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This is a glowing feature in a periodical that the president has frequently admired – but for one catch. The magazine's cover photo, the president decreed, ""could be the worst ever".

Time magazine's paean to Donald Trump's part in brokering a truce for Gaza, leading its 10 November issue, was paired with a image of Trump taken from below while the sun shining from the back.

The result, Trump claims, is "super bad".

"Time wrote a fairly positive story about me, but the image may be the Worst of All Time", the president posted on his preferred network.

“They eliminated my hair, and then had a shape drifting on top of my head that resembled a suspended coronet, but an very tiny one. Quite bizarre! I never liked taking pictures from below viewpoints, but this is a extremely poor picture, and deserves to be called out. Why did they do this, and why?”

Trump has made clear his wish to feature on the cover of Time and achieved this four times last year. The preoccupation has made it as far as his golf courses – previously, the editors demanded to remove fake issues on display at some of his properties.

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

The shot's viewpoint was unflattering to the president's jawline and throat – an opening that California governor Newsom seized, with the governor's office tweeting a version with the offending area blurred.

{The living Israeli hostages in Gaza have been liberated under the initial stage of Donald Trump's peace plan, together with a release of Palestinian detainees. The deal might turn into a major success of his next term, and it might signify a strategic turning point for the region.

Meanwhile, a defense of his portrayal has come from unusual quarters: the communications chief at Russia’s ministry of foreign affairs stepped in to condemn the "damaging" picture decision.

It's remarkable: a photo exposes those who picked it than about the person in it. Only disturbed individuals, people driven by hatred and hatred –maybe even degenerates – could have picked this picture", the official posted on Telegram.

In light of the positive pictures of President Biden that that magazine used on the cover, despite his physical infirmity, the story is simply self-incriminating for the magazine", she said.

The explanation for his queries – why did they choose this, and why? – could be related to creatively capturing a impression of strength says an imaging expert, a media professional.

The photograph technically is well-executed," she explains. "They chose this shot because they wanted trump to look commanding. Staring up at someone evokes a feeling of their importance and the president's visage actually looks contemplative and almost a bit ethereal. It’s not often you see pictures of him in such a serene moment – the photo appears gentle."

His hair seems to vanish because the rear illumination has washed out that area of the image, producing a glowing aura, she adds. And, while the article's title marries well with Trump’s expression in the image, "you can’t always please the individual in question."

"No one likes being shot from underneath, and even if all of the conceptual elements of the image are quite powerful, the appearance are not flattering."

The Guardian reached out to Time magazine for a statement.