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It is a favorable feature in a magazine that Trump has long exalted – with one exception. The cover picture, the president decreed, "may be the Worst of All Time".

Time magazine's paean to the president's involvement in mediating a Gaza ceasefire, featured on its November 10 cover, was presented alongside a photo of Trump taken from below while the sun behind his head.

The result, the president asserts, is ""terrible".

"The publication wrote a relatively good story about me, but the image may be the most awful ever", he shared on his social media platform.

“My hair was obscured, and then there was an object above my head that seemed like a suspended diadem, but extremely small. Very odd! I have consistently disliked being shot from underneath, but this is a awful image, and it merits criticism. Why did they choose this, and why?”

Trump has made no secret of his desire to be pictured on Time magazine's front page and achieved this multiple times in the past year. This fixation has extended to Trump’s golf clubs – in 2017, the magazine asked him to remove fake issues exhibited in several of his venues.

The most recent cover image was shot by Graeme Sloane for Bloomberg at the presidential residence on 5 October.

The perspective did no favours for Trump’s chin and neck – an opening that California governor Gavin Newsom took advantage of, with his communications team sharing an altered image with the criticized section pixelated.

{The hostages from Israel detained in Gaza have been released under the opening part of the president's diplomatic initiative, together with a Palestinian prisoner release. This agreement could be a defining accomplishment of Trump's second term, and it may represent a key shift for the Middle East.

At the same time, a support for the president’s appearance has been offered by a surprising origin: the communications chief at the Russian foreign ministry intervened to condemn the "damaging" photo selection.

"It’s astonishing: a photograph exposes those who chose it than about the person in it. Only sick people, people filled with spite and hatred –possibly even deviants – could have chosen such a photo", the official posted on the messaging platform.

In light of the positive pictures of Biden that that magazine featured on the front, despite his physical infirmity, the story is simply self-incriminating for Time", she noted.

The explanation for the president's inquiries – what were Time’s editors doing, and why? – may be something to do with artistically representing a impression of strength says a picture editor, an Australian publication's photo editor.

"The actual photo itself technically is good," she explains. "They selected this photo because they wanted Trump to look impressive. Looking up at a person gives a sense of their majesty and the president's visage actually looks contemplative and almost somewhat divine. It's uncommon you see photos of Trump in such a serene moment – the picture feels tender."

Trump’s hair appears to “disappear” because the rear illumination has washed out that area of the image, generating a radiant circle, she says. Although the feature's heading pairs nicely with his facial expression in the image, "it's impossible to satisfy the person photographed."

Few people appreciate being captured from low angles, and although all of the thematic components of the image are quite powerful, the appearance are not flattering."

The publication contacted the periodical for a statement.