Stephen Colbert Mercilessly Mocks Trump Over Time Magazine Photo Meltdown
President Donald Trump might be earning praise in some quarters for his part in brokering a peace deal in the Middle East, but that hasn’t stopped him from ranting on social media, this time over a Time magazine front cover photo.
On Tuesday’s (October 14) edition of The Late Show, host Stephen Colbert commented on the latest Time cover, which features a shot of Trump taken from lowdown, looking up at his chin. “Worst Georgie O’Keefe ever,” Colbert quipped before adding, “It’s one of those optical illusions where you can’t tell if it’s an old woman or a young ball sack.”
He continued, “The President of the United States is far too busy hammering out the details of a deal to end generational conflict in the Middle East to worry about how he looks on some bi-weekly magazine — you would think…”
Colbert then shared Trump’s recent Truth Social rant, in which he 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 then had something floating on top of my head that looked like a floating crown, but an extremely small one. Really weird!”
The President added, “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 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
“Why didn’t Time magazine just use one of his beautiful NFTs?” the late-night host suggested before recommending a few AI-generated favorites, including Sheriff Trump (“solving horse crimes”), a guitar-wielding, motorcycle-riding Trump, and “a summit with King Flaming Space Lion.”
His final suggestion featured a mock-up Time cover with the very real image of Trump and his former associate, the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“Wait, what’s that pervert doing there? Take the pervert out,” Colbert continued as the photo of Trump was replaced by the Flaming Space Lion.
The taunting comes after Monday’s (October 13) show, where Colbert credited Trump for negotiating the peace deal. “There is some good news out there because, today, thanks to Trump’s newly brokered ceasefire in Gaza, all living Israeli hostages and almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners have been released,” he stated. “It’s important. Credit where credit is due — Donald Trump did something good.”
You can watch Colbert’s full opening monologue in the video above and let us know your thoughts below.
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Weeknights, 11:35/10:35c, CBS
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