Washington, D.C. – October 14, 2025 – In a late-night post on his social media platform Truth Social, President Donald Trump unleashed a scathing critique of Time magazine's latest cover, accusing the publication of deliberately sabotaging his image with what he called "the Worst of All Time" photograph. The outburst, posted around 1:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, came just hours after Trump returned from a whirlwind diplomatic tour of the Middle East, where he oversaw the signing of a landmark peace agreement between Israel and Hamas. Despite the magazine's glowing assessment of the deal as a "signature achievement" of his second term, Trump's focus zeroed in on the cover image: a low-angle shot of him gazing upward against a sunlit sky, his signature blonde coif appearing ethereal and diminished.
"Time Magazine wrote a relatively good story about me, but the picture may be the Worst of All Time," Trump wrote in the post, which quickly garnered millions of views and thousands of reactions from supporters and critics alike. "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?"
The cover, released digitally on Monday afternoon and hitting newsstands Tuesday, features Trump in a dramatic pose captured during his recent trip to Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Photographed from below with backlighting from the setting sun, the image casts Trump's face in a heroic glow, his eyes lifted toward the heavens as if in contemplation of his diplomatic victory. The headline, "His Triumph," overlays the scene, with the subhead reading: "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 East." Time's accompanying feature article, penned by senior correspondent Eric Cortellessa, delves into the intricate negotiations that led to the accord, crediting Trump's unorthodox style—blending high-stakes personal diplomacy with pressure tactics on regional allies—for breaking a two-year deadlock sparked by the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel.
Yet, for Trump, the visual choices overshadowed the praise. The sunlight illuminating his hair from behind creates a halo effect, rendering the strands nearly translucent and blending them into the bright sky and the magazine's white logo. What Trump interpreted as a "floating crown" appears to be a subtle play on light and shadow, perhaps an artistic nod to his role as a peacemaker, but the president saw it as mockery. "They disappeared my hair," he lamented, a complaint that echoes his long-standing sensitivity to media portrayals of his meticulously styled mane, which has been the subject of endless scrutiny since his first presidential run in 2016.
This is hardly the first time Trump's hairstyle has dominated headlines. During his 2016 campaign, a gusty Atlantic City rally famously whipped his comb-over into disarray, prompting viral memes and jokes from late-night hosts. In 2018, a Washington Post analysis humorously dissected the physics of his "sculpted soufflé," speculating on the use of hairspray and strategic layering to achieve its volume. More recently, in July 2024, just before his second inauguration, Trump quipped to reporters about his "perfect hair" enduring a Florida downpour unscathed. But Tuesday's rant struck a chord amid the high of his foreign policy win, transforming a moment of acclaim into a spectacle of personal grievance.
The Time cover arrived at a pivotal juncture in Trump's presidency. Just 10 months into his second term, the Gaza peace deal represents his most tangible foreign policy success to date, outshining early stumbles like stalled Ukraine talks and trade spats with China. The agreement, formalized on October 13 in Sharm el-Sheikh with leaders from Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and other Arab states in attendance, culminates months of backchannel efforts. Phase one, signed under Trump's watchful eye, secured the release of the 20 remaining living Israeli hostages held by Hamas since the 2023 attacks—many of them elderly or children— in exchange for Israel freeing approximately 2,000 Palestinian detainees, including 250 serving life sentences and 1,700 others held without formal charges post-October 7. Trump, flanked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner (a holdover advisor from his first term), hailed the pact as "bigger than Camp David," invoking Jimmy Carter's 1978 breakthrough.
The road to Sharm el-Sheikh was fraught. Following the 2023 Hamas assault, which killed 1,200 Israelis and led to a devastating Israeli counteroffensive claiming over 40,000 Palestinian lives according to Gaza health authorities, the conflict devolved into a grinding stalemate. Ceasefire attempts in 2024 faltered under the Biden administration, with Hamas rejecting terms and Israel vowing no negotiations until all hostages were freed. Trump, campaigning on a promise to "end all wars," pivoted aggressively upon taking office in January 2025. He dispatched Kushner to Doha for secret talks with Hamas intermediaries and leaned on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to withhold reconstruction aid from Gaza until a deal materialized. By September, at the United Nations General Assembly, Trump unveiled a 20-point "Trump Peace Plan," blending economic incentives—like a $50 billion U.S.-led fund for Gaza rebuilding—with security guarantees for Israel, including normalized ties with Saudi Arabia.
