Time magazine tweeted its latest cover on Thursday, a photograph of President Donald Trump’s face digitally morphing into Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“TIME’s new cover: Trump wanted a summit with Putin. He got way more than he bargained for,” Time tweeted with a link to a commentary in the magazine about Monday’s summit between the two men in Finland:
The lengthy Time article trashes Trump for his comments during a press conference with Putin following their closed-to-press meeting, premised on Trump’s answer to a reporter’s loaded question:
It was a simple question, asked of President Trump by a seasoned reporter, but it sent a jolt through the assembled media at the July 16 press conference held at an ornate palace in Helsinki. Vladimir Putin had just denied again that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. America’s Justice Department, intelligence community and both chambers of Congress have concluded, definitively, that the Kremlin had done it. Who did Trump trust more?
This was the moment for the President to deliver a forceful rebuke to America’s long-standing adversary. Instead, Trump replied: “I have confidence in both parties,” he said. “I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today.”
Trump has since repeatedly clarified his remarks and even tweeted a video compilation of the times he has called out the Russians for election interference. He also distributed to the media a compilation of actions his administration has taken to thwart future intrusions:
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