Time names Donald Trump person of the year

Donald Trump is Time magazine's person of the year.

Time described him on its front cover as president of the "Divided States of America".

The president-elect was on a shortlist of 11 people that included, among others, runner-up Hillary Clinton, Beyoncé and Vladimir Putin. 

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Trump told NBC's Today show shortly after the announcement it was a "great honor" that "meant a lot" to him.

"For nearly 17 months on the campaign trail, Trump did what no American politician had attempted in a generation, with defiant flair," Time wrote. "Instead of painting a bright vision for a unified future, he magnified the divisions of the present, inspiring new levels of anger and fear within his country."

"Whatever you think of the man, this much is undeniable: he uncovered an opportunity others didn’t believe existed, the last, greatest deal for a 21st century salesman."

The pick carries some irony considering last year, when the magazine selected Angela Merkel for the same award, Trump tweeted:

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“This is the 90th time we have named the person who had the greatest influence, for better or worse, on the events of the year," Editor-in-Chief Nancy Gibbs wrote in a story describing the decision.

"For reminding America that demagoguery feeds on despair and that truth is only as powerful as the trust in those who speak it, for empowering a hidden electorate by mainstreaming its furies and live-streaming its fears, and for framing tomorrow’s political culture by demolishing yesterday’s, Donald Trump is TIME’s 2016 Person of the Year."