Time magazine’s latest cover is burning up social media today. The magazine features an illustration of President Trump up to his neck in a flooded Oval Office.
But some have noticed that the striking illustration is actually the third in a series:
On February 27, 2017, the cover featured Trump facing a storm with the caption “Nothing to See Here.” On April 23, 2018, Trump is sitting in the exact same spot with water up to his elbows and the caption “Stormy.” Today, he’s “In Deep.”
Artist Tim O’Brien debated whether to have Trump sitting in the same spot for the third cover. “I felt that it was too comical or perhaps morbid to see him sitting there. But to have him at the top suggests he’s still fighting despite the deepening issues.”
O’Brien didn’t expect this to become a series. “When I painted the ‘Nothing to See Here’ cover art, like many, I assumed the level of chaos could not last,” he said. Nevertheless, he persisted.
On Twitter, Time has been sharing animated versions of its covers.
TIME’s new cover: Trump is in trouble. Here's how much worse it could get https://t.co/IgjeHWr2cD pic.twitter.com/hnUc7Njbxu
— TIME (@TIME) August 23, 2018
This is the first time in Time’s 95-year history it’s done three variants of the same cover. If Trump’s troubles continue and the waters rise further, where do we go from here? Perhaps a modified version of Nirvana’s “Nevermind” cover?
Here we are now. Entertain us.
