Photo of Donald Trump that he called ‘worst of all time’ has now sparked conspiracy about his assassination attempt

The TIME Magazine cover photo of Donald Trump, which he dubbed 'the worst of all time' has now sparked a wild conspiracy theory online.

For those who aren't in the loop, the US president, 79, was left less than impressed with the prestigious honour of being the publication's November cover star.

And it's all because of the unflattering photo they decided to go for on the cover.

Trump was chosen to be the cover star due to the success of the Hamas-Israel ceasefire agreement he proposed last week in the Middle East, as part of his Gaza peace plan.

However, the Republican leader believes he's been done dirty by the choice of pic, which is taken from a rather unfortunate angle.

We've all been there, where a friend betrays you by posting a group picture to Instagram where you're not looking your best - now imagine that on the front of a national magazine.

In case you're yet to see it, here is the photo in question (TIME Magazine)

The snap was taken from a downwards angle with the sun above Trump's head, making some of his hair appear invisible.

After the cover was released, Trump wrote on Truth Social: "Time Magazine wrote a relatively good story about me, but the picture may be the Worst of All Time.

"They 'disappeared' my hair, and then had something floating on top of my head that looked like a floating crown, but an extremely small one."

He continued: "I never liked taking pictures from underneath angles, but this is a super bad picture, and deserves to be called out. What are they doing, and why?"

As well as sparking a reaction from the US president himself, the picture has also reignited a conspiracy theory online about Trump's assassination attempt last year.

Trump was shot at during his 2024 election campaign during a rally in Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024.

The shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, fired a round at Trump amid a Republican rally where the bullet grazed the businessman’s ear and killed another attendee.

But, ever since the attempt on his life, there's been a load of speculation from people around the world who are convinced the events were 'faked'.

The US president survived an assassination attempt in July last year (REBECCA DROKE/AFP via Getty Images)

The wild conspiracy has been floating around for a while now, with people scrutinising pictures of Trump to see if they can spot a scar on his ear.

And it's kicked off again following the TIME Magazine image.

One user shared the cover to Twitter, writing: "Where is the bullet wound???," while a second penned: "The magical reappearing glass sharded ear."

Others chimed in with: "He has tremendous healing powers" and "Or the scar? Any scar? Even a tiny one?"

And someone else theorised: "Makeup department is gonna be in so much trouble now. They forgot to put the scar."

"That ear has never been shot, Cartilage does not come back, and if doctors did fix it there would be a scar. it's a BIG hoax!" wrote another conspiracy theorist.

Since the attempt on his life, the internet has been obsessed with the healing process of his ear (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

However, others have rushed to point out that the president's ear has likely healed, he's had plastic surgery, or maybe it was even edited out for the cover.

"Healed up that was over a year ago goof ball," one person wrote, while a second agreed: "Do you think he can’t afford plastic surgery? Look where the wound should be. Obvious signs of recent repair."

"You think he wouldn’t have the best plastic surgeon around?" questioned a third.

Meanwhile others defended him by writing: "It is where his ear stops folding over" and "You know how piercing holes close up? Ya… cartilage isn’t new to healing itself. And I wouldn’t be surprised if they did some kind of graft anyway."