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This is a glowing feature in a magazine that Donald Trump has consistently praised – except for one issue. The cover picture, he stated, ""could be the worst ever".

Time's praise to Trump's role in mediating a truce for Gaza, headlining its early November edition, was accompanied by a photograph of Trump captured from underneath while the sun positioned behind him.

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

"Time Magazine wrote a relatively good story about me, but the photo may be the lowest quality in history", he shared on his social media platform.

“They ‘disappeared’ my hair, and then had a shape drifting on top of my head that appeared as a suspended coronet, but an remarkably little one. Quite bizarre! I consistently avoided taking pictures from low perspectives, but this is a extremely poor picture, and merits public condemnation. Why did they do this, and why?”

Donald Trump has shown obvious his ambition to feature on Time magazine's front page and did so four times last year. The preoccupation has reached his golf courses – in 2017, the editors demanded to remove mocked up covers on display at some of his properties.

This issue's photograph was shot by Graeme Sloane for a news agency at the White House on October 5.

The shot's viewpoint highlighted negatively the president's jawline and throat – an opportunity that the governor of California Gavin Newsom seized, with the governor's office posting a modified photo with the problematic part obscured.

{The hostages from Israel in Gaza have been liberated under the initial stage of the president's diplomatic initiative, together with a release of Palestinian detainees. This agreement might turn into a signature achievement of Trump's second term, and it may represent a pivotal moment for that part of the world.

Simultaneously, a defence of the president’s appearance has emerged from a surprising origin: the director of information at the Russian foreign ministry stepped in to denounce the "damaging" image choice.

It's amazing: a photo reveals far more about those who selected it than about the individual pictured. Just unwell persons, people obsessed with malice and animosity –possibly even deviants – could have picked this picture", the official wrote on her social channel.

"And given the complimentary photos of Biden that the same publication featured on the front, even with his age-related challenges, the story is simply self-incriminating for the publication", she added.

The response to his queries – why did they choose this, and why? – may be something to do with creatively capturing a feeling of authority says Carly Earl, an Australian publication's photo editor.

The image itself is well-executed," she notes. "They selected this photo because they wanted trump to look impressive. Gazing upward gives a sense of their majesty and Trump’s face actually looks reflective and almost a bit ethereal. It's rare you see images of the president in such a peaceful state – the photo appears gentle."

The president's hair seems to vanish because the rear illumination has overexposed that part of the image, creating a halo effect, she adds. Even though the feature's heading complements the president's look in the image, "one cannot constantly gratify the person photographed."

"No one likes being captured from low angles, and while all of the artistic aspects of the image are highly effective, the visual appeal are not complimentary."

The publication contacted Time magazine for feedback.