New York Magazine has been slammed for editing black people out of a front cover spread on the ‘young, gleeful and casually cruel’ MAGA faithful.
A reporter chronicled an inauguration party in Washington on January 20 at Butterworth’s bistro alongside young Republicans celebrating Donald Trump‘s return to the White House.
After the report made the front page of NY Magazine, the publication was called out for cropping the main image to remove any person of color – making it appear like the only ‘casually cruel’ Trump fans in attendance were white.
Party host CJ Pearson, a black conservative activist and political advisor, described the article and photo choice as ‘insane.’
‘This is insane,’ he wrote on X. ‘I hosted this event and @NYMag intentionally left me out of their story because it would have undermined their narrative that MAGA is some racist cult.’
Another attendee said: ‘I was at this party as were MANY other Conservative media influencers who are Black, Latino, Asian, etc.’
A third added: ‘This is low.’
The cover photo featured glamorous, young white partygoers dressed in fancy gowns and tuxedos, grinning with drinks in hand as they celebrated.
New York Magazine has been slammed for editing black people out of a front cover spread on the ‘young, gleeful and casually cruel’ MAGA faithful
Promoting the piece, the NY Mag X account wrote the story was ‘on the young, gleeful, confident, and casually cruel Trumpers who, after conquering Washington, have their sights set on the rest of America.’
But quickly the full length photograph featured on the cover began spreading, and eagle-eyed viewers noticed there were several black attendees in the picture who weren’t visible in the final crop.
A trio of black men on the left side of the frame were cropped entirely, while an ethnically ambiguous man’s face was covered by clever placing of the subtitle: The Cruel Kids’ Table.
The author of the article made reference in their piece twice to the MAGA cohort’s ‘whiteness.’
First, they wrote: ‘Almost everyone is white.’
Later in the piece, quoting an attendee at one of the inauguration parties, they added: ‘”Have you noticed the entire room is white?” an older woman in an updo and a silver sequined gown asked me, though it wasn’t entirely clear whether she thought that was a good thing or a bad thing.’
The journalist has since made their X account private in the wake of mounting MAGA backlash.
‘Why did they intentionally omit conservatives of color? Including the host?’ one critic asked.
A reporter attended an inauguration party in Washington on January 20 at Butterworth’s bistro alongside young Republicans celebrating Donald Trump ‘s return to the White House
Party host CJ Pearson, a black conservative activist and political advisor, described the article and photo choice as ‘insane’
‘Selective and intentionally discriminatory cropping,’ another added.
But the journalist also described the electric scene – and attendees – as a new wave of Trump supporters who have broken free from the mold cast in 2016.
‘Among the tourists from Tampa, the donors, and the last politicians Trump whipped into submission, one can also witness the emerging influence of a newer type of conservative,’ the reporter wrote.
‘They are not disenfranchised or working class or anti elite or many of the other adjectives used to describe Trump supporters since 2016. Rather, they are young, imposingly well connected, urban, and very online.
‘They are crypto nerds and influencer girlies and recent maha converts and gays of all stripes, plus your standard-fare Joe Rogan-listening bros. Few of them would call themselves Republican.
‘Many are hot enough to be extras in the upcoming American Psycho remake.’
MAGA supporters were celebrating Donald Trump’s return to the White House, alongside First Lady Melania
While some liberals may be picturing the Kimberly Guilfoyle’s of the world, NY Magazine wrote that it was abundantly clear ‘in this house, Melania is Mother.’
‘Their makeup is subtle, their hair only gently blown out, their faces not noticeably Botoxed.
‘The men look like Pete Hegseth, in bow ties and black suits, with clean-shaven faces. The women are almost all out of their league.
‘As I was once informed, “These young conservative parties are 80 percent men and 20 percent the most beautiful women you’ve ever seen.”’
