Image of Trump holding lit match is from 2020 Der Spiegel cover, not 2024 | Fact check

Andre Byik, USA TODAY
·2 min read
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The claim: Illustration of Trump holding lit match was Der Spiegel cover image in April 2024

An April 29 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows an illustration of former President Donald Trump holding a lit match while sitting in what appears to be the White House. Plumes of smoke from a fire and a mob are visible through a window behind him.

"Der Spiegel is the most influential news magazine in Germany," reads on-screen text included in the post. "This is the current issue's cover, and the cover story is titled 'Fire Devil: A President Burns Down His Country.'"

The post was shared 130 times in three days.

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Our rating: False

The illustration was featured on the cover of Der Spiegel's magazine in June 2020, not in April 2024, according to the magazine's archives.

Trump has made cover of Der Spiegel dozens of times

The illustration of Trump holding a lit match behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office was featured on the cover of Der Spiegel's issue dated June 6, 2020, according to the magazine's print archive. The issue's cover story, as translated into English by the magazine, was titled, "The Firestarter: A President Sets His Country on Fire."

The archive shows the illustration did not appear on the German magazine's cover in April 2024, as the post claims.

Der Spiegel has often been critical of Trump, describing him as the most "incendiary" American president of all time. The magazine has featured him on the cover more than two dozen times, including a February 2017 cover that depicts him holding a bloody knife and the severed head of Lady Liberty.

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Versions of the Facebook post have been circulating online since at least July 1, 2020, when Trump was president.

The Facebook user who shared the image did not provide evidence supporting the claim when contacted by USA TODAY.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Der Spiegel cover of Trump with lit match is from 2020 | Fact check