'They disappeared my hair': Trump says his TIME magazine cover photo 'may be the worst of all time'
As U.S. President Donald Trump prepared to return to Washington after he and his administration pushed through a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, a wider “peace in the Middle East” wasn’t the only thing on his mind.
He was also thinking about an unflattering TIME Magazine photo of himself that he felt “may be the Worst of All Time.”
Trump is referring to the cover image for an upcoming November issue promoted by Time on Monday , one shot from below looking up at the president.
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
“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,” Trump complained in an early morning Truth Social post as he was leaving Egypt Tuesday following a summit with dozens of world leaders the day prior.
“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?”
Donald J. Trump Truth Social Post 01:36 AM EST 10/14/25 pic.twitter.com/pifG3kNidp
— Commentary Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) October 14, 2025
In a post just a minute earlier , according to the time stamps, Trump posted about the work that went into securing the ceasefire and said “Gaza is only a part of it.”
“The big part is, PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST!”
The headline for the Time cover story by Eric Cortellessa reads “His Triumph.”
Trump described the story itself , which focuses largely on the work of his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, as “relatively good.”
“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,” Time wrote on X . “The deal may become a signature achievement of Trump’s second term, and it could mark a strategic turning point for the Middle East.”
Many of the roughly 5,000 who commented on the post were critical of TIME’s choice.
“Every photographer knows that this angle is the worst and you used it anyways,” replied Texas Republican Precinct Chair Sarah Fields . “This was on purpose.”
Kari Lake, Trump’s acting CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, the independent federal agency overseeing public service media networks, also decried TIME’s use of “unflattering” Trump photos at a time “when they should be honoring him.”
“Share this cover so that the world sees the strength of our great President Trump instead of the one the fake news Time magazine put out,” she wrote along with a different cover showing Trump looking head-on over the headline “Trump’s Triumph: Bringing peace to the world.”
Share this cover so that the world sees the strength of our great President Trump instead of the one the fake news Time magazine put out.Time magazine uses the most unflattering photos of President Trump at a moment when they should be honoring him. pic.twitter.com/okK0tK9jmI
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) October 13, 2025
Entrepreneur, business Influencer and political commentator Mario Nawfal shared TIME cover images of Democrats Barack Obama, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris in comparison and also suggested it was deliberate.
“This one feels like an intentional troll during what could be his defining foreign policy win,” he wrote on X . “Petty? Absolutely. Obvious? Even more so.”
The official White House account had already reshared the image, writing “Trust in Trump. Always,” along with a U.S. flag.
Criticism also came from a spokesperson for the Russian government’s foreign ministry.
“Only unhealthy people, people obsessed with malice and hatred — perhaps even freaks — could have chosen such a photo,” Maria Zakharova wrote on Telegram.
It’s not the first time this year that Trump has aired grievances over an image.
In March, a portrait of him hanging in the Colorado State Capitol building in Denver since 2019 drew his ire for being “purposefully distorted.”
“The artist also did President Obama, and he looks wonderful, but the one on me is truly the worst. She must have lost her talent as she got older. In any event, I would much prefer not having a picture than having this one.”
A directive was sent down to remove the painting within days, NBC News reported at the time .
Trump’s latest Time cover will be his third this year for the magazine, which is distributed every other week. Others include a close-up portrait in May and an illustration in January that featured an animated version.
TIME's new Inauguration cover: Donald Trump's disruption is back https://t.co/f6thgzBMCY pic.twitter.com/LwsTz8sMyl
— TIME (@TIME) January 19, 2025
Time also issued a special inauguration edition.
In 2024, he was also featured on three : one in May, another after his November win and Time’s Person of the Year cover at year’s end.
Donald Trump is TIME's Person of the Year https://t.co/IjP5W2otV5 pic.twitter.com/CVHX9o0DB3
— TIME (@TIME) December 12, 2024
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