The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan, currently has an exhibit on display in its lobby called, “The President and the Cartoonist.” Using the political cartoons of Pat Oliphant, this exhibit examines how Ford rose to the challenge of the presidency by exploring some of the difficult decisions that defined his administration and shaped his legacy. Oliphant was a Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist whose career spanned sixty years, covering the presidencies of Lyndon B. Johnson through Barack Obama, before retiring in 2015. Although Ford’s decisions were not met with universal approval during his time in office, Ford himself was guided by his goals to heal the public trust, tattered in the wake of Watergate, and build a stronger nation. 

You can view the exhibit in person at the Library until late March 2025. But if you can’t make it by then, you can also view the artwork on the Library & Museum’s digital artifacts collection website at: The President and the Cartoonist.

Here are just a few of the cartoons on display…

Author: Dr. Mirelle Luecke and Brooke Clement