Trump says he 'can't imagine anyone else' but himself being named Time magazine's Person of the Year

Fake image with Mr Trump on the cover adorned the wall at one of his golf clubs in 2017

(AP)

Donald Trump was asked by a reporter about Time magazine's Person of the Year issue, which comes out every December and he had one answer about who it should be - Trump.

"I don't know, that is up to Time magazine," he said, noting that he had been given the distinction in 2016. "I can't imagine anybody else other than Trump, can you imagine anybody else other than Trump?"

Mr Trump has had a years-long fascination with Time magazine.

Last year he said he was told he was "probably" going to be given the Person of the Year distinction, but said he opted out because "probably is no good." The magazine disputed his account, but didn't give specifics.

In 2016, when he was named the Person of the Year after he won the presidency, he told reporters that it "means a lot," and that it he considered it a "very, very great honour."

But he has criticised the magazine's choices, too: in 2011, when it chose "The Protester," as the person of the year, and 2012, when Chief Justice John Roberts Jr made the cover. That same year, Mr Trump said Time had lost all its credibility when it didn't include him in its Top 100 most influential people.

A fake Time magazine image with Trump on the cover adorned the wall at one of his golf clubs in 2017.

"This cover - dated March 1, 2009 - looks like an impressive memento from Trump's pre-presidential career," The Post's David A Fahrenthold reported. "But that wasn't true. The Time cover is a fake. There was no March 1 2009, issue of Time magazine. And there was no issue at all in 2009 that had Trump on the cover."

The Washington Post