U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized TIME magazine for what he described as “the worst photo of all time” on its latest cover, even though the accompanying feature applauds his administration’s role in brokering the Gaza ceasefire deal.
The TIME report highlights how Trump’s leadership helped secure a truce that freed all living Israeli hostages held by Hamas and led to the exchange of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. The agreement also prompted Israeli troop withdrawals from parts of Gaza, enabling international aid deliveries to the war-torn enclave.
The article notes that Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan is progressing steadily, including the creation of a “Board of Peace” chaired by the president and former UK Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair to oversee reconstruction and diplomacy efforts.
Despite being portrayed as a key architect of the truce, Trump was furious over the magazine’s choice of cover photo. The image, shot from a low angle with sunlight behind his head, gives the appearance of a glowing halo and faint hair outline.
Posting on Truth Social, Trump wrote:
“TIME Magazine wrote a relatively good story about me, but the picture may be the Worst of All Time. They ‘disappeared’ my hair and added something floating on top of my head that looked like a tiny crown — really weird! I never liked photos taken from underneath angles, but this one is super bad and deserves to be called out.”
The issue’s headline, “His Triumph,” is paired with subheadings that read “The Leader Israel Needed” and “How Gaza Heals.”
While the article takes a largely favorable view of Trump’s foreign policy, his supporters blasted the photo as “disrespectful” and “intentionally unflattering.” Photographer Matt Sweetwood criticized the choice, saying, “No one takes a picture of a world leader from that angle. It’s deliberate, it’s awful, and it’s evil.” Another photographer, Pam D, added, “As a professional, I’d be ashamed to release that shot. Shooting up someone’s nose? Huge no-no.”
Others, however, defended the creative decision, calling the image “symbolic and powerful.” One reader wrote, “It’s clean, sky-dominant, presidential — authority without apology. He looks like he’s just won a war. The image says relief and victory.”
The debate over the photo comes amid speculation that Trump could again be named TIME’s Person of the Year for 2025, after previously receiving the honor in 2024 following his return to the White House.
If the Gaza peace plan continues to hold and regional stability improves, analysts say Trump could make history as one of the few presidents to win the distinction in consecutive years — whether he approves of the cover photo or not.
