A recent Time magazine cover featuring former U.S. President Donald Trump shows him photographed from a low angle with sunlight behind his head, creating a dramatic glow. The image, which accompanied a story on Trump’s role in the Gaza ceasefire, has drawn attention for its bold composition and the former president’s sharp criticism of it. Time Magazine
Former U.S. President Donald Trump praised Time magazine for publishing what he called a “relatively good story” about his role in helping broker a Gaza ceasefire — but then swiftly turned his attention to something else: the cover photo.
Trump, who has long celebrated appearing on the magazine’s front page, said the image used for the November 10 issue was “super bad” and “may be the Worst of All Time.”
The Photo That Sparked the Rant
The cover photo, taken on October 5 at the White House by Graeme Sloane for Bloomberg, shows Trump from a low angle, with the sun shining behind his head. The lighting casts his face in shadow and creates a faint glow around his hair, which appears almost invisible in parts.
On his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump complained, “They ‘disappeared’ my hair and made it look like I had a tiny floating crown on my head. Really weird! I never liked pictures from underneath angles, but this is a super bad picture and deserves to be called out.”
The former president’s tone suggested both irritation and disbelief. “What are they doing, and why?” he asked.
A Familiar Obsession With the Cover
Trump’s fixation with appearing on Time’s cover dates back years. He has graced the magazine multiple times and even displayed fake covers of himself at several of his golf clubs — a move that led the publication to ask for their removal in 2017.
Despite the story portraying him in a mostly positive light for his diplomatic efforts, the photo’s unflattering angle overshadowed any goodwill.
California governor Gavin Newsom’s office even joined the online mockery, tweeting a version of the photo with Trump’s chin and neck pixelated.
Unexpected Defence From Abroad
Interestingly, Trump found an unexpected ally. Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for Russia’s foreign ministry, came to his defence, calling Time’s photo choice “self-incriminating.”
“It’s astonishing,” she wrote on Telegram. “A photograph reveals more about those who selected it than the person in it. Only sick people, obsessed with malice and hatred, could have chosen such a photo.”
Zakharova accused the magazine of treating Trump unfairly, comparing his cover to what she described as “flattering photos” of President Joe Biden, adding that Time’s editorial decision “exposed their bias.”
A Photographer’s Perspective
Photography experts, however, offered a different take. Carly Earl, a photo editor based in Australia, said the picture was technically well composed and likely chosen to project authority.
“They picked this image because they wanted Trump to look powerful,” Earl explained. “Shooting from below gives a sense of grandeur, and the sunlight creates a halo effect. His face looks calm and almost angelic.”
Still, Earl admitted that “no one likes being photographed from below” since it rarely flatters facial features. “The photo is conceptually strong,” she said, “but aesthetically, it doesn’t favour him.”
