Years of relentless and remorseless dishonesty have cost the establishment media the benefit of any reasonable doubt.
Thus, even a potential mea culpa triggers suspicion from conservatives in general — and supporters of President-elect Donald Trump in particular. And rightly so.
Sunday on the social media platform X, Time Magazine unveiled an animated version of its latest cover featuring Trump seated at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, accompanied by the words “He’s Back,” and presented in a style so reminiscent of past Trump-related covers — yet so obviously devoid of those past covers’ anti-Trump themes — as to at least raise the possibility that the establishment outlet intended the new cover as a way to ingratiate itself with the incoming president.
The animated version began with stacks of paper and a phone positioned in the middle of the desk.
Then, a determined-looking Trump, donning his signature red tie, swept into the photo from the left side of the page. In the process, he swept away everything that once sat on the desk.
TIME’s new Inauguration cover: Donald Trump’s disruption is back https://t.co/f6thgzBMCY pic.twitter.com/LwsTz8sMyl
— TIME (@TIME) January 19, 2025
Of course, an image of that kind raised legitimate questions about the outlet’s intent.
On one hand, no honest Trump supporter objects to the imminent prospect of Trump literally and figuratively sweeping away the refuse left behind by President Joe Biden’s calamitous administration.
Moreover, the new cover’s broader context suggests that Time intended a mea culpa of sorts.
For instance, during the first Trump administration, Brooklyn-based artist Tim O’Brien created a series of three Trump-themed covers, each of which depicted the then-president as either an agent of chaos or a man embroiled in scandal, per the news and entertainment website Mashable.
Two of those three covers showed Trump’s red tie blowing in the wind (despite the indoor setting). That visual, of course, accentuated O’Brien’s “chaos” theme.
The latest cover showed the same red tie blowing in the wind. But it depicted Trump as an agent of change and made no reference to alleged scandals.
Thus, the appearance of neutrality, or the absence of overt partisanship, allows for a charitable interpretation of the 2025 cover.
On the other hand, note the specific wording of Time’s post on X. “Donald Trump’s disruption is back,” the outlet posted.
Trump supporters love the disruption. We voted for it. But we also know, or at least suspect, that the establishment media’s use of the word implies disapproval.
Likewise, during the 2024 campaign, Time made no secret of its admiration for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Furthermore, X users appeared nearly unanimous in their suspicions that Time meant its latest cover as a simply a more subtle dig at the soon-to-be president.
You should be ashamed of yourselves. You make literal goblins look like super heroes and you turn the People’s President into a curmudgeon. There hasn’t been popular support for a president like this since George Washington. Start to recognize.
— American Brushfire (@AmBrushfire) January 19, 2025
Disruption? More like America First! Or The Era of Money Laundering is Over! Just can’t help yourself smearing President Trump, for propaganda purposes! That’s my opinion
— Linda (@HonestAlways2) January 19, 2025
Oh wow. A left-wing “media” outlet insulting a majority of Americans & have NO idea how bad it was for us the last 4 years. How brave. How stunning. The term “FAKE NEWS” is back!
— SeldenGADawgs (@SeldenGADawgs) January 19, 2025
Again, isolated from a broader context, Trump supporters would endorse Time’s depiction of the incoming president as a disruptor.
Knowledge of that years-long context, however, rightfully discourages us from giving the establishment media the benefit of the doubt.
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