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This is a glowing article in a periodical that Trump has consistently praised – except for one issue. The front-page image, the president decreed, "may be the Worst of All Time".

Time's tribute to the president's involvement in facilitating a truce for Gaza, leading its 10 November issue, was accompanied by a image of Trump shot from a low angle and with the sun shining from the back.

The result, Trump claims, is "super bad".

"The publication wrote a relatively good story about me, but the picture may be the most awful ever", Trump wrote on his preferred network.

“My hair was ‘disappeared’, and then there was an object above my head that looked like a hovering crown, but very tiny. Very odd! I have never liked being captured from low angles, but this is a super bad image, and it merits criticism. What is their goal, and why?”

The president has expressed obvious his ambition to appear on the cover of Time and achieved this multiple times in the past year. The preoccupation has made it as far as his golf courses – previously, the publication requested to remove fake issues exhibited in some of his properties.

The latest edition’s photo was taken by Graeme Sloane for a news agency at the White House on the fifth of October.

The shot's viewpoint was unflattering to Trump’s chin and neck – an opportunity that the governor of California Newsom took advantage of, with his press office sharing an altered image with the criticized section pixelated.

{The Israeli captives detained in Gaza have been released under the initial stage of Donald Trump's peace plan, in exchange for a Palestinian prisoner release. The deal may become a defining accomplishment of the president's renewed tenure, and it might signify a key shift for that part of the world.

Meanwhile, a defence of the president’s appearance has been offered by a surprising origin: the spokesperson at the Russian foreign ministry intervened to denounce the "damaging" image choice.

It's remarkable: a photo reveals far more about those who chose it than about the subject. Only disturbed individuals, people driven by hatred and hatred –maybe even degenerates – could have chosen such a photo", the official posted on her social channel.

In light of the positive pictures of President Biden that that magazine displayed on the cover, notwithstanding his health issues, the situation is self-revealing for Time", she said.

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

"The actual photo itself is professionally taken," she says. "They picked this image because they wanted Trump to look heroic. Staring up at someone creates an impression of their grandeur and his expression actually looks thoughtful and almost slightly angelic. It's uncommon you see pictures of him in such a calm instance – the image has a softness to it."

Trump’s hair looks erased because the light from behind has overexposed that part of the image, creating a halo effect, she adds. Although the article's title complements the president's look in the image, "it's impossible to satisfy the subject matter."

Few people appreciate being shot from underneath, and although all of the conceptual elements of the image are very strong, the visual appeal are unflattering."

The Guardian reached out to the magazine for comment.