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It is a favorable feature in a publication that Donald Trump has long exalted – except for one issue. The front-page image, the president decreed, "may be the Worst of All Time".

Time magazine's tribute to Trump's role in facilitating a truce for Gaza, featured on its November 10 cover, was accompanied by a image of Trump taken from below while the sun shining from the back.

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

"The publication wrote a fairly positive story about me, but the photo may be the lowest quality in history", he shared on his preferred network.

“My hair was obscured, and then there was a shape over my head that seemed like a hovering crown, but very tiny. Very odd! I have never liked being photographed from below, but this is a super bad image, and it should be denounced. Why did they choose this, and why?”

Trump has made clear his wish to appear on Time’s cover and did so four times last year. This fixation has reached the president's resorts – years ago, the magazine asked him to remove mocked up covers exhibited in several of his venues.

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

The shot's viewpoint did no favours for his chin and neck area – an opening that the governor of California Newsom did not miss, with the governor's office posting a modified photo with the criticized section pixelated.

{The living Israeli hostages in Gaza have been released under the initial stage of the president's diplomatic initiative, alongside a Palestinian prisoner release. The deal could be a defining accomplishment of the president's renewed tenure, and it could mark a key shift for the Middle East.

Simultaneously, a defence of his portrayal has been offered by an unexpected source: the communications chief at the Russian foreign ministry came forward to denounce the "damaging" photo selection.

It's remarkable: a photo reveals far more about those who chose it than about the individual pictured. Only disturbed individuals, people obsessed with malice and resentment –perhaps even perverts – could have chosen such a photo", the official shared on Telegram.

"And given the complimentary photos of Biden that the periodical displayed on the cover, notwithstanding his health issues, the case is self-damaging for Time", she added.

The response to Trump’s questions – what were Time’s editors doing, and why? – may be something to do with creatively capturing a sense of power according to an imaging expert, a media professional.

"The actual photo itself technically is good," she says. "They selected this photo because they wanted Trump to look commanding. Staring up at someone gives a sense of their importance and Trump’s face actually looks reflective and almost a bit ethereal. It's uncommon you see images of the president in such a peaceful state – the photo appears gentle."

The president's hair appears to “disappear” because the light from behind has bleached that section of the image, creating a halo effect, she says. Although the feature's heading complements his facial expression in the image, "you can’t always please the person photographed."

Nobody enjoys being shot from underneath, and even if all of the thematic components of the image are quite powerful, the aesthetics are not flattering."

The news outlet reached out to the magazine for comment.