If you’ve been following the media landscape recently, you might have noticed a familiar pattern—and this time, it’s surrounding Vice President Kamala Harris. The latest cover of Time magazine features Harris, now the Democratic Party’s 2024 presidential nominee, in a pose that seems aimed at conveying a sense of serious leadership. But not everyone is buying what Time is selling.
Let’s dive into the reaction. On the social media platform X, supporters of former President Donald Trump and others didn’t waste time criticizing what they see as blatant pro-Harris propaganda. Prominent voices like Joey Mannarino and Rogan O’Handley, who’s better known by his handle “DC_Draino,” took to X to express their disbelief.
Mannarino pointed out the irony of the media “worshipping” a politician who, according to him, avoids talking to them. O’Handley went a step further, calling it a “media coordination for a Coupmala coronation,” a jab at Harris’s rise following President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the race.
But it wasn’t just Trump supporters who noticed. Journalist Glenn Greenwald chimed in, describing the media’s rebranding of Harris as a “national embarrassment” turned leader as a “powerful testament” to the effectiveness of propaganda. Other users on X echoed this sentiment, calling the Time cover “literal propaganda” and “shameless.”
Here’s the new cover of Time Magazine.
They worship a woman who refuses to even talk to them.
Absolutely ridiculous and absurd. pic.twitter.com/NWXt0dNrWm
— Joey Mannarino (@JoeyMannarinoUS) August 12, 2024
This isn’t the first time Time has come under fire for its cover choices, and some critics are drawing dark comparisons to the past. The magazine’s history includes covers featuring some of the most notorious figures of the 20th century. Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong, responsible for the deaths of tens of millions, appeared on a Time cover in 1949, striking a pose not too dissimilar from Harris’s. Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, another mass murderer, graced the cover multiple times during World War II. And let’s not forget Adolf Hitler, who was featured in the early 1930s before he seized control of Germany.
Of course, appearing on the cover of Time doesn’t automatically equate to an endorsement, but it does serve as a powerful piece of cultural messaging. In Harris’s case, the editorial board at the New York Post and others argue that this cover is an attempt to recast her in a more favorable light as she gears up for her presidential campaign.
She didn’t receive a single delegate in the 2020 Dem primary
She didn’t receive a single delegate in the 2024 Dem primary
She didn’t almost get assassinated and pump her fist defiantly in front of the US flag
Yet Time magazine puts *Kamala* on its cover?!
This is a media… pic.twitter.com/70fPoBzgBr
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) August 12, 2024
The critique here isn’t just about Time giving Harris the spotlight—it’s about the broader implications of how the media is shaping public perception. Harris, who has faced criticism for her performance as vice president and is often mocked for her public speaking gaffes, is now being presented as a serious contender for the presidency. Critics see this as a deliberate effort to gloss over her perceived weaknesses and elevate her image just in time for the election.
