Donald Trump continues to be a parody of himself. The Washington Post’s David Fahrenthold reported that at least five Trump golf clubs (including one in Scotland) hang a framed Time Magazine cover praising Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice reality TV show, dated March 1, 2009, that doesn’t actually exist.
“DONALD TRUMP: The ‘Apprentice’ is a television smash!” one headline on the cover blares. “TRUMP IS HITTING ON ALL FRONTS . . . EVEN TV!” says another line.
Comparing Trump’s cover with Time’s March 2, 2009 issue—which contains the three non-Trump stories that are referenced on the fake cover—you can see that the red border is thinner, the inner white border is missing, and the exclamation points are tonally off. The barcode is apparently also inauthentic. In fact, the Post traces it to this 2010 graphic-design tutorial that demonstrates how to create a mock TIME Magazine cover.
Time Inc. spokeswoman Kerri Chyka confirmed to the Post that “this is not a real Time cover.” The company has reportedly asked the Trump Organization to remove the fake covers, which have been spotted by reporters at resorts in Florida, Virginia, Scotland, and Ireland.
There are so many questions here, but they really boil down to… why? The Trump Organization did respond to the Post’s request for comment, and White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders offered no insight whatsoever, writing via email, “We couldn’t comment on the decor at Trump Golf clubs one way or another.”
