President Trump has made sure to let the world know that he’s quite familiar with TIME magazine, and that he’s not very fond of the publication’s portrayal of him as the leader of The Divided States of America. However, it appears that Trump is fascinated with the story itself, at least enough to hang it on his wall for all to see. A photo shared by the Department of Justice on Saturday shows Trump kept a framed copy of an unflattering TIME magazine cover at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, where he spends many weekends during his presidency.
The frame itself cost between $10,000 and $30,000
Originally, we thought the presidential administration would have to make an intense financial investment for this type of vanity piece. It turns out, though, that TIME Magazine offers framed copies of its covers for purchase on its website. While we don’t know exactly how much this particular cover was from the print edition of TIME or what it might cost if a customer ordered it online, it is plausible that they could obtain one between $10,000 and $30,000 (originally reported by The Hill). Furthermore, because Mar-a-Lago recently doubled their annual dues to $200k (from the old price of $100k), according to Forbes, it’s possible a purchase like this may be even more likely now than ever before.
This isn’t the first time he used frames to respond to critics
This is not the first time he has used frames to respond to critics
It may not seem like a big deal, but it is a humorous message sent to his supporters and designed to undercut those in the media who he doesn’t trust. Furthermore, this is not the first time he has done something like this. When President Obama was running for reelection in 2012, Trump tweeted a photo of Obama with a caption thumbs down. This tweet was sent out as part of a fundraising campaign.
While he seems to be dealing with critics of himself in clever ways, he should still try to handle criticisms of his administration better. First, having a framed picture behind him makes him look foolish as it really just highlights his thin skin. Furthermore, it would not hurt if President Trump acted more presidential instead of mocking critics by hiding negative stories and advertisements about himself in frames and mirrors. Just because you have a right to mock your detractors does not mean you should use every chance you get when you are supposed to represent all people in your country, including those who did not vote for you. By hiding away bad press in framed pictures, Trump is reinforcing his anti-media stance while making a fool out of himself.
He also reportedly bought fake issues of People Magazine with him on their covers
No one knows how many copies of these fake magazines the president owns, but we know they exist, and they’re in the hundreds. In an interview with me and my colleague Helen Rosner for The New Yorker earlier this year, John Catsimatidis, a former GOP donor who was considering running for mayor of New York City as a Republican alternative to Donald Trump, talked about a time when he took Marla Maples to dinner at Jean Georges restaurant in Manhattan. Trump’s picture comes up on the tablecloth, Catsimatidis said. And I say to Marla . . . ‘do you see what it says on his tie?’ And she says, ‘Yes.’ I’m going like ‘ha ha.’ And she looks up and says: ‘No!
Is this really a mistake?
After days of speculation, it was revealed on Thursday the American President had a framed copy of an unflattered TIME magazine cover at his Mar-a-Lago home. Once I saw this photo, my mind immediately went to how it must have felt for the journalist to know their work caused such an impact. To know they had succeeded in making so many people think, feel, and react to their work. We all have our opinions about what is worth reading and what isn’t, but it’s important to remember that every one of us can change someone’s day – or life – with just one powerful sentence or image.