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It is a favorable feature in a publication that Trump has frequently admired – except for one issue. The cover picture, he stated, ""could be the worst ever".

Time's praise to the president's involvement in brokering a truce for Gaza, featured on its November 10 cover, was paired with a image of the president taken from below while the sun shining from the back.

The effect, Trump claims, is "super bad".

"The publication wrote a relatively good story about me, but the image may be the lowest quality in history", the president posted on his social media platform.

“They ‘disappeared’ my hair, and then had an object hovering on top of my head that resembled a floating crown, but an extremely small one. Really weird! I never liked taking pictures from low perspectives, but this is a terrible picture, and merits public condemnation. What is their intention, and why?”

Trump has made no secret of his desire to be pictured on Time’s cover and achieved this on four occasions in the previous year. This fixation has extended to Trump’s golf clubs – years ago, the publication requested to remove mocked up covers on display at a few of his establishments.

This issue's photograph was taken by Graeme Sloane for Bloomberg at the White House on 5 October.

Its angle highlighted negatively Trump’s chin and neck – a chance that California governor Gavin Newsom took advantage of, with the governor's office tweeting a version with the problematic part obscured.

{The hostages from Israel in Gaza have been released under the first phase of the president's diplomatic initiative, alongside a release of Palestinian detainees. This agreement may become a signature achievement of Trump's second term, and it may represent a key shift for the Middle East.

Meanwhile, a defence of Trump's image has been offered by unusual quarters: the communications chief at the Russian foreign ministry intervened to denounce the "damaging" image choice.

It's remarkable: a photo says more about those who selected it than about the person in it. Just unwell persons, people filled with spite and hatred –possibly even deviants – could have selected such an image", she shared on Telegram.

"And given the complimentary photos of Biden that the same publication featured on the front, even with his age-related challenges, the situation is self-revealing for the publication", she added.

The answer to the president's inquiries – why did they choose this, and why? – may be something to do with artistically representing a feeling of authority stated by a picture editor, an Australian publication's photo editor.

The photograph technically technically is good," she says. "They chose this shot because they wanted trump to look commanding. Gazing upward evokes a feeling of their importance and Trump’s face actually looks contemplative and almost slightly angelic. It's uncommon you see photos of Trump in such a calm instance – the photo appears gentle."

His hair seems to vanish because the sunlight behind him has washed out that area of the image, creating a halo effect, she explains. And, while the story’s headline pairs nicely with Trump’s expression in the image, "you can’t always please the person photographed."

"No one likes being photographed from below, and although all of the artistic aspects of the image are quite powerful, the appearance are not flattering."

The news outlet reached out to Time magazine for comment.