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It is a positive article in a magazine that the president has long exalted – but for one catch. The magazine's cover photo, he stated, ""could be the worst ever".

Time magazine's paean to the president's involvement in mediating a truce for Gaza, leading its 10 November issue, was presented alongside a photograph of Trump taken from below and with the sun shining from the back.

The outcome, he says, is "super bad".

"Time wrote a quite favorable story about me, but the photo may be the lowest quality in history", he shared on his social media platform.

“My hair was obscured, and then there was an object above my head that looked like a floating crown, but extremely small. Truly strange! I have never liked being captured from low angles, but this is a extremely poor image, and it merits criticism. What is their goal, and why?”

Trump has made clear his wish to be pictured on Time’s cover and achieved this multiple times in the past year. The obsession has reached the president's resorts – in 2017, the editors demanded to remove fabricated front pages shown in several of his venues.

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

The perspective was unflattering to Trump’s chin and neck – an opportunity that California governor Newsom did not miss, with the governor's office tweeting a version with the offending area blurred.

{The living Israeli hostages in Gaza have been liberated under the opening part of the president's diplomatic initiative, alongside a Palestinian prisoner release. The deal may become a signature achievement of the president's renewed tenure, and it may represent a pivotal moment for that part of the world.

Simultaneously, a defence of Trump's image has been offered by an unexpected source: the spokesperson at the Russian foreign ministry stepped in to condemn the "revealing" image choice.

It's remarkable: a photo reveals far more about those who selected it than about the person in it. Only disturbed individuals, people obsessed with malice and hatred –perhaps even perverts – could have picked this picture", Maria Zakharova posted on the messaging platform.

Considering the favorable images of Biden that that magazine featured on the front, even with his age-related challenges, the case is self-damaging for the publication", she noted.

The response to his queries – what did the editors intend, and why? – might involve creatively capturing a impression of strength according to a picture editor, Guardian Australia’s picture editor.

"The actual photo itself is well-executed," she notes. "They picked this image because they wanted the president to look heroic. Looking up at a person evokes a feeling of their importance and Trump’s face actually looks contemplative and almost slightly angelic. It's rare you see pictures of him in such a serene moment – the image has a softness to it."

Trump’s hair looks erased because the rear illumination has bleached that section of the image, producing a glowing aura, she says. And, while the feature's heading pairs nicely with the president's look in the image, "you can’t always please the individual in question."

"No one likes being captured from low angles, and while all of the thematic components of the image are quite powerful, the aesthetics are not flattering."

The Guardian reached out to the magazine for feedback.