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It is a positive article in a magazine that Donald Trump has consistently praised – with one exception. The magazine's cover photo, Trump declared, ""could be the worst ever".

Time's tribute to Donald Trump's part in brokering a Gaza ceasefire, featured on its November 10 cover, was accompanied by a photograph of the president captured from underneath while the sun shining from the back.

The outcome, the president asserts, is "super bad".

"Time wrote a relatively good story about me, but the image may be the most awful ever", Trump wrote on his preferred network.

“My hair was ‘disappeared’, and then there was something floating my head that seemed like a hovering crown, but quite miniature. Very odd! I have never liked being shot from underneath, but this is a awful image, and it deserves to be called out. Why did they choose this, and why?”

Trump has made no secret of his desire to appear on Time magazine's front page and accomplished it four times last year. This fixation has made it as far as Trump’s golf clubs – in 2017, the magazine asked him to remove fabricated front pages on display at several of his venues.

The latest edition’s photo was captured by Graeme Sloane for a news agency at the White House on 5 October.

Its angle was unflattering to his chin and neck area – an opening that California governor Gavin Newsom took advantage of, with his press office tweeting a version with the criticized section obscured.

{The Israeli captives in Gaza have been freed under the initial stage of Donald Trump's peace plan, alongside a Palestinian prisoner release. The deal may become a major success of his next term, and it might signify a pivotal moment for the Middle East.

Meanwhile, a defence of his portrayal has come from an unexpected source: the communications chief at the Russian foreign ministry stepped in to condemn the "self-incriminating" picture decision.

"It’s astonishing: a photograph exposes those who selected it than about the individual pictured. Only sick people, people driven by hatred and hatred –possibly even deviants – could have picked this picture", Maria Zakharova posted on Telegram.

In light of the positive pictures of Biden that the same publication featured on the front, notwithstanding his health issues, the case is self-damaging for the magazine", she said.

The response to his queries – what were Time’s editors doing, and why? – might involve creatively capturing a feeling of authority stated by an imaging expert, a media professional.

"The actual photo itself technically is good," she explains. "They picked this image because they wanted trump to look heroic. Gazing upward creates an impression of their importance and Trump’s face actually looks contemplative and almost slightly angelic. It's uncommon you see pictures of him in such a peaceful state – the picture feels tender."

His hair looks erased because the light from behind has washed out that area of the image, creating a halo effect, she explains. Even though the article's title pairs nicely with the president's look in the image, "you can’t always please the subject matter."

Nobody enjoys being captured from low angles, and although all of the thematic components of the image are very strong, the aesthetics are not flattering."

The publication reached out to the periodical for a statement.