartoonist António Antunes as its director.
Organised for the first time in 2005, the WPC is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a new venue, moving to Palácio Anjos in Algés.
This year's edition is dominated by images of the US and Russian presidents, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
"Trump and Putin are very present, naturally, because they've been in the news throughout the year. But we have other topics in the spotlight, such as global warming or the Gaza Strip," says António Antunes.
The Portuguese cartoonist, who for more than 50 years has been the main cartoonist for the weekly Expresso and one of the world's biggest names in cartooning, stressed the importance of the art form in the current climate: "With fake news, censorship, pressure, cartoonists being fired and newspapers closed, all of this makes the World Press Cartoon a very popular event for cartoonists from all over the world," .
Vladimir Putin is depicted in a cartoon by German Frank Hoppmann which took first prize in the Caricature category. The work was published on the first day of the year edition of Italien magazine. Hoppmann had already won the Grand Prix in the 2020 edition with a caricature of Boris Johnson, Britain's former prime minister.
Commenting on his very particular style, the German cartoonist told Euronews: "What I like, when I paint or draw, is to provoke a strong reaction, not necessarily a positive one, but one that moves the viewer."
As for the threat to press freedom posed by politicians like Putin, he's not too worried: "I'm pretty sure that crooks like Putin, Erdogan or Trump don't care about caricatures, critical drawings or critical media. That's our job, which certainly requires a bit of courage, even if we're sitting at home and relatively protected. Sometimes we're the target of hostility, which is very common these days on social media. But we have to rise above that."
Finally, the first prize in the Humorous drawing category went to Iranian Nahid Maghsoudi whose cartoon alluded to International Women's Day on 8 March. Published by the Dutch website Cartoon Movement it shows a bloodied burqa hanging on a coatstand, next to an equally bloodied speech bubble, thus showing the silencing of women in some countries.
The World Press Cartoon exhibition, which brings together around 300 drawings from around the world, can be seen at the Palácio Anjos in Algés, Portugal until 8 February 2026.