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This is a glowing feature in a periodical that the president has frequently admired – but for one catch. The cover picture, Trump declared, ""might be the most terrible in history".

Time magazine's praise to Trump's role in facilitating a ceasefire in Gaza, leading its 10 November issue, was paired with a photograph of the president captured from underneath while the sun shining from the back.

The effect, he says, is "super bad".

"The publication wrote a quite favorable story about me, but the picture may be the lowest quality in history", he shared on his preferred network.

“They removed my hair, and then had a shape drifting on top of my head that appeared as a hovering tiara, but an very tiny one. Really weird! I always disliked taking pictures from underneath angles, but this is a super bad picture, and deserves to be called out. What is their intention, and why?”

Trump has made no secret of his desire to feature on Time’s cover and did so on four occasions in the previous year. The preoccupation has made it as far as Trump’s golf clubs – in 2017, the editors demanded to remove fabricated front pages on display at several of his venues.

The latest edition’s photo was shot by a photographer for a news agency at the White House on 5 October.

The shot's viewpoint did no favours for the president's jawline and throat – an opening that California governor Gavin Newsom did not miss, with his press office sharing an altered image with the offending area obscured.

{The hostages from Israel detained in Gaza have been freed under the opening part of the president's diplomatic initiative, together with a freeing of Palestinian inmates. The arrangement could be a defining accomplishment of the president's renewed tenure, and it may represent a key shift for the region.

At the same time, a defence of his portrayal has come from unusual quarters: the spokesperson at the Russian foreign ministry intervened to condemn the "revealing" picture decision.

It's amazing: a image says more about those who picked it than about the individual pictured. Just unwell persons, people driven by hatred and resentment –possibly even deviants – could have picked this picture", Maria Zakharova wrote on Telegram.

"And given the complimentary photos of President Biden that the same publication featured on the front, even with his age-related challenges, the situation is self-revealing for Time", she said.

The explanation for Trump’s questions – why did they choose this, and why? – might involve artistically representing a impression of strength stated by Carly Earl, Guardian Australia’s picture editor.

The photograph technically technically is good," she notes. "They selected this photo 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 somewhat divine. It's uncommon you see photos of Trump in such a peaceful state – the image has a softness to it."

The president's hair seems to vanish because the rear illumination has bleached that section of the image, producing a glowing aura, she adds. And, while the article's title complements his facial expression in the image, "one cannot constantly gratify the individual in question."

Few people appreciate being shot from underneath, and while all of the thematic components of the image are very strong, the visual appeal are not complimentary."

The news outlet approached the magazine for comment.