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It is a favorable story in a periodical that the president has long exalted – with one exception. The magazine's cover photo, Trump declared, ""might be the most terrible in history".

Time magazine's tribute to Donald Trump's part in mediating a Gaza ceasefire, headlining its early November edition, was accompanied by a image of the president captured from underneath while the sun behind his head.

The effect, Trump claims, is ""terrible".

"The publication wrote a quite favorable story about me, but the image may be the most awful ever", the president posted on his social media platform.

“My hair was erased, and then there was a shape over my head that appeared as a suspended diadem, but quite miniature. Truly strange! I have never liked being shot from underneath, but this is a extremely poor image, and it merits criticism. Why did they choose this, and why?”

Trump has made clear his wish to be pictured on Time’s cover and did so multiple times in the past year. The preoccupation has reached the president's resorts – in 2017, the magazine asked him to remove fabricated front pages shown in several of his venues.

The most recent cover image was shot by a photographer for Bloomberg at the White House on October 5.

The shot's viewpoint did no favours for his chin and neck area – an opportunity that California governor Newsom seized, with his press office posting a modified photo with the criticized section obscured.

{The living Israeli hostages in Gaza have been freed under the first phase of the president's diplomatic initiative, in exchange for a release of Palestinian detainees. This agreement could be a defining accomplishment of his next term, and it could mark a key shift for the region.

Simultaneously, a defense of his portrayal has emerged from an unexpected source: the spokesperson at Moscow's diplomatic office stepped in to denounce the "revealing" image choice.

It's amazing: a photo says more about those who chose it than about the individual pictured. Only disturbed individuals, people obsessed with malice and hatred –possibly even deviants – could have selected such an image", she shared on Telegram.

In light of the positive pictures of Biden that the periodical displayed on the cover, even with his age-related challenges, the story is simply self-incriminating for the publication", she added.

The explanation for the president's inquiries – why did they choose this, and why? – may be something to do with artistically representing a impression of strength according to a picture editor, a media professional.

"The actual photo itself is professionally taken," she explains. "They picked this image because they wanted the president to look impressive. Looking up at a person evokes a feeling of their grandeur and the president's visage actually looks reflective and almost slightly angelic. It's uncommon you see images of the president in such a serene moment – the image has a softness to it."

Trump’s hair seems to vanish because the rear illumination has washed out that area of the image, creating a halo effect, she explains. And, while the feature's heading pairs nicely with his facial expression in the image, "one cannot constantly gratify the individual in question."

Nobody enjoys being captured from low angles, and while all of the artistic aspects of the image are quite powerful, the visual appeal are unflattering."

The news outlet reached out to the periodical for a statement.