A tale of two covers: TIME magazine says it's not changing cover for Aug. 5 issue that features bloodied Trump raising fist in air after being shot

TIME magazine is not changing the cover of its Aug. 5, 2024, issue, which features a photo of Donald Trump hoisting his fist into the air seconds after being shot onstage at a campaign rally on July 13, a spokesperson for the magazine said. But the magazine is publishing issues with an alternate cover, and both versions of the magazine will be available on newsstands.

Within 18 hours of Trump being grazed in the ear by a would-be assassin’s bullet at a rally in Butler, Pa., TIME posted on X (formerly Twitter) a photo showing the magazine’s ‘new cover,' which featured an image of the former president after he was brought to his feet by Secret Service agents.

The photo, captured by Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci, immortalized the harrowing seconds after Trump had been hit by gunfire — blood streaming down his face, a mostly unharmed Trump with his fist raised in the air against the backdrop of a clear blue sky and a large American flag blowing the breeze above him, accompanied by the headline, “Attack on Trump.”

The image instantly went viral on social media, and TIME’s post announcing the cover racked up nearly 8 million views by Thursday, with thousands of reposts and likes.

However, on Thursday morning a post on X announced “TIME’s new cover” also dated Aug. 5, and which contained an image showing a vastly different photo used on the front page of the magazine, also dated Aug. 5.

The new cover was muted in contrast to the one revealed days earlier, featuring a black-and-white image of the empty rally site in the wake of the assassination attempt, with the same flag at the top of the cover standing out in red, white and blue and accompanied by the headline, “What unites us.”

The post caused an immediate commotion on X with many accusing TIME of removing Trump, changing the original or being swayed by pressure from Democrats to change the cover.

When reached by email on Thursday, a TIME spokesperson told Page One, “TIME regularly publishes multiple covers for each print issue.” The spokesperson didn’t provide insight into the decision to publish an alternate cover for the Aug. 5 issue, saying only, “Both the ‘Attack on Trump’ cover and the ‘What Unites Us’ cover are scheduled to be printed with the Aug. 5 TIME magazine.”

Since its founding in 1923, TIME magazine covers have held outsize cultural significance, chronicling some of the biggest events in world history over the last 100 years.

Interestingly, a list compiled just 10 days before the assassination attempt ranks the most memorable TIME magazine covers of all time, with a 1956 cover featuring Marylin Monroe, coming in third, a 2018 cover depicting Donald Trump ranking second and the cover announcing Barack Obama as the 2008 Person of the Year taking No. 1 overall.

Meanwhile, multiple reports citing anonymous sources Thursday revealed a few details about the investigation into the assassination attempt against Trump. According to The Associated Press, photos of Trump and President Biden were found on the phone of 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, the suspected shooter who was killed by a countersniper seconds after he fired at Trump. And The New York Times reported on the multiple security lapses that preceded the attempt on Trump’s life as well as numerous chances to stop the gunman or prevent Trump from going onstage that were missed.