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It is a positive feature in a magazine that Trump has consistently praised – with one exception. The front-page image, Trump declared, ""might be the most terrible in history".

Time's paean to Donald Trump's part in facilitating a Gaza ceasefire, featured on its November 10 cover, was presented alongside a photograph of Trump shot from a low angle and with the sun shining from the back.

The outcome, Trump claims, is ""extremely poor".

"The publication wrote a fairly positive story about me, but the image may be the most awful ever", Trump wrote on his preferred network.

“My hair was erased, and then there was something floating my head that seemed like a hovering crown, but extremely small. Truly strange! I have always hated being shot from underneath, but this is a super bad image, and it merits criticism. What are they doing, and why?”

Donald Trump has shown obvious his ambition to feature on Time magazine's front page and did so multiple times in the past year. The obsession has made it as far as Trump’s golf clubs – in 2017, the publication requested to remove fabricated front pages exhibited in some of his properties.

This issue's photograph was shot 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 California governor Gavin Newsom did not miss, with his communications team posting a modified photo with the criticized section pixelated.

{The living Israeli hostages held in Gaza have been freed under the first phase of Trump's ceasefire agreement, in exchange for a Palestinian prisoner release. The deal could be a signature achievement of the president's renewed tenure, and it might signify a key shift for the region.

Simultaneously, a defense of the president’s appearance has been offered by an unexpected source: the spokesperson at Russia’s ministry of foreign affairs intervened to criticise the "self-incriminating" picture decision.

It's remarkable: a photo exposes those who picked it than about the subject. Only disturbed individuals, people filled with spite and hatred –perhaps even perverts – could have selected such an image", Maria Zakharova posted on her social channel.

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

The response to Trump’s questions – what were Time’s editors doing, and why? – could be related to creatively capturing a impression of strength says Carly Earl, an Australian publication's photo editor.

The image itself is professionally taken," she notes. "They chose this shot because they wanted trump to look impressive. Gazing upward evokes a feeling of their importance and Trump’s face actually looks contemplative and almost somewhat divine. It's uncommon you see photos of Trump in such a serene moment – the picture feels tender."

The president's hair appears to “disappear” because the light from behind has overexposed that part of the image, producing a glowing aura, she explains. Although the feature's heading complements Trump’s expression in the image, "it's impossible to satisfy the subject matter."

Few people appreciate being photographed from below, and even if all of the conceptual elements of the image are highly effective, the visual appeal are not complimentary."

The Guardian contacted the periodical for a statement.