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It is a positive feature in a periodical that the president has frequently admired – with one exception. The magazine's cover photo, Trump declared, "may be the Worst of All Time".

Time's praise to the president's involvement in mediating a ceasefire in Gaza, featured on its November 10 cover, was accompanied by a photograph of the president shot from a low angle and with the sun positioned behind him.

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

"The publication wrote a fairly positive story about me, but the image may be the most awful ever", Trump wrote on his preferred network.

“They ‘disappeared’ my hair, and then had an object hovering on top of my head that appeared as a floating crown, but an very tiny one. Truly strange! I always disliked taking pictures from low perspectives, but this is a terrible picture, and should be criticized. What are they doing, and why?”

Donald Trump has shown obvious his ambition to feature on the cover of Time and accomplished it four times last year. This fixation has reached the president's resorts – years ago, the magazine asked him to remove fabricated front pages on display at several of his venues.

This issue's photograph was shot by a photographer for Bloomberg at the White House on the fifth of October.

The shot's viewpoint was unflattering to his chin and neck area – an opening that California governor Gavin Newsom did not miss, with his press office sharing an altered image with the offending area obscured.

{The Israeli captives held in Gaza have been released under the opening part of Trump's ceasefire agreement, alongside a Palestinian prisoner release. The arrangement could be a signature achievement of the president's renewed tenure, and it could mark a key shift for the Middle East.

Simultaneously, a defense of Trump's image has been offered by an unexpected source: the director of information at Moscow's diplomatic office intervened to criticise the "damaging" photo selection.

"It’s astonishing: a photo reveals far more about those who chose it than about the individual pictured. Only sick people, people driven by hatred and animosity –perhaps even perverts – could have picked this picture", Maria Zakharova shared on the messaging platform.

In light of the positive pictures of Biden that the periodical used on the cover, even with his age-related challenges, the case is self-damaging for the magazine", she added.

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

The image itself technically is good," she explains. "They chose this shot because they wanted the president to look impressive. Staring up at someone creates an impression of their importance and the president's visage actually looks contemplative and almost somewhat divine. It's rare you see images of the president in such a peaceful state – the picture feels tender."

His hair appears to “disappear” because the rear illumination has overexposed that part of the image, creating a halo effect, she explains. And, while the article's title complements his facial expression in the image, "one cannot constantly gratify the subject matter."

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

The Guardian approached Time magazine for a statement.