The October 2 cover of The New Yorker magazine features some of America’s top politicians in a race, a metaphor often used for elections. But there’s one thing that catches the eye in the illustration – the fact that President Joe Biden, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and former President Donald Trump are all using walkers, not subtly suggesting a gerontocracy where the youngest person in the cartoon is 77. This comes at a time of debate over age limits following incidents such as Minority Leader McConnell freezing in a public press conference. In a Q&A with Françoise Mouly, creator Barry Blitt claimed that his work was not ageist. But some social media reactions argued otherwise with Victor Shi, an elected delegate for Joe Biden in 2020, taking to X, formerly Twitter, and saying, “Not only is it incredibly ageist but it’s ableist & a slap in the face to every person in America who needs a walker & who has a disability. This is disgusting & vulgar beyond words.”
