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This is a glowing article in a periodical that Trump has consistently praised – except for one issue. The front-page image, the president decreed, "may be the Worst of All Time".

Time's tribute to Trump's role in mediating a Gaza ceasefire, headlining its early November edition, was accompanied by a image of Trump shot from a low angle and with the sun shining from the back.

The effect, the president asserts, is ""extremely poor".

"Time wrote a quite favorable story about me, but the photo may be the lowest quality in history", Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“They ‘disappeared’ my hair, and then had an object hovering on top of my head that appeared as a floating crown, but an remarkably little one. Quite bizarre! I consistently avoided taking pictures from underneath angles, but this is a extremely poor picture, and merits public condemnation. What are they doing, and why?”

Donald Trump has shown clear his wish to be pictured on the cover of Time and did so four times last year. The preoccupation has reached Trump’s golf clubs – years ago, the publication requested to remove fake issues shown in several of his venues.

This issue's photograph was captured by a photographer for a news agency at the presidential residence on 5 October.

The perspective highlighted negatively Trump’s chin and neck – an opportunity that California governor Gavin Newsom took advantage of, with his communications team sharing an altered image with the criticized section obscured.

{The hostages from Israel detained in Gaza have been freed under the first phase of Trump's ceasefire agreement, alongside a release of Palestinian detainees. The arrangement could be a major success of Trump's second term, and it might signify a strategic turning point for that part of the world.

Meanwhile, a defense of his portrayal has been offered by a surprising origin: the spokesperson at the Russian foreign ministry came forward to denounce the "self-incriminating" image choice.

It's amazing: a photo says more about those who selected it than about the subject. Just unwell persons, people obsessed with malice and hatred –perhaps even perverts – could have selected such an image", the official shared on the messaging platform.

In light of the positive pictures of Biden that the periodical displayed on the cover, even with his age-related challenges, the story is simply self-incriminating for the magazine", she noted.

The answer to the president's inquiries – why did they choose this, and why? – may be something to do with creatively capturing a sense of power according to Carly Earl, an Australian publication's photo editor.

The image itself is professionally taken," she notes. "They chose this shot because they wanted the president to look commanding. Looking up at a person gives a sense of their majesty and his expression actually looks reflective and almost slightly angelic. It’s not often you see images of the president in such a peaceful state – the photo appears gentle."

The president's hair appears to “disappear” because the rear illumination has overexposed that part of the image, generating a radiant circle, she says. Even though the story’s headline complements the president's look in the image, "you can’t always please the person photographed."

"No one likes being photographed from below, and although all of the thematic components of the image are quite powerful, the aesthetics are not flattering."

The publication contacted the magazine for feedback.