The devil’s in the details: Viral Donald Trump Time cover is edited

The devil’s in the details, but not on this Time magazine cover. 

On April 30, the 100-year-old magazine known for its iconic covers released its latest: a seated black-and-white image of former President Donald Trump with a three-word title, "If He Wins." 

But a subtly edited photo began circulating online that made a fiendish suggestion. "They gave President Trump devil horns" posted a user on X alongside an image of the Time cover that featured the tops of the "M" in "TIME" emerging like two red horns from the back of Trump’s head. 


(Screenshot of X post)

But this is not the original cover, it was altered. 

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On the May 27 print issue’s actual cover, Trump’s head covers only the bottom left corner of the "M," and does not evoke hellish parallels.

(Source: Time magazine)

The edited photo, shared April 30 by conservative influencer Dom Lucre, makes the figure of Trump slightly larger so that his head covers most of the "M," and only the top points of the famous red "TIME" logo poke out from the former president’s head. 

Time did not give Trump devil horns on its latest magazine cover. Because the image was manipulated, we rate the claim, appropriately, Pants on Fire!