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This is a favorable article in a magazine that the president has frequently admired – except for one issue. The magazine's cover photo, Trump declared, ""could be the worst ever".

Time magazine's praise to Trump's role in facilitating a truce for Gaza, leading its 10 November issue, was accompanied by a photo of Trump captured from underneath while the sun behind his head.

The result, Trump claims, is ""terrible".

"Time Magazine wrote a fairly positive story about me, but the picture may be the Worst of All Time", Trump wrote on his social media platform.

“They removed my hair, and then had an object hovering on top of my head that resembled a suspended coronet, but an extremely small one. Really weird! I always disliked taking pictures from low perspectives, but this is a extremely poor picture, and deserves to be called out. Why did they do this, and why?”

Donald Trump has shown obvious his ambition to appear on Time magazine's front page and did so four times last year. This fixation has made it as far as Trump’s golf clubs – previously, the editors demanded to remove fake issues shown in a few of his establishments.

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

The shot's viewpoint highlighted negatively Trump’s chin and neck – an opening that California governor Gavin Newsom seized, with his press office tweeting a version with the problematic part pixelated.

{The hostages from Israel held in Gaza have been released under the opening part of Donald Trump's peace plan, alongside a freeing of Palestinian inmates. This agreement might turn into a defining accomplishment of the president's renewed tenure, and it may represent a pivotal moment for the region.

Simultaneously, a support for his portrayal has emerged from an unexpected source: the communications chief at the Russian foreign ministry came forward to denounce the "self-incriminating" image choice.

It's amazing: a photo exposes those who picked it than about the individual pictured. Just unwell persons, people obsessed with malice and animosity –possibly even deviants – could have picked this picture", the official wrote on Telegram.

Considering the favorable images of President Biden that the same publication used on the cover, despite his physical infirmity, the situation is self-revealing for Time", she said.

The answer to the president's inquiries – what did the editors intend, and why? – might involve creatively capturing a feeling of authority according to Carly Earl, an Australian publication's photo editor.

The image itself technically is good," she notes. "They chose this shot because they wanted the president to look commanding. Gazing upward creates an impression of their importance and Trump’s face actually looks thoughtful and almost a bit ethereal. It's rare you see images of the president in such a serene moment – the photo appears gentle."

Trump’s hair appears to “disappear” because the rear illumination has overexposed that part of the image, creating a halo effect, she says. Although the story’s headline pairs nicely with Trump’s expression in the image, "it's impossible to satisfy the subject matter."

"No one likes being captured from low angles, and although all of the thematic components of the image are highly effective, the appearance are not complimentary."

The Guardian contacted Time magazine for a statement.