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This is a positive story in a magazine that Donald Trump has long exalted – but for one catch. The cover picture, the president decreed, ""could be the worst ever".

Time's praise to Trump's role in facilitating a ceasefire in Gaza, headlining its early November edition, was presented alongside a image of Trump captured from underneath and with the sun shining from the back.

The effect, Trump claims, is ""terrible".

"Time Magazine wrote a fairly positive story about me, but the photo may be the most awful ever", Trump wrote on his preferred network.

“My hair was obscured, and then there was something floating my head that appeared as a hovering crown, but quite miniature. Really weird! I have always hated being captured from low angles, but this is a super bad image, and it deserves to be called out. What are they doing, and why?”

Trump has made clear his wish to appear on Time’s cover and accomplished it on four occasions in the previous year. The obsession has made it as far as Trump’s golf clubs – years ago, the editors demanded to remove fabricated front pages exhibited in some of his properties.

The latest edition’s photo was shot by a photographer for Bloomberg at the White House on the fifth of October.

The perspective was unflattering to Trump’s chin and neck – a chance that the governor of California Gavin Newsom seized, with his communications team tweeting a version with the offending area obscured.

{The living Israeli hostages held in Gaza have been freed under the opening part of the president's diplomatic initiative, alongside a freeing of Palestinian inmates. The deal may become a major success of his next term, and it might signify a pivotal moment for the region.

At the same time, a defence of Trump's image has come from an unexpected source: the director of information at Moscow's diplomatic office came forward to denounce the "self-incriminating" image choice.

It's amazing: a image exposes those who picked it than about the individual pictured. Only disturbed individuals, people obsessed with malice and hatred –maybe even degenerates – could have picked this picture", she shared on her social channel.

Considering the favorable images of Biden that that magazine featured on the front, despite his physical infirmity, the situation is self-revealing for the publication", she noted.

The explanation for his queries – what were Time’s editors doing, and why? – could be related to innovatively depicting a impression of strength according to Carly Earl, a media professional.

The image itself is professionally taken," she explains. "They picked this image because they wanted trump to look impressive. Gazing upward evokes a feeling of their majesty and his expression actually looks thoughtful and almost a bit ethereal. It's rare you see pictures of him in such a peaceful state – the photo appears gentle."

His hair appears to “disappear” because the rear illumination has overexposed that part of the image, producing a glowing aura, she explains. Even though the story’s headline pairs nicely with Trump’s expression in the image, "you can’t always please the subject matter."

"No one likes being captured from low angles, and while all of the conceptual elements of the image are highly effective, the appearance are unflattering."

The publication contacted the magazine for comment.