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This is a positive story in a magazine that Donald Trump has frequently admired – but for one catch. The cover picture, he stated, ""could be the worst ever".

Time's praise to Trump's role in mediating a ceasefire in Gaza, leading its 10 November issue, was paired with a image of Trump shot from a low angle and with the sun shining from the back.

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

"The publication wrote a quite favorable story about me, but the image may be the Worst of All Time", the president posted on his social media platform.

“My hair was erased, and then there was an object above my head that appeared as a hovering crown, but quite miniature. Very odd! I have never liked being shot from underneath, but this is a awful image, and it merits criticism. What are they doing, and why?”

Trump has made clear his wish to feature on Time magazine's front page and did so four times last year. The preoccupation has reached Trump’s golf clubs – in 2017, the editors demanded to remove mocked up covers on display at several of his venues.

This issue's photograph was shot by a photographer for a news agency at the White House on October 5.

The perspective did no favours for his chin and neck area – an opening that the governor of California Gavin Newsom did not miss, with his press office posting a modified photo with the problematic part blurred.

{The hostages from Israel detained in Gaza have been freed under the first phase of the president's diplomatic initiative, alongside a release of Palestinian detainees. The arrangement could be a defining accomplishment of Trump's second term, and it may represent a strategic turning point for that part of the world.

At the same time, a support for his portrayal has emerged from a surprising origin: the director of information at the Russian foreign ministry stepped in to criticise the "self-incriminating" picture decision.

It's remarkable: a photograph reveals far more about those who picked it than about the individual pictured. Only sick people, people obsessed with malice and animosity –perhaps even perverts – could have picked this picture", the official posted on her social channel.

In light of the positive pictures of Biden that the periodical featured on the front, notwithstanding his health issues, the situation is self-revealing for Time", she noted.

The response to Trump’s questions – what did the editors intend, and why? – might involve artistically representing a sense of power stated by an imaging expert, an Australian publication's photo editor.

The image itself is well-executed," she explains. "They picked this image because they wanted Trump to look commanding. Staring up at someone evokes a feeling of their grandeur and Trump’s face actually looks contemplative and almost a bit ethereal. It's uncommon you see images of the president in such a serene moment – the picture feels tender."

His hair looks erased because the rear illumination has overexposed that part of the image, producing a glowing aura, she adds. And, while the article's title complements the president's look in the image, "you can’t always please the individual in question."

"No one likes being photographed from below, and although all of the thematic components of the image are highly effective, the aesthetics are not complimentary."

The publication contacted Time magazine for feedback.