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This is a favorable feature in a publication that the president has frequently admired – with one exception. The magazine's cover photo, Trump declared, ""might be the most terrible in history".

Time magazine's praise to Donald Trump's part in facilitating a Gaza ceasefire, headlining its early November edition, was paired with a image of Trump taken from below and with the sun shining from the back.

The effect, he says, is ""extremely poor".

"Time Magazine wrote a relatively good story about me, but the picture may be the lowest quality in history", he shared on his social media platform.

“They removed my hair, and then had something floating on top of my head that resembled a suspended coronet, but an extremely small one. Truly strange! I always disliked taking pictures from underneath angles, but this is a extremely poor picture, and should be criticized. Why did they do this, and why?”

Trump has made clear his wish to appear on Time magazine's front page and did so on four occasions in the previous year. The preoccupation has extended to Trump’s golf clubs – previously, the editors demanded to remove fake issues on display at several of his venues.

The latest edition’s photo was taken by a photographer for Bloomberg at the presidential residence on October 5.

Its angle highlighted negatively his chin and neck area – a chance that California governor Newsom took advantage of, with his press office sharing an altered image with the criticized section pixelated.

{The living Israeli hostages in Gaza have been released under the first phase of Trump's ceasefire agreement, alongside a Palestinian prisoner release. This agreement could be a defining accomplishment of his next term, and it could mark a pivotal moment for that part of the world.

Simultaneously, a defence of the president’s appearance has emerged from an unexpected source: the director of information at the Russian foreign ministry intervened to condemn the "damaging" picture decision.

"It’s astonishing: a photograph reveals far more about those who selected it than about the individual pictured. Only disturbed individuals, people obsessed with malice and animosity –possibly even deviants – could have selected such an image", she posted on Telegram.

Considering the favorable images of President Biden that that magazine displayed on the cover, even with his age-related challenges, the case is self-damaging for the publication", she noted.

The response to the president's inquiries – why did they choose this, and why? – could be related to creatively capturing a sense of power according to Carly Earl, an Australian publication's photo editor.

The image itself is well-executed," she notes. "They chose this shot because they wanted trump to look commanding. Staring up at someone creates an impression of their importance and his expression actually looks contemplative and almost a bit ethereal. It’s not often you see photos of Trump in such a peaceful state – the photo appears gentle."

Trump’s hair appears to “disappear” because the light from behind has bleached that section of the image, producing a glowing aura, she says. Even though the feature's heading complements his facial expression in the image, "one cannot constantly gratify the person photographed."

Nobody enjoys being shot from underneath, and although all of the conceptual elements of the image are highly effective, the appearance are not complimentary."

The publication contacted the magazine for feedback.