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This is a positive feature in a periodical that the president has consistently praised – except for one issue. The cover picture, the president decreed, ""could be the worst ever".

Time's paean to Trump's role in facilitating a ceasefire in Gaza, headlining its early November edition, was presented alongside a photo of the president captured from underneath while the sun behind his head.

The effect, the president asserts, is ""terrible".

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

“My hair was ‘disappeared’, and then there was an object above my head that seemed like a floating crown, but very tiny. Really weird! I have never liked being photographed from below, but this is a extremely poor image, and it deserves to be called out. What is their goal, and why?”

Donald Trump has shown no secret of his desire to feature on the cover of Time and accomplished it four times last year. This fixation has made it as far as Trump’s golf clubs – in 2017, the editors demanded to remove fake issues shown in a few of his establishments.

The most recent cover image was captured by a photographer for a news agency at the presidential residence on 5 October.

Its angle did no favours for his chin and neck area – an opening that the governor of California Newsom took advantage of, with his press office tweeting a version with the criticized section blurred.

{The living Israeli hostages detained in Gaza have been released under the initial stage of Trump's ceasefire agreement, together with a freeing of Palestinian inmates. The arrangement may become a signature achievement of his next term, and it may represent a key shift for that part of the world.

At the same time, a defence of the president’s appearance has emerged from an unexpected source: the spokesperson at Moscow's diplomatic office stepped in to criticise the "damaging" image choice.

It's remarkable: a photograph reveals far more about those who picked it than about the person in it. Only disturbed individuals, people driven by hatred and hatred –maybe even degenerates – could have chosen such a photo", Maria Zakharova shared on the messaging platform.

Considering the favorable images of President Biden that the periodical displayed on the cover, even with his age-related challenges, the case is self-damaging for the publication", she noted.

The answer to his queries – what did the editors intend, and why? – could be related to creatively capturing a impression of strength says a picture editor, Guardian Australia’s picture editor.

The image itself is well-executed," she notes. "They picked this image because they wanted Trump to look impressive. Gazing upward gives a sense of their grandeur and his expression actually looks contemplative and almost a bit ethereal. It's rare you see images of the president in such a peaceful state – the picture feels tender."

Trump’s hair seems to vanish because the rear illumination has overexposed that part of the image, creating a halo effect, she adds. Even though the article's title marries well with his facial expression in the image, "it's impossible to satisfy the individual in question."

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

The Guardian reached out to the periodical for comment.