Critics, including some Democrats and human rights groups, have tempered the euphoria. Amnesty International called the prisoner swap "a step forward but not justice," noting that many released Palestinians face re-arrest risks, while the deal sidesteps core issues like a two-state solution or East Jerusalem's status. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Trump as "the greatest friend Israel ever had," but Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas decried the accord as "surrender under duress." On X (formerly Twitter), reactions poured in: Supporters shared photoshopped versions of the Time cover with Trump's hair restored to full glory, captioned "Make America Combed Again," while detractors mocked the "tiny crown" as symbolic of his "diminished stature."
Time magazine, owned by Marc Benioff since 2018, has a storied history with Trump. He graced its cover 14 times during his first term—more than any president since Richard Nixon's record 40 appearances—often in iconic, if contentious, guises: as a baby in 2016, with a bloodied face post-assassination attempt in 2024, or superimposed on historical figures like Andrew Jackson. The publication's editors have walked a fine line, blending flattery with critique; a 2017 profile dubbed him "The Divider," while a 2020 piece explored his "cult of personality." This latest cover, however, leans laudatory, with Cortellessa's 4,000-word feature detailing Trump's "instinctive deal-making" and quoting anonymous White House sources on his "laser focus" during 72-hour negotiation marathons. A Time spokesperson declined immediate comment on Trump's post but reiterated the story's intent to "celebrate a historic moment."
Trump's Truth Social tirade, viewed over 5 million times by midday Tuesday, amplified the story's viral reach. The platform, which Trump relaunched post-2021 deplatforming, has become his preferred megaphone, boasting 10 million daily users. Supporters flooded replies with defenses: "Fake news can't handle real victory! #TrumpHairStrong," one user posted, sharing side-by-side comparisons of the Time shot versus a windswept rally photo where Trump's locks held firm. Critics, meanwhile, piled on with memes superimposing crowns on bald eagles or joking, "Finally, a photo that shows what's really under there." Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel quipped on his show Monday, "Trump's mad about his hair disappearing? Buddy, that's what happens when you broker peace—you get a halo, not a hairdo."
Beyond the levity, the episode underscores Trump's enduring media combativeness, a hallmark that propelled his 2024 reelection but risks alienating even sympathetic outlets. Polling from Quinnipiac released Wednesday shows his approval on foreign affairs at a term-high 58%, buoyed by the peace deal, yet overall ratings hover at 46% amid domestic battles over immigration and inflation. Advisors like Rubio, who joined Trump for a Rose Garden presser Tuesday afternoon, downplayed the flap: "The president's focused on results, not retouches. This deal saves lives—that's the real picture."
As phase two of the peace plan looms—envisioning Gaza's demilitarization and a multinational reconstruction force—Trump's hair saga may fade, but it serves as a reminder of the personal stakes in his public life. In an era of deepfakes and filtered selfies, the unvarnished image of a leader, flaws and all, can spark more discourse than any policy win. For now, the "tiny crown" endures as fodder for comedians and columnists, while in Gaza, families reunite and borders tentatively reopen. Triumph, it seems, is in the eye—and the angle—of the beholder.
The broader implications of the deal ripple across global geopolitics. Saudi Arabia's tacit endorsement, tied to U.S. defense pacts, edges the kingdom closer to full Abraham Accords integration, potentially isolating Iran further. European allies, wary of Trump's "America First" pivot, have pledged €2 billion to the reconstruction fund, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz calling it "a fragile but vital bridge." In Washington, bipartisan applause is rare: House Speaker Mike Johnson hailed it as "divine intervention," while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer urged safeguards against "Hamas resurgence."
Trump's Middle East foray, spanning Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Sharm el-Sheikh from Sunday to Monday, was a masterclass in spectacle. He headlined a "Peace Summit" with pyrotechnics and a choir performing "Hatikvah" alongside Palestinian folk tunes, drawing 20,000 attendees. En route, he touted the deal to reporters aboard Air Force One: "I told them, no deal, no dollars. Simple as that. And boom—peace." Yet, whispers of fragility persist; Hamas has vowed to rebuild tunnels, and Israeli hardliners decry the prisoner swap as "blood money."
Back home, the Time dust-up has already spawned merchandise: "Disappeared Hair" T-shirts on Etsy and a Change.org petition for "Better Angles for POTUS." Trump's post, true to form, blended bombast with brevity, ending with his signature flair: "MAGA!" As the sun rises on another day in the Oval Office, one thing's clear—peace may be brokered, but perfection remains elusive, even for the man who demands it.
