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It is a positive story in a publication that Donald Trump has frequently admired – but for one catch. The cover picture, Trump declared, ""could be the worst ever".

Time's praise to Donald Trump's part in brokering a Gaza ceasefire, headlining its early November edition, was paired with a photograph of the president shot from a low angle and with the sun shining from the back.

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

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

“They removed my hair, and then had a shape drifting on top of my head that resembled a suspended coronet, but an extremely small one. Truly strange! I always disliked taking pictures from below viewpoints, but this is a terrible picture, and deserves to be called out. Why did they do this, and why?”

Donald Trump has shown clear his wish to appear on Time’s cover and accomplished it on four occasions in the previous year. The obsession has made it as far as Trump’s golf clubs – in 2017, the magazine asked him to remove fabricated front pages exhibited in several of his venues.

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

Its angle was unflattering to the president's jawline and throat – an opportunity that the governor of California Newsom seized, with his press office sharing an altered image with the criticized section pixelated.

{The Israeli captives held in Gaza have been released under the first phase of the president's diplomatic initiative, together with a Palestinian prisoner release. This agreement could be a major success of Trump's second term, and it might signify a strategic turning point for that part of the world.

Meanwhile, a defence of the president’s appearance has emerged from unusual quarters: the communications chief at Moscow's diplomatic office came forward to denounce the "damaging" photo selection.

It's amazing: a image reveals far more about those who chose it than about the individual pictured. Just unwell persons, people obsessed with malice and resentment –maybe even degenerates – could have selected such an image", she posted on the messaging platform.

In light of the positive pictures of President Biden that the same publication displayed on the cover, despite his physical infirmity, the case is self-damaging for the magazine", she said.

The answer to Trump’s questions – why did they choose this, and why? – might involve artistically representing a sense of power stated by an imaging expert, an Australian publication's photo editor.

The photograph technically is professionally taken," she says. "They chose this shot because they wanted Trump to look commanding. Staring up at someone creates an impression of their grandeur and the president's visage actually looks thoughtful and almost somewhat divine. It’s not often you see images of the president in such a serene moment – the picture feels tender."

The president's hair looks erased because the light from behind has overexposed that part of the image, producing a glowing aura, she explains. And, while the story’s headline complements Trump’s expression in the image, "you can’t always please the subject matter."

Nobody enjoys being captured from low angles, and even if all of the conceptual elements of the image are highly effective, the appearance are unflattering."

The Guardian reached out to the periodical for feedback.