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This is a glowing article in a periodical that the president has frequently admired – except for one issue. The front-page image, he stated, ""could be the worst ever".

Time's paean to Donald Trump's part in facilitating a Gaza ceasefire, leading its 10 November issue, was accompanied by a image of the president captured from underneath and with the sun shining from the back.

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

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

“They eliminated my hair, and then had an object hovering on top of my head that resembled a floating crown, but an very tiny one. Truly strange! I consistently avoided taking pictures from below viewpoints, but this is a extremely poor picture, and should be criticized. Why did they do this, and why?”

Trump has made clear his wish to appear on Time’s cover and did so multiple times in the past year. The obsession has extended to Trump’s golf clubs – in 2017, the editors demanded to remove fabricated front pages exhibited in some of his properties.

The latest edition’s photo was shot by Graeme Sloane for a news agency at the presidential residence on 5 October.

The shot's viewpoint highlighted negatively the president's jawline and throat – a chance that California governor Gavin Newsom seized, with the governor's office sharing an altered image with the problematic part pixelated.

{The living Israeli hostages detained in Gaza have been released under the first phase of the president's diplomatic initiative, together with a release of Palestinian detainees. The deal might turn into a defining accomplishment of his next term, and it may represent a strategic turning point for the Middle East.

Simultaneously, a support for his portrayal has emerged from a surprising origin: the director of information at Russia’s ministry of foreign affairs intervened to denounce the "revealing" picture decision.

"It’s astonishing: a image exposes those who picked it than about the individual pictured. Only disturbed individuals, people obsessed with malice and resentment –perhaps even perverts – could have selected such an image", Maria Zakharova posted on her social channel.

"And given the complimentary photos of President Biden that the same publication displayed on the cover, notwithstanding his health issues, the case is self-damaging for Time", she added.

The answer to his queries – why did they choose this, and why? – may be something to do with creatively capturing a impression of strength according to an imaging expert, Guardian Australia’s picture editor.

"The actual photo itself is well-executed," she notes. "They picked this image because they wanted the president to look commanding. Staring up at someone evokes a feeling of their majesty and Trump’s face actually looks thoughtful and almost a bit ethereal. It’s not often you see pictures of him in such a calm instance – the picture feels tender."

His hair looks erased because the sunlight behind him has washed out that area of the image, creating a halo effect, she adds. Even though the article's title complements the president's look in the image, "you can’t always please the subject matter."

Few people appreciate being captured from low angles, and even if all of the thematic components of the image are very strong, the visual appeal are unflattering."

The news outlet contacted the magazine for feedback.