Economist editorial mocking Biden with image of walker breaks internet: 'Goes for the jugular'

Liberal magazine The Economist stunned social media users on July 4th with an eye-popping new cover story that slammed President Biden over his age and fitness for office.

Most notably, the cover story featured an image of an elderly person’s walker with a presidential seal on it next to the words: "No way to run a country."

"Oh my, The Economist goes for the jugular," BBC journalist Julia Macfarlane posted to X on Thursday.

Shared on X, the outlet’s new cover gained significant attention on the platform, getting over 1 million views in just a few hours. In addition to the provocative cover image, The Economist’s corresponding piece — a column from the editorial board — took Biden to task for his debate performance, stating it proved he is "unfit" to be president. 

The board began by stating, "It was agony to watch a befuddled old man struggling to recall words and facts. His inability to land an argument against a weak opponent was dispiriting. But the operation by his campaign to deny what tens of millions of Americans saw with their own eyes is more toxic than either, because its dishonesty provokes contempt."

It continued, "Democrats argue, rightly, that Mr Trump is unfit to be president. But the debate and its aftermath have proved Mr Biden unfit, too. First, because of his mental decline. Mr Biden can still appear dynamic during short, scripted appearances. But you cannot run a superpower by autocue. And you cannot put an international crisis on hold because the president is having a bad night."

"Should someone who cannot finish a sentence about Medicare be trusted with the nuclear codes?" the outlet also asked.

The editorial followed several others published by The New York Times, The Boston Globe and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution urging Biden to drop his re-election bid following the CNN Presidential Debate against former President Trump on June 27.