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It is a favorable article in a publication that the president has long exalted – with one exception. The cover picture, the president decreed, ""could be the worst ever".

Time magazine's paean to Donald Trump's part in mediating a truce for Gaza, featured on its November 10 cover, was presented alongside a photograph of the president shot from a low angle while the sun behind his head.

The result, the president asserts, is "super bad".

"The publication wrote a fairly positive story about me, but the image may be the most awful ever", the president posted on his social media platform.

“My hair was ‘disappeared’, and then there was something floating my head that looked like a hovering crown, but quite miniature. Very odd! I have never liked being captured from low angles, but this is a awful image, and it should be denounced. What is their goal, and why?”

Trump has made no secret of his desire to feature on the cover of Time and did so on four occasions in the previous year. The preoccupation has extended to Trump’s golf clubs – in 2017, the publication requested to remove fabricated front pages exhibited in some of his properties.

The latest edition’s photo was captured by a photographer for a news agency at the presidential residence on 5 October.

Its angle was unflattering to the president's jawline and throat – an opportunity that the governor of California Gavin Newsom took advantage of, with the governor's office sharing an altered image with the offending area obscured.

{The living Israeli hostages held in Gaza have been liberated under the first phase of Trump's ceasefire agreement, in exchange for a Palestinian prisoner release. The deal might turn into a signature achievement of the president's renewed tenure, and it may represent a key shift for the Middle East.

At the same time, a support for his portrayal has been offered by a surprising origin: the director of information at Russia’s ministry of foreign affairs stepped in to criticise the "self-incriminating" photo selection.

It's amazing: a photograph says more about those who selected it than about the subject. Just unwell persons, people driven by hatred and hatred –maybe even degenerates – could have picked this picture", she wrote on the messaging platform.

"And given the complimentary photos of Biden that the periodical used on the cover, notwithstanding his health issues, the situation is self-revealing for Time", she added.

The answer to Trump’s questions – why did they choose this, and why? – could be related to artistically representing a feeling of authority according to a picture editor, a media professional.

The photograph technically is well-executed," she explains. "They chose this shot because they wanted the president to look impressive. Gazing upward gives a sense of their importance and his expression actually looks contemplative and almost somewhat divine. It's uncommon you see photos of Trump in such a peaceful state – the picture feels tender."

The president's hair seems to vanish because the light from behind has washed out that area of the image, producing a glowing aura, she adds. Even though the story’s headline complements the president's look in the image, "it's impossible to satisfy the individual in question."

"No one likes being captured from low angles, and while all of the artistic aspects of the image are highly effective, the aesthetics are not flattering."

The publication approached the periodical for feedback.