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It is a favorable feature in a publication that Donald Trump has long exalted – but for one catch. The front-page image, Trump declared, "may be the Worst of All Time".

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

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

"The publication wrote a fairly positive story about me, but the photo may be the lowest quality in history", the president posted on his social media platform.

“They eliminated my hair, and then had an object hovering on top of my head that looked like a floating crown, but an extremely small one. Quite bizarre! I consistently avoided taking pictures from low perspectives, but this is a terrible picture, and should be criticized. Why did they do this, and why?”

Trump has made no secret of his desire to appear on the cover of Time and did so four times last year. The obsession has made it as far as his golf courses – previously, the editors demanded to remove fabricated front pages on display at some of his properties.

This issue's photograph was shot by Graeme Sloane for Bloomberg at the presidential residence on the fifth of October.

The shot's viewpoint highlighted negatively his chin and neck area – an opportunity that California governor Gavin Newsom took advantage of, with his press office tweeting a version with the problematic part pixelated.

{The living Israeli hostages in Gaza have been liberated under the first phase of Trump's ceasefire agreement, alongside a Palestinian prisoner release. The arrangement could be a signature achievement of the president's renewed tenure, and it could mark a strategic turning point for the Middle East.

Meanwhile, a defence of his portrayal has been offered by an unexpected source: the spokesperson at the Russian foreign ministry intervened to criticise the "damaging" photo selection.

It's remarkable: a photograph says more about those who selected it than about the individual pictured. Only disturbed individuals, people driven by hatred and hatred –perhaps even perverts – could have picked this picture", the official shared on the messaging platform.

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

The explanation for the president's inquiries – what did the editors intend, and why? – might involve innovatively depicting a feeling of authority says a picture editor, Guardian Australia’s picture editor.

The image itself technically is good," she notes. "They picked this image because they wanted trump to look commanding. Looking up at a person evokes a feeling of their grandeur and the president's visage actually looks reflective and almost a bit ethereal. It's uncommon you see images of the president in such a calm instance – the picture feels tender."

The president's hair appears to “disappear” because the rear illumination has bleached that section of the image, generating a radiant circle, she adds. Even though the story’s headline pairs nicely with his facial expression in the image, "you can’t always please the person photographed."

Few people appreciate being photographed from below, and although all of the artistic aspects of the image are quite powerful, the aesthetics are not complimentary."

The news outlet approached the periodical for comment.