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It is a positive article in a magazine that Trump has consistently praised – but for one catch. The cover picture, the president decreed, ""could be the worst ever".

Time magazine's paean to the president's involvement in facilitating a Gaza ceasefire, leading its 10 November issue, was paired with a photograph of the president shot from a low angle and with the sun behind his head.

The outcome, Trump claims, is ""extremely poor".

"Time wrote a relatively good story about me, but the photo may be the Worst of All Time", Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“They ‘disappeared’ my hair, and then had a shape drifting on top of my head that looked like a floating crown, but an very tiny one. Quite bizarre! I consistently avoided taking pictures from low perspectives, but this is a extremely poor picture, and deserves to be called out. What is their intention, and why?”

Donald Trump has shown no secret of his desire to feature on Time’s cover and achieved this multiple times in the past year. The preoccupation has made it as far as Trump’s golf clubs – years ago, the magazine asked him to remove fake issues shown in several of his venues.

The latest edition’s photo was taken by Graeme Sloane for Bloomberg at the presidential residence on 5 October.

The shot's viewpoint highlighted negatively his chin and neck area – an opportunity that the governor of California Newsom seized, with his press office tweeting a version with the criticized section obscured.

{The hostages from Israel detained in Gaza have been freed under the initial stage of the president's diplomatic initiative, together with a release of Palestinian detainees. The deal could be a defining accomplishment of Trump's second term, and it may represent a pivotal moment for the Middle East.

At the same time, a defense of his portrayal has come from unusual quarters: the director of information at the Russian foreign ministry came forward to criticise the "revealing" photo selection.

"It’s astonishing: a photograph says more about those who selected it than about the subject. Just unwell persons, people filled with spite and animosity –possibly even deviants – could have picked this picture", she posted on the messaging platform.

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

The explanation for his queries – what were Time’s editors doing, and why? – may be something to do with innovatively depicting a feeling of authority says Carly Earl, a media professional.

"The actual photo itself is professionally taken," she notes. "They picked this image because they wanted the president to look commanding. Looking up at a person creates an impression of their majesty and the president's visage actually looks thoughtful and almost slightly angelic. It's rare you see photos of Trump in such a calm instance – the picture feels tender."

Trump’s hair looks erased because the light from behind has bleached that section of the image, creating a halo effect, she adds. Even though the feature's heading pairs nicely with his facial expression in the image, "it's impossible to satisfy the individual in question."

"No one likes being captured from low angles, and even if all of the artistic aspects of the image are quite powerful, the visual appeal are not complimentary."

The publication reached out to Time magazine for a statement.