Removing the link tag does enable image alignment. However, that is still weird and frustrating. Linking from an image is extremely common.
On this page, I want to use thumbnail images and allow visitors to see the full-size image in a lightbox without leaving the page. (Using FooBox plugin and selecting “media” as link option.)
I use linked images extensively on another site, an art site, and I have never had a problem there with alignment. Ex: https://www.holocaust-humanrights-art.org/ohr-1970s/