As the country continues to reel from the attempted assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump and the recent news of President Biden’s COVID-19 diagnosis, “New York Magazine” (NYMag) is finding itself swirled in controversy after featuring a questionable cover. The magazine posted an image of its latest cover to its Instagram page, opening with the line “And now, Joe Biden has Covid.” The image itself shows a computer-generated image of President Biden and Donald Trump side-by-side on scales, dressed in nothing but underwear. The headline of the issue is called “The Health Issue” and is meant to discuss Biden’s “seeming deterioration.” “We had already been thinking about how to address the fact that this health issue would drop in the middle of a presidential campaign, when the presidential debate put the health and age of the candidates in the center of the national conversation,” the post quotes executive editor Genevieve Smith.

The issue promises articles with a deep dive into the “conspiracy of silence to protect Biden,” as well as possible replacements for the current president, and the potential consequences of continuing to push a Biden candidacy forward. Yet, despite its heavy premise, the magazine’s choice of a cover is earning it a lot more notice. Gillian Manning commented on the post and pointed out the hypocrisy. “I would just like to note that if a publication had photoshopped a woman’s head onto a body in underwear and posted it then the comments would be different. This is such a weird thing to do to anyone.” Other commentors wondered if AI had been used and the sort of precedent the image was setting. Neither the Trump nor Biden campaigns have released a statement addressing the cover. The magazine has featured Trump in other less-than flattering appearances, including one where he appears with a pig nose and another where he is punching himself in the face.

Meanwhile, President Biden remains in Delaware, where he is self-isolating after his Covid diagnosis. The White House has reported he is experiencing “mild symptoms,” although his age of 81 is cause of some concern. A simple post on X from the president read “I’m sick,” with a follow up post just a couple of minutes later adding, “of Elon Musk and his rich buddies trying to buy this election.” The President is expected to continue with his full duties while in Delaware.