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It is a favorable story in a publication that Trump has frequently admired – but for one catch. The front-page image, he stated, ""might be the most terrible in history".

Time's paean to the president's involvement in mediating a Gaza ceasefire, leading its 10 November issue, was presented alongside a photo of the president taken from below and with the sun positioned behind him.

The outcome, the president asserts, is "super bad".

"The publication wrote a fairly positive story about me, but the photo may be the most awful ever", Trump wrote on his social media platform.

“My hair was obscured, and then there was something floating my head that seemed like a floating crown, but very tiny. Very odd! I have consistently disliked being captured from low angles, but this is a awful image, and it merits criticism. Why did they choose this, and why?”

Donald Trump has shown clear his wish to appear on the cover of Time and did so on four occasions in the previous year. The obsession has made it as far as Trump’s golf clubs – previously, the editors demanded to remove fake issues exhibited in some of his properties.

The most recent cover image was captured by a photographer for a news agency at the presidential residence on October 5.

The perspective did no favours for his chin and neck area – an opening that the governor of California Newsom did not miss, with his communications team sharing an altered image with the problematic part pixelated.

{The living Israeli hostages in Gaza have been freed under the initial stage of the president's diplomatic initiative, alongside a freeing of Palestinian inmates. The arrangement could be a signature achievement of the president's renewed tenure, and it may represent a key shift for the Middle East.

At the same time, a support for Trump's image has been offered by unusual quarters: the spokesperson at Russia’s ministry of foreign affairs intervened to condemn the "revealing" picture decision.

It's remarkable: a image says more about those who picked it than about the subject. Only sick people, people filled with spite and resentment –maybe even degenerates – could have chosen such a photo", Maria Zakharova wrote on the messaging platform.

"And given the complimentary photos of President Biden that the same publication used on the cover, even with his age-related challenges, the case is self-damaging for Time", she noted.

The response to the president's inquiries – why did they choose this, and why? – may be something to do with innovatively depicting a feeling of authority says a picture editor, Guardian Australia’s picture editor.

The image itself technically is good," she explains. "They picked this image because they wanted the president to look commanding. Gazing upward creates an impression of their grandeur and Trump’s face actually looks thoughtful and almost slightly angelic. It's uncommon you see images of the president in such a calm instance – the picture feels tender."

Trump’s hair seems to vanish because the light from behind has overexposed that part of the image, generating a radiant circle, she adds. Although the article's title pairs nicely with the president's look in the image, "one cannot constantly gratify the subject matter."

"No one likes being photographed from below, and even if all of the thematic components of the image are highly effective, the visual appeal are unflattering."

The publication approached the periodical for feedback.