Trump Criticizes Time Magazine Cover Photo, Calling It “Worst of All Time”

President Donald Trump criticized a photograph of himself featured on the November 10 Time magazine cover, calling it “super bad” and possibly “the Worst of All Time” in a post on Truth Social.

Time magazine’s cover story praised Trump’s role in brokering a Gaza ceasefire. The accompanying photograph, taken by Graeme Sloane for Bloomberg at the White House on October 5, featured an upward angle with the sun positioned behind Trump’s head.

Trump objected to several aspects of the image in his Truth Social post. “They ‘disappeared’ my hair, and then had something floating on top of my head that looked like a floating crown, but an extremely small one,” he wrote. He added that he “never liked taking pictures from underneath angles” and questioned the magazine’s motives.

The photograph’s angle also drew attention to Trump’s chin and neck area. California Governor Gavin Newsom’s press office posted a version of the image with that area pixelated.

Maria Zakharova, director of information at Russia’s ministry of foreign affairs, defended Trump in a Telegram post. She criticized the photo selection as “self-incriminating” and stated that “only sick people, people obsessed with malice and hatred – perhaps even perverts – could have chosen such a photo.” Zakharova contrasted the image with what she described as more complimentary photos Time had used of President Biden.

Carly Earl, Guardian Australia’s picture editor, offered a professional assessment of the photograph. “The actual photo itself technically is good,” she said. “They picked this image because they wanted Trump to look heroic. Staring up at someone gives a sense of their grandeur and Trump’s face actually looks contemplative and almost slightly angelic.”

Earl explained that Trump’s hair appeared to “disappear” because sunlight behind him overexposed that part of the image, creating a halo effect. She noted that while the conceptual elements were strong, “the aesthetics are not flattering” and “no one likes being photographed from below.”

Trump has previously expressed his desire to appear on Time’s cover and was featured four times last year. In 2017, Time magazine requested that Trump remove mock-up covers displayed at some of his golf club properties.

Source: theguardian