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It is a positive feature in a publication that Trump has long exalted – but for one catch. The magazine's cover photo, Trump declared, ""might be the most terrible in history".

Time's tribute to the president's involvement in facilitating a Gaza ceasefire, featured on its November 10 cover, was presented alongside a photo of Trump captured from underneath while the sun shining from the back.

The outcome, he says, is ""extremely poor".

"Time wrote a quite favorable story about me, but the picture may be the most awful ever", Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“My hair was obscured, and then there was an object above my head that looked like a floating crown, but quite miniature. Really weird! I have consistently disliked being captured from low angles, but this is a super bad image, and it should be denounced. What is their goal, and why?”

The president has expressed obvious his ambition to appear on the cover of Time and achieved this on four occasions in the previous year. This fixation has reached Trump’s golf clubs – previously, the editors demanded to remove fake issues on display at some of his properties.

The latest edition’s photo was captured by Graeme Sloane for Bloomberg at the White House on October 5.

Its angle was unflattering to Trump’s chin and neck – an opening that the governor of California Gavin Newsom did not miss, with the governor's office posting a modified photo with the criticized section blurred.

{The Israeli captives in Gaza have been freed under the initial stage of the president's diplomatic initiative, together with a release of Palestinian detainees. The arrangement may become a signature achievement of Trump's second term, and it could mark a pivotal moment for the region.

At the same time, a defence of Trump's image has emerged from unusual quarters: the spokesperson at Russia’s ministry of foreign affairs intervened to criticise the "damaging" image choice.

It's remarkable: a image exposes those who chose it than about the subject. Only sick people, people obsessed with malice and hatred –possibly even deviants – could have picked this picture", Maria Zakharova shared on the messaging platform.

Considering the favorable images of President Biden that the periodical used on the cover, despite his physical infirmity, the case is self-damaging for the magazine", she noted.

The response to his queries – why did they choose this, and why? – might involve artistically representing a feeling of authority says a picture editor, a media professional.

"The actual photo itself is professionally taken," she says. "They selected this photo because they wanted the president to look impressive. Looking up at a person gives a sense of their importance and the president's visage actually looks reflective and almost a bit ethereal. It’s not often you see photos of Trump in such a serene moment – the image has a softness to it."

His hair seems to vanish because the light from behind has overexposed that part of the image, producing a glowing aura, she says. And, while the article's title marries well with the president's look in the image, "you can’t always please the individual in question."

Few people appreciate being photographed from below, and even if all of the conceptual elements of the image are very strong, the appearance are not flattering."

The news outlet reached out to the periodical for a statement.