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This is a positive story in a publication that Trump has frequently admired – but for one catch. The front-page image, the president decreed, ""could be the worst ever".

Time magazine's praise to Trump's role in mediating a truce for Gaza, headlining its early November edition, was accompanied by a image of the president captured from underneath while the sun positioned behind him.

The outcome, he says, is ""terrible".

"Time wrote a relatively good story about me, but the picture may be the lowest quality in history", he shared on Truth Social.

“They removed my hair, and then had something floating on top of my head that resembled a hovering tiara, but an extremely small one. Truly strange! I always disliked taking pictures from low perspectives, but this is a terrible picture, and deserves to be called out. What is their intention, and why?”

Donald Trump has shown no secret of his desire to be pictured on Time’s cover and achieved this multiple times in the past year. The preoccupation has extended to Trump’s golf clubs – previously, the publication requested to remove fabricated front pages on display at several of his venues.

The latest edition’s photo was shot by a photographer for Bloomberg at the presidential residence on the fifth of October.

The shot's viewpoint did no favours for the president's jawline and throat – an opportunity that California governor Newsom seized, with the governor's office posting a modified photo with the problematic part pixelated.

{The hostages from Israel in Gaza have been freed under the opening part of the president's diplomatic initiative, in exchange for a release of Palestinian detainees. The arrangement may become a major success of his next term, and it may represent a pivotal moment for that part of the world.

Simultaneously, a defence of his portrayal has been offered by an unexpected source: the communications chief at Moscow's diplomatic office stepped in to criticise the "damaging" picture decision.

It's remarkable: a photo exposes those who selected it than about the person in it. Only disturbed individuals, people obsessed with malice and resentment –possibly even deviants – could have selected such an image", she shared on her social channel.

Considering the favorable images of President Biden that the periodical used on the cover, even with his age-related challenges, the case is self-damaging for the publication", she added.

The answer to his queries – what did the editors intend, and why? – might involve artistically representing a impression of strength says an imaging expert, Guardian Australia’s picture editor.

The photograph technically is professionally taken," she explains. "They picked this image because they wanted Trump to look heroic. Looking up at a person creates an impression of their grandeur and the president's visage actually looks thoughtful and almost somewhat divine. It's uncommon you see pictures of him in such a serene moment – the image has a softness to it."

Trump’s hair appears to “disappear” because the rear illumination has washed out that area of the image, generating a radiant circle, she explains. And, while the article's title marries well 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 conceptual elements of the image are quite powerful, the appearance are not complimentary."

The Guardian contacted the periodical for comment.