Time magazine has asked the Trump Organization to remove a number of issues featuring President Donald Trump from its golf clubs after they were proven to be fakes.
At least four of President Trump's clubs were found to have displayed framed copies of a Time magazine dated March 1, 2009 and featuring Donald Trump as its cover star. However, the Washington Post has revealed that there was no issue released on that date. Indeed, the then-business tycoon failed to appear on the cover of any 2009 issue of the magazine.
The official edition for that week was instead released on March 2, 2009 and paid homage to Kate Winslet and her Oscar success in "The Reader".
"I can confirm that this is not a real TIME cover," a TIME spokesperson told CNBC via email.
Time magazine has since requested the Trump Organization to remove all fake copies from display. The magazine is said to have been on display in prominent positions at the Trump empire's golf resorts in Doral, Florida and Trump National Golf Club near Washington DC, as well as Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach and Doonbeg in Western Ireland.
The Trump Organization failed to respond when contacted by CNBC but the confirmation from Time magazine serves a blow to a man whose presidential campaign was forged largely on his attack of the mainstream media's so-called "fake news".
The fraudulent copy itself features a number of inaccuracies which distinguish it from an authentic edition. These include a thinner red border missing the typical thin white line, incorrect headline layout and other stylistic inaccuracies, such as excessive capitalization.
"DONALD TRUMP: The 'Apprentice' is a television smash!" the main headline reads, alongside "TRUMP IS HITTING ON ALL FRONTS … EVEN TV!"
In a curious nod to what have now become some of his most divisive policies since becoming president, the cover also makes reference to then-President Barack Obama's health-care plans and the impact of global warming.
"Obama's Next Move: Can He Curb Health-Care Costs?" and "Global Warming: A New Age of Extinction," the headlines read.
President Trump has, however, been a regular face of other Time magazine issues, both in his former guise as a business man and also since taking office in the White House, when he was named 'Person of the Year'.
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