'The worst of all time': Donald Trump criticizes Time's 'super bad' cover picture.

It is a positive article in a magazine that Trump has frequently admired – except for one issue. The cover picture, he stated, ""might be the most terrible in history".

Time magazine's praise to Donald Trump's part in facilitating a ceasefire in Gaza, featured on its November 10 cover, was paired with a photo of the president captured from underneath and with the sun behind his head.

The result, Trump claims, is "super bad".

"Time Magazine wrote a relatively good story about me, but the picture may be the Worst of All Time", the president posted on Truth Social.

“My hair was ‘disappeared’, and then there was something floating my head that looked like a floating crown, but very tiny. Really weird! I have always hated being captured from low angles, but this is a awful image, and it deserves to be called out. What are they doing, and why?”

The president has expressed clear his wish to be pictured on Time’s cover and did so multiple times in the past year. This fixation has reached his golf courses – previously, the editors demanded to remove fabricated front pages on display at several of his venues.

The most recent cover image was taken by Graeme Sloane for Bloomberg at the presidential residence on October 5.

The perspective highlighted negatively Trump’s chin and neck – an opportunity that the governor of California Newsom took advantage of, with the governor's office sharing an altered image with the problematic part blurred.

{The hostages from Israel held in Gaza have been liberated under the first phase of Trump's ceasefire agreement, alongside a freeing of Palestinian inmates. The deal may become a signature achievement of the president's renewed tenure, and it could mark a key shift for the Middle East.

Meanwhile, a defence of Trump's image has been offered by an unexpected source: the director of information at the Russian foreign ministry came forward to criticise the "self-incriminating" photo selection.

It's remarkable: a photograph reveals far more about those who selected it than about the subject. Only sick people, people obsessed with malice and hatred –possibly even deviants – could have picked this picture", she shared on her social channel.

"And given the complimentary photos of Biden that the periodical used on the cover, notwithstanding his health issues, the case is self-damaging for Time", she noted.

The explanation for his queries – what were Time’s editors doing, and why? – might involve innovatively depicting a impression of strength stated by a picture editor, Guardian Australia’s picture editor.

"The actual photo itself is professionally taken," she says. "They chose this shot because they wanted Trump to look commanding. Gazing upward evokes a feeling of their grandeur and his expression actually looks thoughtful and almost somewhat divine. It’s not often you see images of the president in such a peaceful state – the picture feels tender."

The president's hair looks erased because the sunlight behind him has overexposed that part of the image, creating a halo effect, she explains. Although the feature's heading complements the president's look in the image, "you can’t always please the subject matter."

Nobody enjoys being photographed from below, and although all of the conceptual elements of the image are quite powerful, the visual appeal are not complimentary."

The publication reached out to the magazine for feedback.

William Soto
William Soto

A seasoned Agile coach with over a decade of experience in implementing XP practices across diverse tech teams.