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This is a favorable story in a periodical that Trump has long exalted – with one exception. The front-page image, the president decreed, "may be the Worst of All Time".

Time magazine's tribute to Donald Trump's part in brokering a ceasefire in Gaza, featured on its November 10 cover, was accompanied by a photo of Trump shot from a low angle while the sun positioned behind him.

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

"The publication wrote a relatively good story about me, but the photo may be the lowest quality in history", he shared on his social media platform.

“My hair was obscured, and then there was a shape over my head that looked like a suspended diadem, but very tiny. Very odd! I have always hated being captured from low angles, but this is a super bad image, and it merits criticism. What is their goal, and why?”

Trump has made obvious his ambition to feature on the cover of Time and did so multiple times in the past year. The preoccupation has made it as far as the president's resorts – previously, the magazine asked him to remove fabricated front pages shown in a few of his establishments.

The latest edition’s photo was captured by a photographer for Bloomberg at the White House on the fifth of October.

The shot's viewpoint highlighted negatively Trump’s chin and neck – a chance that the governor of California Newsom seized, with his communications team posting a modified photo with the criticized section blurred.

{The Israeli captives detained in Gaza have been liberated under the initial stage of the president's diplomatic initiative, in exchange for a release of Palestinian detainees. The deal could be a defining accomplishment of the president's renewed tenure, and it could mark a key shift for the Middle East.

At the same time, a defence of his portrayal has come from a surprising origin: the director of information at the Russian foreign ministry came forward to condemn the "self-incriminating" picture decision.

"It’s astonishing: a photograph says more about those who picked it than about the individual pictured. Only sick people, people obsessed with malice and animosity –possibly even deviants – could have chosen such a photo", the official posted on Telegram.

"And given the complimentary photos of Biden that the periodical used on the cover, even with his age-related challenges, the case is self-damaging for the publication", she said.

The answer to Trump’s questions – what did the editors intend, and why? – might involve creatively capturing a sense of power stated by Carly Earl, an Australian publication's photo editor.

"The actual photo itself is professionally taken," she explains. "They chose this shot because they wanted Trump to look commanding. Looking up at a person creates an impression of their importance and his expression actually looks thoughtful and almost slightly angelic. It's rare you see images of the president in such a serene moment – the picture feels tender."

Trump’s hair looks erased because the sunlight behind him has overexposed that part of the image, generating a radiant circle, she adds. Even though the article's title pairs nicely with his facial expression in the image, "it's impossible to satisfy the subject matter."

Few people appreciate being photographed from below, and even if all of the conceptual elements of the image are quite powerful, the visual appeal are unflattering."

The publication reached out to the magazine for feedback.