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This is a favorable feature in a periodical that Donald Trump has long exalted – but for one catch. The magazine's cover photo, the president decreed, ""might be the most terrible in history".

Time's paean to the president's involvement in mediating a truce for Gaza, leading its 10 November issue, was presented alongside a photograph of the president shot from a low angle while the sun shining from the back.

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

"The publication wrote a fairly positive story about me, but the image may be the Worst of All Time", he shared on his social media platform.

“My hair was ‘disappeared’, and then there was a shape over my head that appeared as a floating crown, but extremely small. Really weird! I have consistently disliked being shot from underneath, but this is a super bad image, and it merits criticism. Why did they choose this, and why?”

Donald Trump has shown clear his wish to appear on the cover of Time and accomplished it four times last year. The obsession has reached Trump’s golf clubs – in 2017, the magazine asked him to remove mocked up covers shown in a few of his establishments.

The most recent cover image was taken by a photographer for a news agency at the White House on October 5.

Its angle was unflattering to the president's jawline and throat – an opportunity that California governor Newsom took advantage of, with his press office posting a modified photo with the offending area blurred.

{The Israeli captives detained in Gaza have been liberated under the opening part of Trump's ceasefire agreement, alongside a Palestinian prisoner release. This agreement might turn into a defining accomplishment of Trump's second term, and it could mark a key shift for that part of the world.

Meanwhile, a support for Trump's image has been offered by a surprising origin: the spokesperson at Russia’s ministry of foreign affairs stepped in to denounce the "damaging" photo selection.

It's remarkable: a image says more about those who picked it than about the subject. Just unwell persons, people driven by hatred and animosity –possibly even deviants – could have selected such an image", the official posted on her social channel.

"And given the complimentary photos 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 the president's inquiries – what were Time’s editors doing, and why? – could be related to innovatively depicting a feeling of authority according to a picture editor, a media professional.

"The actual photo itself is professionally taken," she says. "They selected this photo because they wanted Trump to look commanding. Staring up at someone evokes a feeling of their majesty and Trump’s face actually looks contemplative and almost somewhat divine. It's rare you see images of the president in such a serene moment – the photo appears gentle."

The president's hair seems to vanish because the sunlight behind him has bleached that section 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."

"No one likes being photographed from below, and although all of the thematic components of the image are highly effective, the visual appeal are not flattering."

The publication approached the periodical for comment.