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This is a positive story in a periodical that Donald Trump has consistently praised – with one exception. The front-page image, the president decreed, "may be the Worst of All Time".

Time magazine's tribute to the president's involvement in facilitating a truce for Gaza, leading its 10 November issue, was presented alongside a image of Trump taken from below while the sun behind his head.

The result, Trump claims, is ""extremely poor".

"The publication wrote a fairly positive story about me, but the photo may be the Worst of All Time", the president posted on his preferred network.

“They removed my hair, and then had an object hovering on top of my head that appeared as a floating crown, but an very tiny one. Quite bizarre! I consistently avoided taking pictures from below viewpoints, but this is a terrible picture, and merits public condemnation. Why did they do this, and why?”

The president has expressed obvious his ambition to appear on the cover of Time and did so four times last year. The preoccupation has extended to the president's resorts – previously, the magazine asked him to remove mocked up covers on display at several of his venues.

This issue's photograph was taken by Graeme Sloane for Bloomberg at the presidential residence on the fifth of October.

The perspective was unflattering to his chin and neck area – an opportunity that California governor Gavin Newsom took advantage of, with the governor's office sharing an altered image with the offending area blurred.

{The living Israeli hostages held in Gaza have been freed under the initial stage of Donald Trump's peace plan, alongside a Palestinian prisoner release. This agreement may become a signature achievement of his next term, and it could mark a pivotal moment for that part of the world.

Meanwhile, a defense of his portrayal has been offered by a surprising origin: the communications chief at Moscow's diplomatic office came forward to denounce the "damaging" picture decision.

"It’s astonishing: a photo says more about those who chose it than about the subject. Just unwell persons, people obsessed with malice and hatred –perhaps even perverts – could have selected such an image", she shared on her social channel.

"And given the complimentary photos of Biden that that magazine used on the cover, despite his physical infirmity, the situation is self-revealing for Time", she said.

The response to his queries – why did they choose this, and why? – could be related to artistically representing a feeling of authority says an imaging expert, Guardian Australia’s picture editor.

The image itself is well-executed," she explains. "They chose this shot because they wanted trump to look heroic. Staring up at someone evokes a feeling of their grandeur and the president's visage actually looks contemplative and almost somewhat divine. It's uncommon you see photos of Trump in such a serene moment – the image has a softness to it."

His hair seems to vanish because the rear illumination has washed out that area of the image, creating a halo effect, 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 shot from underneath, and while all of the artistic aspects of the image are quite powerful, the aesthetics are not complimentary."

The news outlet reached out to Time magazine for a statement.