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This is a glowing article in a publication that the president has consistently praised – but for one catch. The magazine's cover photo, the president decreed, ""could be the worst ever".

Time's paean to Donald Trump's part in brokering a ceasefire in Gaza, leading its 10 November issue, was presented alongside a photo of the president shot from a low angle and with the sun positioned behind him.

The result, the president asserts, is "super bad".

"Time Magazine wrote a fairly positive story about me, but the photo may be the Worst of All Time", Trump wrote 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 extremely small one. Quite bizarre! I never liked taking pictures from low perspectives, but this is a terrible picture, and merits public condemnation. Why did they do this, and why?”

Trump has made obvious his ambition to appear on Time’s cover and achieved this on four occasions in the previous year. The preoccupation has extended to Trump’s golf clubs – previously, the editors demanded to remove fake issues exhibited in several of his venues.

This issue's photograph was captured by Graeme Sloane for Bloomberg at the presidential residence on October 5.

The perspective was unflattering to the president's jawline and throat – an opening that California governor Gavin Newsom took advantage of, with the governor's office posting a modified photo with the problematic part blurred.

{The living Israeli hostages in Gaza have been liberated under the initial stage of Trump's ceasefire agreement, together with a Palestinian prisoner release. The arrangement may become a defining accomplishment of Trump's second term, and it might signify a strategic turning point for the region.

At the same time, a defence of Trump's image has come from unusual quarters: the director of information at Moscow's diplomatic office stepped in to condemn the "revealing" photo selection.

It's amazing: a photo says more about those who chose it than about the subject. Just unwell persons, people obsessed with malice and animosity –possibly even deviants – could have picked this picture", Maria Zakharova posted on her social channel.

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

The explanation for his queries – what were Time’s editors doing, and why? – could be related to artistically representing a impression of strength stated by Carly Earl, Guardian Australia’s picture editor.

The image itself technically is good," she says. "They selected this photo because they wanted trump to look impressive. Gazing upward gives a sense of their grandeur and Trump’s face actually looks contemplative and almost slightly angelic. It's uncommon you see pictures of him in such a calm instance – the image has a softness to it."

The president's hair seems to vanish because the light from behind has bleached that section of the image, producing a glowing aura, she adds. And, while the feature's heading pairs nicely with Trump’s expression in the image, "one cannot constantly gratify the subject matter."

Few people appreciate being photographed from below, and while all of the thematic components of the image are very strong, the aesthetics are unflattering."

The publication contacted the magazine for comment.