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This is a positive feature in a magazine that the president has consistently praised – but for one catch. The magazine's cover photo, the president decreed, "may be the Worst of All Time".

Time's paean to Donald Trump's part in brokering a truce for Gaza, headlining its early November edition, was presented alongside a photograph of the president shot from a low angle and with the sun shining from the back.

The effect, Trump claims, is ""extremely poor".

"Time Magazine wrote a relatively good story about me, but the picture may be the lowest quality in history", he shared on his preferred network.

“My hair was ‘disappeared’, and then there was something floating my head that seemed like a suspended diadem, but extremely small. Very odd! I have always hated being photographed from below, but this is a super bad image, and it should be denounced. Why did they choose this, and why?”

Donald Trump has shown clear his wish to be pictured on Time magazine's front page and achieved this on four occasions in the previous year. This fixation has extended to his golf courses – years ago, the magazine asked him to remove mocked up covers on display at a few of his establishments.

This issue's photograph was shot by a photographer for a news agency at the presidential residence on 5 October.

The shot's viewpoint was unflattering to his chin and neck area – an opportunity that the governor of California Gavin Newsom took advantage of, with his press office sharing an altered image with the problematic part obscured.

{The hostages from Israel detained in Gaza have been freed under the initial stage of the president's diplomatic initiative, together with a Palestinian prisoner release. The arrangement may become a major success of his next term, and it could mark a key shift for the Middle East.

Meanwhile, a support for Trump's image has come from a surprising origin: the spokesperson at Moscow's diplomatic office intervened to criticise the "self-incriminating" photo selection.

It's amazing: a photo reveals far more about those who selected it than about the individual pictured. Only sick people, people obsessed with malice and hatred –perhaps even perverts – could have chosen such a photo", Maria Zakharova shared on Telegram.

In light of the positive pictures of Biden that that magazine used on the cover, despite his physical infirmity, the story is simply self-incriminating for the publication", she noted.

The explanation for the president's inquiries – what did the editors intend, and why? – may be something to do with artistically representing a sense of power says a picture editor, an Australian publication's photo editor.

The image itself is well-executed," she says. "They chose this shot because they wanted trump to look commanding. Staring up at someone creates an impression of their importance and his expression actually looks contemplative and almost slightly angelic. It's rare you see photos of Trump in such a serene moment – the picture feels tender."

The president's hair looks erased because the rear illumination has washed out that area of the image, generating a radiant circle, she adds. And, while the article's title complements Trump’s expression in the image, "one cannot constantly gratify the individual in question."

Few people appreciate being shot from underneath, and even if all of the conceptual elements of the image are very strong, the appearance are not complimentary."

The publication reached out to Time magazine for a statement.