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It is a glowing article in a periodical that Donald Trump has frequently admired – except for one issue. The cover picture, the president decreed, ""might be the most terrible in history".

Time magazine's paean to the president's involvement in facilitating a Gaza ceasefire, leading its 10 November issue, was presented alongside a image of Trump taken from below while the sun behind his head.

The outcome, he says, is "super bad".

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

“They ‘disappeared’ my hair, and then had a shape drifting on top of my head that appeared as a floating crown, but an extremely small one. Really weird! I never liked taking pictures from below viewpoints, but this is a extremely poor picture, and merits public condemnation. What is their intention, and why?”

The president has expressed clear his wish to feature on Time’s cover and did so multiple times in the past year. This fixation has made it as far as Trump’s golf clubs – years ago, the publication requested to remove mocked up covers shown in a few of his establishments.

This issue's photograph was taken by Graeme Sloane for a news agency at the presidential residence on the fifth of October.

The perspective was unflattering to the president's jawline and throat – an opportunity that the governor of California Gavin Newsom seized, with his press office sharing an altered image with the offending area blurred.

{The hostages from Israel in Gaza have been released under the opening part of the president's diplomatic initiative, alongside a release of Palestinian detainees. The deal could be a signature achievement of his next term, and it may represent a strategic turning point for the Middle East.

Meanwhile, a defense of Trump's image has been offered by unusual quarters: the communications chief at the Russian foreign ministry intervened to criticise the "revealing" photo selection.

"It’s astonishing: a image says more about those who chose it than about the individual pictured. Only sick people, people driven by hatred and hatred –possibly even deviants – could have selected such an image", Maria Zakharova wrote on Telegram.

"And given the complimentary photos of President Biden that that magazine displayed on the cover, even with his age-related challenges, the case is self-damaging for the magazine", she noted.

The answer to the president's inquiries – what did the editors intend, and why? – might involve creatively capturing a impression of strength according to Carly Earl, Guardian Australia’s picture editor.

"The actual photo itself technically is good," she notes. "They chose this shot because they wanted the president to look heroic. Staring up at someone creates an impression of their majesty and his expression actually looks contemplative and almost a bit ethereal. It's uncommon you see pictures of him in such a calm instance – the picture feels tender."

His hair appears to “disappear” because the sunlight behind him has washed out that area of the image, creating a halo effect, she adds. Although the feature's heading complements the president's look in the image, "you can’t always please the subject matter."

Few people appreciate being captured from low angles, and although all of the thematic components of the image are highly effective, the aesthetics are not complimentary."

The news outlet contacted the magazine for a statement.