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It is a glowing feature in a publication that Donald Trump has long exalted – except for one issue. The front-page image, he stated, ""might be the most terrible in history".

Time magazine's praise to the president's involvement in facilitating a Gaza ceasefire, leading its 10 November issue, was accompanied by a photograph of Trump captured from underneath while the sun shining from the back.

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

"Time wrote a relatively good story about me, but the image may be the most awful ever", Trump wrote on his social media platform.

“My hair was obscured, and then there was a shape over my head that looked like a floating crown, but quite miniature. Really weird! I have never liked being captured from low angles, but this is a extremely poor image, and it merits criticism. Why did they choose this, and why?”

The president has expressed no secret of his desire to appear on Time’s cover and accomplished it four times last year. This fixation has extended to his golf courses – in 2017, the publication requested to remove fake issues on display at some of his properties.

The latest edition’s photo was shot by Graeme Sloane for Bloomberg at the presidential residence on October 5.

The perspective highlighted negatively the president's jawline and throat – an opportunity that California governor Newsom seized, with his press office tweeting a version with the problematic part pixelated.

{The hostages from Israel in Gaza have been released under the initial stage of the president's diplomatic initiative, alongside a release of Palestinian detainees. The deal might turn into a defining accomplishment of his next term, and it might signify a strategic turning point for the region.

Meanwhile, a support for his portrayal has come from unusual quarters: the spokesperson at Moscow's diplomatic office stepped in to criticise the "revealing" image choice.

It's amazing: a photograph says more about those who chose it than about the subject. Just unwell persons, people filled with spite and resentment –maybe even degenerates – could have picked this picture", she shared on her social channel.

Considering the favorable images of Biden that the same publication used on the cover, even with his age-related challenges, the case is self-damaging for the publication", she noted.

The response to his queries – what did the editors intend, and why? – could be related to artistically representing a feeling of authority according to Carly Earl, a media professional.

The image itself is professionally taken," she notes. "They picked this image because they wanted the president to look commanding. Looking up at a person evokes a feeling of their grandeur and Trump’s face actually looks thoughtful and almost somewhat divine. It's rare you see photos of Trump in such a serene moment – the image has a softness to it."

The president's hair appears to “disappear” because the rear illumination has washed out that area of the image, generating a radiant circle, she says. And, while the story’s headline complements the president's look in the image, "you can’t always please the person photographed."

Nobody enjoys being captured from low angles, and even if all of the artistic aspects of the image are very strong, the aesthetics are not complimentary."

The publication reached out to the magazine for a statement.