‘Adults are in charge now’

The magazine’s new inaugural issue cover shows Donald Trump quickly clearing President Biden’s belongings from the Oval Office desk with his arm, sending Biden’s signature aviator sunglasses flying.

The illustrated cover is the fourth for the magazine by artist Tim O’Brien, who has previously depicted Trump either seated at or hovering over the famously determined desk in a sequential series that uses ever-rising water levels as a metaphor for chaos or tumult in his first presidential term.

The first cover in the series was published in February 2017, a month after Trump’s first inauguration, accompanied by the text “Nothing to see here.”

It shows Trump sitting with his fingers straight as a rainstorm rolls in, causing his tie and linen locks to wave violently in the wind.

The second cover was released in April 2018 with the one-word caption “Stormy” and was released amid news of his alleged 2006 consensual affair with adult film actress Stephanie Clifford, aka Stormy Daniels, and her subsequent payout by the former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.

The image is virtually identical to the first cover, except that it shows the water level has crept over the top of the resolute desk.

Less than six months later, in September 2018, the third in the series depicted Trump floating out of frame as the Oval Office is shown completely filled with water. The words “In Deep” accompanied the image.

The magazine previewed the new cover in a post on X on Sunday, proclaiming his cover story titled “Donald Trump’s disruption is back.”

The article calls the incoming 47th commander-in-chief “an unpredictable force for change” and admits, “No matter what you think of him, he has changed America in ways that were unimaginable a decade ago.”

The cover image itself is something of a Rorschach test. Those who view Trump favorably have apparently interpreted the cover as a declaration of out with the old, in with the new as the Oval Office changes hands.

“The adults are in charge now,” one Trump supporter wrote in response to Time’s post.

Another person said: “So let’s get down to business. There’s a huge mess to clean up.”

But Trump haters interpreted the photo as depicting him as an agent of chaos, casually doing away with the status quo and norms of previous administrations.

“Here comes the mayhem,” wrote one anxious X user.

Another person seethed, “One day these TIME covers will be viewed the way Soviet propaganda is viewed today, absolutely despicable!”

In December, the magazine named Trump its annual “Person of the Year” — drawing swift condemnation from readers who supported Vice President Kamala Harris in the election a few weeks earlier.