The world breathed a sigh of relief when Joe Biden finally faced the reality that he could not run for President. Since then all eyes have been on his assumed successor Kamala Harris, whose campaign is beginning to make waves amongst voters.
In just this week along, we’ve seen new social media trends come and go, but this is one of the best. Four days ago, TIME Magazine posted an iconic new cover to their Instagram page, and it didn’t take long for the good people of X to have some fun with it.
The cover shows Joe Biden stepping out of frame stage right, with Kamala Harris confidently stepping onto the cover from the left. The large gap between the two is just begging for a little artistic expression, and one X user did not disappoint:
@PaulleyTicks made quick use of his photo editing skills to fill the chasm between our POTUS and VP, by attaching an image of Donald Trump on all fours, being taken for a walk on a leash by our new Democrat nominee.
One user rightly commented with a standing-O GIF:
@PaulleyTicks is building a reputation for this kind of artwork. He recently made another post with the same “Fixed it” comment, with a doctored image of Donald Trump’s ear Kotex. Just a quick nip/tuck of the rectangular pad into a triangle, and the addition of a couple of eyeholes and Paul turned the oversized swab into a sinister KKK hood. Make of that what you will.
TIME magazine’s creative director, D.W. Pine, called the cover of the magazine “one of the most important pieces of real estate in journalism”, and he’s not wrong. From photographs by photojournalist Diana Walker, to artwork by Andy Warhol, the TIME magazine cover has played host to some of the greatest artists in the world, providing space for them to immortalize the most important figures and cultural events of the day.
In this day and age, it’s nice to see TIME provide space for other budding cover artists to get involved too.