When Time Magazine unveiled its latest cover this week featuring Donald Trump, the headline boldly proclaimed “TRUMP’S WORLD” and the photograph presented the 79-year-old president in a far more polished light than he’s often been shown. Gone was the balding, crepe-necked appearance that dogged previous images; instead there was a stern, composed pose with hands clasped beneath his chin.
Only a week earlier, though, Trump had erupted on his own social media platform, declaring that the previous cover photo of him (published on 13 October) had “may be the Worst of All Time”. “Time Magazine wrote a relatively good story about me,” he wrote on Truth Social, “but the picture may be the Worst of All Time.”
He added: “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. Really weird! I never liked taking pictures from underneath angles, but this is a super bad picture, and deserves to be called out. What are they doing, and why?”
TIME's latest cover: Trump's world. President Donald Trump talks to TIME about his efforts to end the war in Gaza. https://t.co/Fy8AaxEVj2 pic.twitter.com/Itu40KCHyw
— TIME (@TIME) October 23, 2025
His gripe was specifically about a low-angle shot, the angle often used in photography to make figures look more dominant—but, in his eyes, it highlighted the crepiness of his neck and emphasized less flattering features. The outpouring of social commentary was swift. An editor from The Daily Beast noted that the image choice struck “deep” with Trump, not simply because of his hair but because of his long-standing obsession with cover appearances.
Here’s where it gets interesting: within days, Time’s new cover arrived looking far more favorable. Some are suggesting that the redesign was more than a mere coincidence. According to The Daily Beast, the magazine’s owner, Marc Benioff, described as “MAGA curious”, may have approved the more dignified photo to placate Trump. Own brand collusion? Intentional makeover? A combination of both? The speculation is there.
The living Israeli hostages held in Gaza have been freed under the first phase of Donald Trump's peace plan, alongside a Palestinian prisoner release. The deal may become a signature achievement of Trump's second term, and it could mark a strategic turning point for the Middle… pic.twitter.com/0bZDABIDGj
— TIME (@TIME) October 13, 2025
And online, the reaction wasn’t muted. One particularly pointed comment on Time’s Instagram read: “One day, maybe decades from today, this cover will be in history books, when describing the compromise of Free Press in a chapter detailing a nation’s rise to fascism.” The irony of a cover meant to show triumph being used as a critique of media fidelity was not lost.
What we’re seeing is more than a celebrity photo grumble. It reflects bigger issues: how power, image and media interplay in modern politics. The fact that a favourable story didn’t satisfy its subject because of a single image choice underscores how closely seen and contested the relationship between Trump and the press remains.
Whether Time anticipated the backlash or pivoted because of it is unclear—but the speed of the cover shift and the context around it suggest that the president’s say over how he is portrayed still holds some weight. In any case, we’re left wondering just how much sway a subject of this calibre holds over the outlets that cover him.
