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To get people talking about its issue dedicated to health, New York Magazine has chosen to create a buzz: its cover shows the two candidates for the American presidency, Joe Biden and Donald Trump, in their underwear.
Magazines often choose the cover photo to get people talking. This is the case this week for New York Magazine, which shows Joe Biden and Donald Trump in their underwear, in a photomontage.
Two men side by side, each on a scale
The two men appear in their underwear for one, in their boxer shorts for the other, bare-chested. We see them each standing on a scale, Donald Trump sporting his famous (and much mocked) orange tan on his face, neck and forearms. This cover appears the week we learn that Joe Biden has Covid-19. He himself confirmed the news, tweeting a few hours ago, “I tested positive for Covid-19 this afternoon, but I feel fine”This announcement also comes in parallel with the controversy that is swelling around the candidate’s cognitive health and the call to have another representative for the Democratic camp next November.
What is the health status of the two candidates for the White House?
Precisely, what do we know about the health of the two candidates running for the White House? While both men regularly undergo health examinations, only official documents mention their results. For Joe Biden, aged 81, in addition to his various slips of the tongue and cognitive disorders noted in public, we know that he weighs 84 kg and has good blood pressure. He suffered a brain aneurysm treated in 1988 and a basal cell carcinoma, the last lesions of which were removed recently, in 2023.
As for Donald Trump, 78 years old, his official weight is 106 kg. He also has high blood pressure that has stabilized at 135/85 mmHg. On the other hand, his cognitive results are normal following various specific tests, an element he regularly boasts about in comparison with his opponent. His doctors consider him to be in “good health”, even if his excess weight earns him recurring criticism.
What are the health proposals in their programs?
Health is one of the concerns of Americans, as their liberal system makes access to care difficult for the poorest. This is precisely what Joe Biden is banking on by wanting “restore and extend the benefits of Obamacare, including by proposing public insurance modeled on Medicare”the health program intended for them. The current president also intends to “combating the concentration of the pharmaceutical industry and high drug prices”.
His opponent proposes, in another register, ““Death penalty for drug traffickers” and the adoption of a law “recognizing only two genders in the United States, which would be unfavorable to LGBT+ communities.”
New York Magazine covers more complex health issues, such as the mistakes that mammograms make that don’t detect certain tumors or the advances in immunotherapy research. But perhaps it will ultimately be the cover photo that sparks the most debate.