The tweet showed two presidents. President Joe Biden looks trim in a white polo shirt, trademark aviator shades over his youthful face.
Next to him, former President Donald Trump is caught in a less flattering light, his golf shirt hanging over folds of flab.
‘As I have said before,’ tweeted Chris Jackson, ‘if they want to make this campaign about fitness: game on.’
Just one problem. The image of 80-year-old Biden had been manipulated to give him the face of someone decades younger.
Not that it mattered to Jackson, who waded into Democratic politics at the age of 19 and whose Twitter profile shows him at the White House.
It’s POTUS v BLOTUS tweeted Democratic activist Chris Jackson when he posted an image of a vacationing Joe Biden next to a photograph of former President Donald Trump
But he used a doctored image. The image on the left is the original photograph. The picture on the right is the one posted by Jackson. Can you spot the difference
‘It’s POTUS vs. BLOTUS,’ he added in a later tweet for good measure.
Nor did it matter to the Biden allies who picked up the images and sent it viral.
In an election that is likely to pit an 81-year-old incumbent against a 78-year-old challenger, vigor and health will be one of the key battlegrounds as the two sides try to show their candidate is fit for the job while their opponent is ready to be put out to pasture.
The White House has gone to great lengths to protect Biden from awkward questions about his age.
In recent weeks, for example, officials have deployed a shorter set of steps for boarding Air Force One to reduce the chance of a stumble.
And they have good reason to head off the age issue. A recent poll conducted for DailyMail.com found that 71 percent of all Americans think Biden is too old to be president — including almost half of all Democrats.
Into the mix comes four digitally altered images, designed to role back the years and shared by Trump allies.
They were identified by the conservative website Town Hall.
Another image was taken from a video posted by Bloomberg journalist Josh Wingrove. Again Biden’s skin is smoothed out to remove wrinkles and his pale skin recolored with a healthy tan
On the left is a grab from the original video. The tweeted image shows a tanned Biden
It compared the image shared by Jackson with the original of a relaxed Biden vacationing in Delaware.
The picture sent out by the Getty agency showed a paler president, with slack skin around his mouth – not the taught tanned face that went viral, and which was retweeted by Biden allies such as Ron Klain, his former chief of staff.
Another was taken from a video shared by a Bloomberg journalist of Biden enjoying a bike ride. Again, his wrinkles were smoothed and his tan deepened.
A third showed Biden shaking hands with a military officer after stepping off Air Force One. The signs of ageing have been gently airbrushed and his color darkened.
And a fourth showed Biden wearing a baseball cap with the logo of a foundation named for his late son Beau with his smile enhance.
Social media power users have propelled some to viral status. The View’s Ana Navarro shared the doctored image of Biden on his bike read, generating 3.6 million views and 57,000 ‘likes.’
Some 49 percent of Democrats admit Joe Biden is too old to be president. Only 28 percent believe he is just the right age. And 71 percent of all voters think it is time for him to retire
Biden is already the oldest president in history.
If he wins reelection next year he would be 82 at his second inauguration and 86 if he were to complete a second term.
But allies repeatedly play down voter worries about his age and the way it may impact his ability to do the job
‘I guess age is relevant if it is an indicator that a candidate isn’t up to do the most important job in the world, but Joe Biden is succeeding, and succeeding at an extraordinary and historic rate,’ Sen. Chris Murphy said on CNN.
‘The amount of major legislation passed by this president, the first gun violence bill in 30 years, the first major investment in clean energy, the biggest infrastructure investment in the history of this country; all of that doesn’t happen without Joe Biden.
‘He is a master legislative tactician.’