Newspapers Pull 'Non Sequitur' Comic Strip After Secret Trump Insult Discovered

Newspapers across the country are dropping a comic strip after the artist hid a message for President Donald Trump on the page.

The comic strip "Non Sequitur" encourages readers to color in its black and white line drawings. This may have been why readers were looking closely enough to spot a short sentence in big looping handwriting scrawled into the bottom corner of one panel. According to a report by The Washington Post, more than a dozen newspapers have now discontinued the comic since seeing the message.

"We fondly say go f— yourself to Trump," the comic read.

Here is the image of the Non Sequitur comic strip.
With the oh-so clever Trump insult pic.twitter.com/rlHwKqbHFj

— Fran Warren (@FranWarren) February 11, 2019

The hidden message was in Sunday's issue of "Non Sequitur," written and illustrated by Wiley Miller told the Post that he had simply forgotten to remove his scribbled note before sending his final draft out to newspapers.

"When I opened the paper Sunday morning and read my cartoon, I didn't think anything of it, as I didn't notice the scribbling that has now caught fire," Miller said. "It was not intended for public consumption, and I meant to white it out before submitting it, but forgot to. Had I intended to make a statement to be understood by the readers, I would have done so in a more subtle, sophisticated manner."

However, on Sunday, Miller did post a tweet telling fans that there was an "Easter egg" hidden in this week's comic. He has since deleted the post. Meanwhile, Andrews McMeel Syndication, the publisher of "Non Sequitur," apologized for missing the "vulgar language" during the editing process.

"If we had discovered it, we would not have distributed the cartoon without it being removed," the company said. "We apologize to 'Non Sequitur's' clients and readers for our oversight."

While at least 12 newspapers have now dropped "Non Sequitur," there are reportedly 700 newspapers across the country that publish it. Readers were outraged by the partisan messaging, though Miller is an outspoken critic of President Trump in his work.

The backlash began with The Butler Eagle, a Pennsylvania newspaper that realized the mistake after Sunday's paper went out. Publisher Ron Vodenichar issued a statement on the paper's website, apologizing to customers.

"We apologize that such a disgusting trick was perpetuated on the reading public," he wrote. "The Butler Eagle will discontinue that comic immediately."

Sunday's Non Sequitur comic showed pictures of bears imitating Leonardo Da Vinci. Outside of Miller's forgotten note, it does not appear to have been political in any way.