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This is a glowing feature in a periodical that Trump has long exalted – but for one catch. The magazine's cover photo, the president decreed, ""could be the worst ever".

Time magazine's paean to Donald Trump's part in facilitating a Gaza ceasefire, leading its 10 November issue, was presented alongside a photo of the president captured from underneath while the sun positioned behind him.

The result, Trump claims, is ""terrible".

"The publication wrote a quite favorable story about me, but the image may be the lowest quality in history", he shared on his social media platform.

“They removed my hair, and then had a shape drifting on top of my head that resembled a hovering tiara, but an extremely small one. Quite bizarre! I consistently avoided taking pictures from underneath angles, but this is a super bad picture, and should be criticized. Why did they do this, and why?”

Trump has made clear his wish to feature on the cover of Time and accomplished it multiple times in the past year. The preoccupation has extended to the president's resorts – previously, the editors demanded to remove fabricated front pages shown in some of his properties.

The most recent cover image was shot by a photographer for Bloomberg at the presidential residence on 5 October.

The shot's viewpoint was unflattering to Trump’s chin and neck – a chance that California governor Newsom did not miss, with his communications team tweeting a version with the problematic part obscured.

{The Israeli captives in Gaza have been freed under the first phase of the president's diplomatic initiative, together with a release of Palestinian detainees. The deal may become a major success of his next term, and it may represent a strategic turning point for that part of the world.

Meanwhile, a defence of Trump's image has come from a surprising origin: the communications chief at Moscow's diplomatic office came forward to denounce the "revealing" photo selection.

It's remarkable: a image says more about those who chose it than about the subject. Only sick people, people obsessed with malice and animosity –possibly even deviants – could have chosen such a photo", Maria Zakharova wrote on the messaging platform.

"And given the complimentary photos of Biden that the periodical used on the cover, even with his age-related challenges, the case is self-damaging for Time", she added.

The answer to the president's inquiries – why did they choose this, and why? – might involve creatively capturing a feeling of authority says an imaging expert, a media professional.

The image itself is professionally taken," she says. "They chose this shot because they wanted trump to look heroic. Gazing upward creates an impression of their grandeur and Trump’s face actually looks contemplative and almost somewhat divine. It's uncommon you see photos of Trump in such a calm instance – the picture feels tender."

His hair seems to vanish because the light from behind has washed out that area of the image, creating a halo effect, she says. Although the story’s headline marries well with Trump’s expression in the image, "it's impossible to satisfy the person photographed."

"No one likes being photographed from below, and even if all of the artistic aspects of the image are quite powerful, the visual appeal are not complimentary."

The news outlet approached the periodical for feedback.