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It is a glowing story in a periodical that the president has long exalted – but for one catch. The front-page image, Trump declared, ""could be the worst ever".

Time's paean to Donald Trump's part in brokering a truce for Gaza, leading its 10 November issue, was paired with a photograph of Trump taken from below and with the sun behind his head.

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

"The publication wrote a quite favorable story about me, but the picture may be the Worst of All Time", he shared on Truth Social.

“They ‘disappeared’ my hair, and then had something floating on top of my head that resembled a hovering tiara, but an very tiny one. Really weird! I consistently avoided taking pictures from below viewpoints, but this is a terrible picture, and merits public condemnation. What are they doing, and why?”

Donald Trump has shown clear his wish to feature on Time’s cover and accomplished it multiple times in the past year. The obsession has reached Trump’s golf clubs – years ago, the magazine asked him to remove mocked up covers exhibited in several of his venues.

The latest edition’s photo was taken by a photographer for Bloomberg at the presidential residence on October 5.

The shot's viewpoint did no favours for Trump’s chin and neck – a chance that the governor of California Newsom did not miss, with his communications team sharing an altered image with the criticized section blurred.

{The living Israeli hostages detained in Gaza have been freed under the initial stage of the president's diplomatic initiative, in exchange for a Palestinian prisoner release. The deal may become a signature achievement of his next term, and it may represent a key shift for that part of the world.

Simultaneously, a defence of the president’s appearance has come from unusual quarters: the spokesperson at Moscow's diplomatic office intervened to condemn the "damaging" image choice.

It's remarkable: a image says more about those who picked it than about the individual pictured. Only sick people, people driven by hatred and resentment –maybe even degenerates – could have picked this picture", she posted on the messaging platform.

"And given the complimentary photos of Biden that the same publication displayed on the cover, despite his physical infirmity, the case is self-damaging for the publication", she said.

The response to the president's inquiries – what did the editors intend, and why? – may be something to do with innovatively depicting a impression of strength says an imaging expert, a media professional.

"The actual photo itself is professionally taken," she says. "They selected this photo because they wanted the president to look heroic. Staring up at someone gives a sense of their importance and his expression actually looks reflective and almost a bit ethereal. It's uncommon you see photos of Trump in such a calm instance – the picture feels tender."

Trump’s hair appears to “disappear” because the light from behind has overexposed that part of the image, creating a halo effect, she adds. And, while the article's title pairs nicely with the president's look in the image, "it's impossible to satisfy the individual in question."

Few people appreciate being photographed from below, and even if all of the thematic components of the image are very strong, the visual appeal are unflattering."

The news outlet contacted the periodical for comment.