Michael James Schneider stands in front of his balloon art.
Michael James Schneider didn't intend for his political message about President Donald Trump to go viral, but he's happy he was able to connect people despite the current controversial national rhetoric.
On Sunday, President Trump sent out a series of tweets calling out four congresswomen of color saying they "originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world" and they should "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came." All four of the women are U.S. citizens and three of the four were born in America.
Throughout the week the president's words were challenged, criticized and clarified. The Portland-based artist was among those to share his opinions after being inspired by cartoonist Adam Ellis.
On Monday, Schneider, who works as an operations manager for Louis Vuitton, shared a photo of himself with the message "Donald Trump is a ra_ist" written in balloon letters. He is seen holding a letter C and P in each of his hands to fill in the blank.
By Friday, his post attracted more thank 48,700 likes. On average, Schneider's posts get about 2,000 likes.
"The balloons may come off as whimsical, but the message is very serious," he told me. On Instagram, the traditional use of the balloons are typically used in celebratory situations like engagements or gender reveals. He's also used the balloons, which he recycles to be environmentally-conscious, to address female reproductive, transgender rights and Instagram art.
Left: Niscelle Ward stands in front of a quote by Margaret Sanger to benefit The Yellowhammer Fund. ... [+]
For each of his posts, Schneider tries to point his followers back to a nonprofit or organization to donate to their cause, because "anyone with privilege and a platform should be very vocal but also challenge people to not just share a photo, but to actually do something actionable." For the viral Trump photo, Schneider pointed his followers to the ACLU in Oregon.
"The reaction has been good and any artist would want that and I just want to make people feel a little less lost. Obviously, there are people upset," he told me. "I didn’t know it was going to be this big, but I don’t want to be deterred from sharing that message."
For his future art, Schneider doesn't know what will inspire him in the future, but he is "eager to see what comes next."
