Trump Jr tried to protest against Dr Seuss being ‘cancelled’ but there was one problem

Donald Trump Jr’s latest attempt at riling up his supporters over the supposed “cancellation” of childrens’ author Dr Seuss came with one major flaw.

Like many right-wing commentators in recent days, Trump Jr has been trying to stir up controversy over a decision by Dr Seuss Enterprises to cease publication of six of the author’s lesser-known books due to racially insensitive images in them.

The organisation said the depictions of Black and Asian characters in those books were “hurtful and wrong” and argued that ending their publication would help to show support for all communities and families.

However, Trump Jr and much of Fox News have claimed that the move is another example of supposedly rampant “cancel culture” by a “radical left” hell-bent on trying to tear down American culture...

“Let’s preserve some of the goodness and the decency from some of these great books because who knows what next? You saw Mr Potato Head and you saw the Muppets*, they’re all gone in the last 10 days,” Trump Jr said on Wednesday, adding ominously that without pushback there would be “nothing left”...

He then went on Instagram to post a picture with his son, showing himself holding a copy of Dr Seuss’ classic The Cat in the Hat and the caption: “Nighttime reading with my man Spencer. This is an old standby but given the craziness of today it was definitely our first choice.”

However, the major problem with this picture is that no-one is trying to cancel The Cat in the Hat - it’s a beloved childrens’ classic and it will still be in print in the future.

The six books that are actually in question are: And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, If I Ran the Zoo, McElligot’s Pool, OnBeyondZebra!, Scrambled Eggs Super!, and The Cat’s Quizzer.

Maybe Trump Jr didn’t use those books because he didn’t think they’d get as much attention - most likely, he didn’t use them because he probably doesn’t own them. Others pointed out that he might very well own a bi-lingual copy of the book, hence the strange way he was holding it.

It’s telling that figures like him have decided to defend Dr Seuss by pushing one of his most well-loved books rather than by actually defending the books which were pulled from the publication...

The “controversy” is a typical example of right-wing commentators stirring up anger over a so-called “radical left” attempting to destroy American culture when the evidence doesn’t support it.

The things Trump Jr claims to love - The Cat in the Hat, The Muppets, Mr Potato Head - are all still here and leftists are not asking for them to be banned.

Instead, leftists have spent the last week arguing for the $15 minimum wage - something that actually matters...

*Neither Mr Potato Head or The Muppets have been cancelled. In the first case, toymaker Hasbro decided to rebrand their packaging with the gender-neutral Potato Head name - you can still buy the classic Mr Potato Head character. In the second, Disney simply added a brief disclaimer to some old episodes of The Muppets to warn about potentially offensive content - you can still watch those episodes.

More: The controversial things about Dr. Seuss that took me by surprise