London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Jun 05, 2026

GQ Magazine gives Joe Biden the virtual 'makeover' nobody asked for

GQ Magazine gives Joe Biden the virtual 'makeover' nobody asked for

After four quiet years, Joe Biden’s return to the White House has woken America’s lifestyle writers from their hibernation, and they’re ready to shine his shoes with cringe-inducing content once more.

For the news industry, former president Donald Trump was good for business. His off-the-cuff remarks, personal feuds, and never-ending parade of scandals sold newspapers by the boatload and kept millions of eyes glued to cable TV. As journalists rushed to dig up dirt on the bombastic president, and every week broke new stories predicting his imminent downfall, one group of writers were left out in the cold: America’s lifestyle and fashion commentators.

These writers – who spent the Obama years gushing about Barack’s fondness for basketball and Michelle’s “sparkling” fashion sense – were no longer fascinated with the human side of the president after 2016. Donald Trump’s personal habits were only newsworthy when they inspired revulsion, and though Melania Trump was a model, her fashion only attracted attention when it could be portrayed as racist.

With Joe Biden in charge, these writers are once again ready to resume service, and men’s fashion magazine GQ has led the charge, giving Biden a virtual makeover on Tuesday so over-the-top that it read like a bizarre inversion of parody.


The magazine photoshopped Biden into a number of all-American outfits, including a cowboy getup best suited to chasing an “overinflated orange rodeo clown” out of the White House, a preppy ensemble that serves up “those sweet Ivy League goods,” a James Dean-esque outfit that channels the “improbably handsome cad that is a young Joe Biden.”

“There’s more to Joe Biden’s personal approach to dressing than simply sticking on a suit that has been designed by one of his equally venerable countrymen,” the article read. “Indeed, over the years, Biden has developed a flair for sporting pretty much every genre in the broad canon of American style.”

The article wasn’t the only glowing story that GQ treated Biden to in recent weeks.

To GQ, Biden’s choice of Ralph Lauren at his inauguration last month signaled that “his are a safe pair of hands with which to entrust the highest office in the Western world,” and showcased his “dependability, strength and self-assurance.” The face mask he wears in public is “ultra elegant,” while his inauguration merchandise“trumps all former presidential gear.”

Despite the blarneying tone, one can’t really fault GQ for obsessing over Biden’s aesthetic. It is a fashion magazine after all, and would be out of place reporting on the finer details of his executive orders or his commitment to keep troops in Afghanistan. However, outlets that should be covering such facets of his presidency have indulged themselves in some lifestyle journalism themselves, from CNN previewing his inauguration playlist, to reporters clamoring to reveal his favorite flavor of milkshake, to the New York Post switching from publishing the controversial contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop to gushing over Vice President Kamala Harris’ “power dressing” style.

Biden’s first week in office saw CNN and MSNBC suffer a precipitous drop in ratings. Holding Trump’s feet to the flames may have boosted these networks for four years, but their viewers evidently have no interest, and their reporters no intention, of giving Biden the same treatment. Whether the new president’s suits can keep GQ readers transfixed for four years remains to be seen.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Japanese Technology Firm Fujitsu Launches Advanced Artificial Intelligence Tool for Corporate Disclosures
South Africa Officially Launches Nationwide Campaign for Highly Contested Local Government Elections
United Kingdom Commits Additional Funding for Unexploded Ordnance Clearance in Laos
Singapore Announces Stringent New Greenhouse Gas Regulations for Commercial Cooling Systems
Cambodia and Thailand Hold High-Level Border Security Talks at United Nations Headquarters
Myanmar Military Government and China Sign Major Agreement to Upgrade Media and Cultural Cooperation
Knife Attack at Swiss Train Station Leaves Three Injured in Suspected Act of Domestic Terrorism
Transnational Extortion Gang Threatens Canadian Police With Army of One Thousand Armed Operatives
Australia Imposes Forty-Two-Day Quarantine on Cruise Ship Passengers Following Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak
International Monetary Fund Unlocks Seven Hundred Million United States Dollars for Sri Lanka Following Economic Reforms
Australia Launches Record One Point Four Billion Dollar Lawsuit Against Chemical Giant 3M Over Contamination
China and Canada Foreign Ministers Meet in Ottawa in Effort to Stabilize Strained Diplomatic Ties
Indonesia Demands Urgent United Nations Security Council Reform Amid Escalating Global Conflicts
Extreme Weather Patterns Trigger Severe Drought in Madagascar and Destructive Flooding in East Africa
Indian State of Karnataka Faces Political Upheaval as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Abruptly Resigns
Philippines and Japan Reaffirm Defense Ties as Crucial for Indo-Pacific Regional Stability
Norway Joins French Nuclear Deterrence Initiative in Major Shift for European Security Architecture
Global Critical Mineral Alliances Expand as Western Nations Move to Counter Chinese Supply Dominance
United States Imposes Fifty Percent Tariffs on Mexican Steel and Aluminum Ahead of Trade Pact Review
European Union and China Head Toward Major Trade Conflict Over Clean Technology Exports
United States Economic Growth Severely Downgraded to One Point Six Percent as Stagflation Fears Mount
World Health Organization Warns Central African Ebola Epidemic is Outpacing Containment Efforts
United States Treasury Department Conditions Sanctions Relief on Reopening of the Strait of Hormuz
Iranian Air Defenses Intercept and Destroy United States Military Drone Over Bushehr Province
Iranian Armed Forces Launch Ballistic Missiles Toward Unspecified Targets Prompting Regional Condemnation
United Nations Secretary-General Warns Global Order Facing Highest Level of Conflict Since 1945
Israel Issues Sweeping Evacuation Orders in Southern Lebanon Amid Intensified Hezbollah Conflict
Russia Announces Systemic Military Strikes Targeting Ukrainian Defense and Energy Infrastructure
United States and Iranian Negotiators Reach Draft Agreement to Extend Ceasefire and Resume Nuclear Talks
United Nations Security Council Deeply Divided Over United States Capture of Venezuelan President
US and Iran Exchange Direct Military Strikes Amid Fragile Gulf Ceasefire
World Health Organization Warns of Catastrophic Ebola Outbreak in DR Congo
Russia Threatens New Wave of Strikes on Ukrainian Infrastructure and Embassies
Scientists Warn Atlantic Ocean Currents Could Collapse Faster Than Projected
Anthropic Reaches $900 Billion Valuation in Historic AI Funding Round
Washington Imposes Crippling Sanctions on Iranian Maritime Authority
Japan and the Philippines Initiate Strategic Intelligence-Sharing Pact
Microsoft Deploys Autonomous Computer-Using AI Agents to Global Markets
Anthropic Secures $45 Billion Compute Infrastructure Agreement With SpaceX
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Resigns Amid Administration Shakeup
Micron Technology Crosses Trillion-Dollar Valuation Amid Unprecedented Hardware Demand
Canada and Germany Finalize Historic Long-Term LNG Export Agreement
China Expands International Travel Restrictions on Domestic AI Researchers
Japan Approves Sweeping Overhaul of National Intelligence Apparatus
Global Airlines Scramble Logistics as Middle East Airspace Remains Fractured
Japan's Naphtha Imports Plunge 47 Percent Amid Strait of Hormuz Closure
Global Crude Prices Retreat Below $96 as Gulf Tensions Momentarily Ease
Generative AI Outperforms Human Baselines in Landmark Global Creativity Study
NASA Partners With Private Aerospace to Unveil Permanent Lunar Base Architecture
South Korean Equity Markets Surge on Next-Generation Memory Chip Frenzy
×