Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have had an interesting relationship these past two years. The president of America and the leader of Russia met at the Helsinki Summit this past week, and Trump made some questionable comments. Trump seemingly sided with Russia, and agreed that the country had nothing to do with the 2016 presidential elections. His comments shocked both Republicans and Democrats, and was seen as a traitorous move since US intelligence agencies have confirmed that Russia used several methods to influence the minds of American voters.
For the second time in two months, TIME magazine has decided to feature Trump on their cover. Last month, a photo of Trump looking down on an immigrant child graced their cover, and if that made Conservatives mad, this new cover will make them enraged. TIME's latest cover is sure to trigger the right, as it features a facial melding of both Trump and Putin's faces. The message is simple and obvious, Trump and Putin are aligned.
Brian Bennett wrote the cover story, and an expert of the piece on TIME's website reads, “A year and a half into his presidency, Trump’s puzzling affinity for Putin has yet to be explained. Trump is bruised by the idea that Russian election meddling taints his victory, those close to him say, and can’t concede the fact that Russia did try to interfere in the election, regardless of whether it impacted the outcome. He views this problem entirely through a political lens, these people say, unable or unwilling to differentiate between the question of whether his campaign colluded with Russia—which he denies—and the question of whether Russia attempted to influence the election.”