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It is a positive feature in a publication that the president has frequently admired – except for one issue. The cover picture, he stated, ""might be the most terrible in history".

Time magazine's praise to Donald Trump's part in brokering a truce for Gaza, leading its 10 November issue, was accompanied by a photograph of Trump taken from below while the sun positioned behind him.

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

"Time Magazine wrote a relatively good story about me, but the image may be the Worst of All Time", he shared on Truth Social.

“My hair was ‘disappeared’, and then there was a shape over my head that appeared as a suspended diadem, but extremely small. Very odd! I have consistently disliked being photographed from below, but this is a awful image, and it deserves to be called out. What are they doing, and why?”

Donald Trump has shown obvious his ambition to feature on Time’s cover and accomplished it four times last year. The obsession has made it as far as the president's resorts – years ago, the magazine asked him to remove mocked up covers on display at some of his properties.

This issue's photograph was captured by Graeme Sloane for a news agency at the White House on 5 October.

Its angle highlighted negatively his chin and neck area – an opening that the governor of California Newsom seized, with his communications team posting a modified photo with the problematic part blurred.

{The living Israeli hostages in Gaza have been liberated under the first phase of the president's diplomatic initiative, in exchange for a Palestinian prisoner release. This agreement might turn into a major success of Trump's second term, and it might signify a strategic turning point for that part of the world.

At the same time, a support for the president’s appearance has been offered by an unexpected source: the spokesperson at Russia’s ministry of foreign affairs stepped in to denounce the "revealing" photo selection.

It's remarkable: a photo reveals far more about those who chose it than about the individual pictured. Only sick people, people filled with spite and animosity –maybe even degenerates – could have chosen such a photo", the official wrote on Telegram.

In light of the positive pictures of President Biden that that magazine displayed on the cover, notwithstanding his health issues, the story is simply self-incriminating for the publication", she said.

The answer to the president's inquiries – why did they choose this, and why? – may be something to do with artistically representing a sense of power according to a picture editor, Guardian Australia’s picture editor.

The photograph technically technically is good," she notes. "They picked this image because they wanted trump to look impressive. Gazing upward creates an impression of their grandeur and the president's visage actually looks reflective and almost a bit ethereal. It’s not often you see images of the president in such a serene moment – the picture feels tender."

Trump’s hair seems to vanish because the light from behind has overexposed that part of the image, producing a glowing aura, she explains. And, while the feature's heading pairs nicely with Trump’s expression in the image, "you can’t always please the subject matter."

"No one likes being photographed from below, and although all of the conceptual elements of the image are quite powerful, the visual appeal are not complimentary."

The news outlet approached Time magazine for comment.