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It is a favorable article in a periodical that Trump has long exalted – with one exception. The magazine's cover photo, he stated, "may be the Worst of All Time".

Time's paean to Donald Trump's part in brokering a ceasefire in Gaza, headlining its early November edition, was accompanied by a photo of Trump shot from a low angle while the sun shining from the back.

The effect, the president asserts, is ""extremely poor".

"The publication wrote a relatively good story about me, but the image may be the lowest quality in history", he shared on his preferred network.

“They ‘disappeared’ my hair, and then had something floating on top of my head that appeared as a floating crown, but an extremely small one. Really weird! I always disliked taking pictures from underneath angles, but this is a extremely poor picture, and merits public condemnation. Why did they do this, and why?”

The president has expressed clear his wish to feature on Time’s cover and achieved this multiple times in the past year. The preoccupation has reached the president's resorts – years ago, the editors demanded to remove mocked up covers shown in some of his properties.

This issue's photograph was captured by a photographer for Bloomberg at the presidential residence on 5 October.

Its angle was unflattering to his chin and neck area – an opening that California governor Gavin Newsom seized, with his communications team posting a modified photo with the criticized section obscured.

{The hostages from Israel in Gaza have been freed under the opening part of the president's diplomatic initiative, in exchange for a freeing of Palestinian inmates. This agreement might turn into a major success of Trump's second term, and it could mark a strategic turning point for the region.

Simultaneously, a defence of Trump's image has emerged from a surprising origin: the communications chief at the Russian foreign ministry stepped in to condemn the "self-incriminating" photo selection.

It's amazing: a photo reveals far more about those who picked it than about the person in it. Only disturbed individuals, people filled with spite and animosity –maybe even degenerates – could have chosen such a photo", she wrote on her social channel.

Considering the favorable images of Biden that the same publication used on the cover, even with his age-related challenges, the case is self-damaging for Time", she said.

The answer to his queries – what did the editors intend, and why? – could be related to artistically representing a sense of power according to Carly Earl, Guardian Australia’s picture editor.

The image itself technically is good," she notes. "They picked this image because they wanted trump to look impressive. Looking up at a person evokes a feeling of their majesty and Trump’s face actually looks contemplative and almost a bit ethereal. It's rare you see pictures of him in such a peaceful state – the image has a softness to it."

The president's hair looks erased because the rear illumination has washed out that area of the image, producing a glowing aura, she explains. Even though the story’s headline complements his facial expression in the image, "it's impossible to satisfy the individual in question."

Few people appreciate being photographed from below, and even if all of the artistic aspects of the image are very strong, the appearance are not flattering."

The Guardian contacted Time magazine for comment.