TIME is reporting that President Donald Trump has now appeared on its cover 56 times, more than any other individual in the magazine's history. It said the milestone comes with a new cover story by Eric Cortellessa, published 35 days before the midterm elections, based on an interview with Trump at the White House.
TIME said Trump spoke about renovations at the White House complex, including a new 100-ft.-wide helipad, a patio installed in the Rose Garden, and what he described as poor conditions left by his predecessors. He said the helipad was a relief for pilots who previously "would land in the mud," and described the White House as having been "a disgusting mess" that is "now perfect." He told TIME he was unsure whether he is a better builder or a better politician.
TIME said the interview followed a week that included a speech before the U.N. General Assembly, a White House visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping and his delegation, an Air Force One flyover of the Texas-Tennessee football game, a trip to the Presidents Cup golf tournament outside Chicago, and the announcement of a new steel mill in Iowa. It said the week also brought controversy over the release of taxpayer-funded political ads.
TIME reported that Trump is touting low unemployment, economic growth, rebounding oil exports in the Middle East, and business opportunities in Venezuela. It said the costs of housing, health care, and gasoline are rising at significant rates, that his poll numbers are at career lows, which he dismissed as "fake," and that Democrats see a chance to take the House and possibly the Senate. TIME said Trump's approach to ending an unpopular war with Iran, seven months after the conflict began, is unfolding as trial and error.
TIME said Trump told it he liked 17 of his 55 previous covers. It said his first cover came in 1989. TIME also said it published a full transcript of the interview and a fact-check of his remarks, and that it joined colleagues in objecting to the President's attempt to bar some of its journalists from reporting on him from the White House and the traveling press corps.