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It is a favorable feature in a publication that the president has consistently praised – except for one issue. The magazine's cover photo, Trump declared, "may be the Worst of All Time".

Time magazine's tribute to Donald Trump's part in facilitating a ceasefire in Gaza, leading its 10 November issue, was accompanied by a photograph of the president taken from below while the sun shining from the back.

The result, Trump claims, is ""extremely poor".

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

“They removed my hair, and then had something floating on top of my head that resembled a suspended coronet, but an extremely small one. Really weird! I consistently avoided 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?”

Donald Trump has shown clear his wish to appear on Time’s cover and achieved this four times last year. The preoccupation has extended to his golf courses – previously, the magazine asked him to remove fake issues on display at several of his venues.

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

Its angle highlighted negatively Trump’s chin and neck – an opportunity that California governor Newsom seized, with the governor's office posting a modified photo with the criticized section blurred.

{The living Israeli hostages detained in Gaza have been released under the first phase of Donald Trump's peace plan, in exchange for a freeing of Palestinian inmates. The arrangement could be a signature achievement of the president's renewed tenure, and it might signify a pivotal moment for the region.

Meanwhile, a defence of the president’s appearance has been offered by a surprising origin: the director of information at Russia’s ministry of foreign affairs stepped in to denounce the "self-incriminating" image choice.

It's amazing: a photograph says more about those who picked it than about the person in it. Just unwell persons, people filled with spite and hatred –maybe even degenerates – could have chosen such a photo", she shared on her social channel.

Considering the favorable images of President Biden that that magazine used on the cover, despite his physical infirmity, the situation is self-revealing for the publication", she added.

The explanation for Trump’s questions – what did the editors intend, and why? – may be something to do with creatively capturing a sense of power says a picture editor, Guardian Australia’s picture editor.

The image itself is professionally taken," she explains. "They chose this shot because they wanted trump to look heroic. Gazing upward creates an impression of their majesty and the president's visage actually looks contemplative and almost a bit ethereal. It’s not often 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 washed out that area of the image, creating a halo effect, she explains. Even though the article's title marries well with his facial expression in the image, "you can’t always please the subject matter."

Few people appreciate being captured from low angles, and although all of the artistic aspects of the image are very strong, the aesthetics are unflattering."

The news outlet reached out to Time magazine for comment.