Trump Administration Doubles Down On Cruel ‘Franklin’ Posts Despite Publisher Criticism | EUROtoday

The Trump administration isn’t retreating into its shell after the writer of the beloved kids’s e book sequence “Franklin the Turtle” knocked officers’ “unauthorized” use of the cartoon reptile.

The DOJ submit included an illustrated cowl of a faux e book titled “Franklin Becomes A Deportation Judge” that confirmed the fictional turtle carrying a white wig and a decide’s gown and holding a gavel in his hand.

Last month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted an apparently AI-generated cowl of a e book titled “Franklin Targets Narco Terrorists” on social media. The cowl featured Franklin in a helicopter and apparently firing missiles at drug boats, making gentle of the administration’s boat strike scandal.

“For your Christmas wish list,” Hegseth wrote alongside the picture.

Kids Can Press, the Canadian-owned writer of Paulette Bourgeois’ “Franklin the Turtle” books, denounced Hegseth’s submit and its appropriation of the character the following day.

“Franklin the Turtle is a beloved Canadian icon who has inspired generations of children and stands for kindness, empathy, and inclusivity,” the assertion learn. “We strongly condemn any denigrating, violent, or unauthorized use of Franklin’s name or image, which directly contradicts these values.”

Other departments beneath President Donald Trump have continued to applicable the character to advance the administration’s agenda. The Department of Education used Franklin to say that the division “doesn’t do any educating.” The Department of Health and Human Services shared a fake cowl that includes the turtle avoiding “ultra-processed foods” in an effort to “Make America Healthy Again.”

Kids Can Press didn’t instantly reply to a request for additional remark.