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This is a positive feature in a publication that Trump has consistently praised – except for one issue. The front-page image, he stated, "may be the Worst of All Time".

Time's praise to the president's involvement in mediating a Gaza ceasefire, headlining its early November edition, was paired with a image of the president 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 picture may be the most awful ever", he shared on Truth Social.

“My hair was ‘disappeared’, and then there was something floating my head that seemed like a suspended diadem, but extremely small. Really weird! I have always hated being shot from underneath, but this is a super bad image, and it merits criticism. What are they doing, and why?”

The president has expressed clear his wish to feature on the cover of Time and did so on four occasions in the previous year. This fixation has reached his golf courses – previously, the editors demanded to remove fake issues shown in a few of his establishments.

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

The shot's viewpoint was unflattering to his chin and neck area – a chance that the governor of California Gavin Newsom did not miss, with his press office tweeting a version with the problematic part blurred.

{The hostages from Israel in Gaza have been freed under the first phase of Trump's ceasefire agreement, together with a Palestinian prisoner release. This agreement might turn into a signature achievement of Trump's second term, and it may represent a key shift for the region.

Simultaneously, a defence of Trump's image has come from a surprising origin: the spokesperson at Moscow's diplomatic office came forward to denounce the "self-incriminating" picture decision.

"It’s astonishing: a photograph says more about those who selected it than about the subject. Just unwell persons, people obsessed with malice and resentment –maybe even degenerates – could have chosen such a photo", the official posted on Telegram.

In light of the positive pictures of Biden that that magazine displayed on the cover, despite his physical infirmity, the situation is self-revealing for the publication", she noted.

The answer to Trump’s questions – why did they choose this, and why? – might involve innovatively depicting a sense of power stated by Carly Earl, Guardian Australia’s picture editor.

The image itself technically is good," she explains. "They chose this shot because they wanted the president to look heroic. Looking up at a person gives a sense of their majesty and Trump’s face actually looks thoughtful and almost slightly angelic. It’s not often you see pictures of him in such a peaceful state – the picture feels tender."

Trump’s hair seems to vanish because the sunlight behind him has overexposed that part of the image, creating a halo effect, she explains. And, while the feature's heading complements the president's look in the image, "it's impossible to satisfy the subject matter."

"No one likes being shot from underneath, and although all of the artistic aspects of the image are quite powerful, the visual appeal are not flattering."

The Guardian reached out to Time magazine for a statement.