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It is a positive feature in a publication that Trump has frequently admired – except for one issue. The front-page image, Trump declared, ""might be the most terrible in history".

Time magazine's praise to the president's involvement in mediating a Gaza ceasefire, leading its 10 November issue, was paired with a image of the president captured from underneath and with the sun shining from the back.

The result, Trump claims, is "super bad".

"Time wrote a quite favorable story about me, but the picture may be the lowest quality in history", the president posted on Truth Social.

“My hair was ‘disappeared’, and then there was something floating my head that seemed like a floating crown, but very tiny. Really weird! I have never liked being shot from underneath, but this is a awful image, and it should be denounced. What are they doing, and why?”

Donald Trump has shown clear his wish to be pictured on Time’s cover and accomplished it four times last year. The obsession has reached his golf courses – previously, the magazine asked him to remove fake issues on display at several of his venues.

The latest edition’s photo was captured by a photographer for a news agency at the White House on the fifth of October.

The perspective did no favours for the president's jawline and throat – an opportunity that California governor Newsom took advantage of, with his communications team tweeting a version with the criticized section obscured.

{The hostages from Israel in Gaza have been liberated under the opening part of the president's diplomatic initiative, in exchange for a freeing of Palestinian inmates. The arrangement might turn into a signature achievement of Trump's second term, and it could mark a key shift for that part of the world.

Meanwhile, a defense of Trump's image has been offered by a surprising origin: the spokesperson at Moscow's diplomatic office came forward to denounce the "damaging" image choice.

It's remarkable: a image says more about those who picked it than about the individual pictured. Only sick people, people obsessed with malice and hatred –possibly even deviants – could have picked this picture", she posted on the messaging platform.

"And given the complimentary photos of Biden that that magazine displayed on the cover, despite his physical infirmity, the situation is self-revealing for Time", she noted.

The explanation for the president's inquiries – why did they choose this, and why? – could be related to artistically representing a feeling of authority according to a picture editor, an Australian publication's photo editor.

The photograph technically technically is good," she notes. "They selected this photo because they wanted the president to look commanding. Looking up at a person evokes a feeling of their grandeur and his expression actually looks contemplative and almost a bit ethereal. It's rare you see photos of Trump in such a serene moment – the picture feels tender."

His hair appears to “disappear” because the light from behind has overexposed that part of the image, producing a glowing aura, she says. Although the feature's heading complements his facial expression in the image, "one cannot constantly gratify the individual in question."

Few people appreciate being photographed from below, and although all of the thematic components of the image are very strong, the aesthetics are not flattering."

The Guardian approached the periodical for comment.