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It is a glowing article in a publication that Trump has long exalted – except for one issue. The cover picture, the president decreed, "may be the Worst of All Time".

Time's praise to Trump's role in mediating a truce for Gaza, headlining its early November edition, was presented alongside a photograph of Trump captured from underneath and with the sun shining from the back.

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

"The publication wrote a fairly positive story about me, but the image may be the lowest quality in history", Trump wrote on his preferred network.

“My hair was obscured, and then there was a shape over my head that looked like a hovering crown, but very tiny. Really weird! I have always hated being photographed from below, but this is a super bad image, and it deserves to be called out. What are they doing, and why?”

Trump has made no secret of his desire to appear on Time magazine's front page and accomplished it four times last year. This fixation has made it as far as the president's resorts – in 2017, the magazine asked him to remove mocked up covers shown in a few of his establishments.

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

The perspective was unflattering to the president's jawline and throat – an opening that the governor of California Newsom took advantage of, with the governor's office posting a modified photo with the problematic part blurred.

{The living Israeli hostages in Gaza have been released under the initial stage of Trump's ceasefire agreement, alongside a freeing of Palestinian inmates. The deal could be a major success of the president's renewed tenure, and it may represent a key shift for the region.

At the same time, a support for his portrayal has emerged from a surprising origin: the spokesperson at Russia’s ministry of foreign affairs stepped in to condemn the "self-incriminating" picture decision.

It's amazing: a photograph reveals far more about those who selected it than about the person in it. Only sick people, people filled with spite and resentment –perhaps even perverts – could have picked this picture", Maria Zakharova wrote on the messaging platform.

In light of the positive pictures of President Biden that the periodical displayed on the cover, despite his physical infirmity, the situation is self-revealing for Time", she said.

The response to Trump’s questions – why did they choose this, and why? – might involve innovatively depicting a impression of strength stated by an imaging expert, Guardian Australia’s picture editor.

"The actual photo itself is well-executed," she says. "They selected this photo because they wanted the president to look impressive. Looking up at a person evokes a feeling of their majesty and Trump’s face actually looks contemplative and almost somewhat divine. It’s not often you see photos of Trump in such a peaceful state – the photo appears gentle."

His hair looks erased because the rear illumination has washed out that area of the image, generating a radiant circle, she explains. And, while the story’s headline complements Trump’s expression in the image, "you can’t always please the individual in question."

"No one likes being photographed from below, and while all of the conceptual elements of the image are very strong, the aesthetics are not flattering."

The news outlet contacted Time magazine for feedback.