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This is a favorable feature in a magazine that Trump has long exalted – except for one issue. The cover picture, Trump declared, ""might be the most terrible in history".

Time's tribute to the president's involvement in brokering a Gaza ceasefire, headlining its early November edition, was paired with a photo of the president shot from a low angle while the sun positioned behind him.

The outcome, he says, is ""terrible".

"The publication wrote a relatively good story about me, but the photo may be the most awful ever", the president posted on Truth Social.

“They eliminated my hair, and then had something floating on top of my head that resembled a suspended coronet, but an very tiny one. Truly strange! I always disliked taking pictures from underneath angles, but this is a terrible picture, and merits public condemnation. What is their intention, and why?”

Donald Trump has shown clear his wish to feature on Time magazine's front page and achieved this four times last year. The preoccupation has reached Trump’s golf clubs – previously, the publication requested to remove fabricated front pages exhibited in some of his properties.

The latest edition’s photo was shot by a photographer for a news agency at the White House on October 5.

The shot's viewpoint highlighted negatively the president's jawline and throat – an opportunity that California governor Gavin Newsom seized, with the governor's office tweeting a version with the criticized section obscured.

{The Israeli captives detained in Gaza have been released under the initial stage of the president's diplomatic initiative, together with a freeing of Palestinian inmates. This agreement might turn into a signature achievement of Trump's second term, and it may represent 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 intervened to condemn the "self-incriminating" photo selection.

It's amazing: a photograph exposes those who selected it than about the subject. Only sick people, people filled with spite and hatred –perhaps even perverts – could have picked this picture", the official posted on her social channel.

"And given the complimentary photos of Biden that the same publication used on the cover, notwithstanding his health issues, the story is simply self-incriminating for the publication", she noted.

The explanation for the president's inquiries – what did the editors intend, and why? – could be related to innovatively depicting a feeling of authority stated by Carly Earl, Guardian Australia’s picture editor.

The photograph technically is well-executed," she says. "They selected this photo because they wanted Trump to look impressive. Gazing upward gives a sense of their grandeur and his expression actually looks thoughtful and almost a bit ethereal. It’s not often you see images of the president in such a calm instance – the photo appears gentle."

The president's hair looks erased because the sunlight behind him has washed out that area of the image, generating a radiant circle, she says. Even though the story’s headline marries well with Trump’s expression in the image, "it's impossible to satisfy the person photographed."

Few people appreciate being shot from underneath, and although all of the artistic aspects of the image are quite powerful, the aesthetics are not complimentary."

The news outlet contacted the magazine for comment.