In this Dec. 2, 2015, photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Prince William County Fair Ground in Manassas, Va. Trump tapped a man to be a senior business adviser to his real-estate empire even after the mans past involvement in a major mafia-linked stock fraud scheme became public. Felix Sater pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering in 1998. His conviction remained secret for nearly a decade as he worked as a government informant and an executive at the Bayrock Group, a real estate firm that partnered with Trump.  (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
Political outrage at Trump's Muslim proposal
02:46 - Source: CNN

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TIME magazine announced the pick on Wednesday

Donald Trump said he was the favorite of Person of the Year

Washington CNN  — 

A rejected Donald Trump on Wednesday said he had been the favorite to be TIME magazine’s Person of the Year and ripped winner Angela Merkel for “ruining Germany.”

“I told you @TIME Magazine would never pick me as person of the year despite being the big favorite. They picked person who is ruining Germany,” he tweeted.

Last month, Trump slammed Merkel, the German chancellor, for allowing a wave of Syrian refugees into Germany, saying she should “be ashamed of herself.” Trump said he had respected her but added, “She blew it, when she allowed this to happen, this migration.”

RELATED: Trump slams Merkel over immigrants

Trump first predicted that TIME would not name him Person of the Year at a Birmingham, Alabama, rally last month.

In announcing the choice, TIME Managing Editor Nancy Gibbs praised Merkel’s handling of multiple economic and national security issues.

“She has stepped up in a way that was uncharacteristic even for her,” Gibbs said on NBC’s “Today.” “She’s been a very long-serving leader, the longest-serving in the West. She controls the world’s fourth-largest economy, but this year she really was tested in how she would respond to some of the most difficult challenges that any leader is facing in the world.”

Trump was a finalist along with Black Lives Matter activists, ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, transgender reality star Caitlyn Jenner and Uber CEO Travis Kalanick.

In addition to the magazine’s story on Trump, Time also appeared to tweak the candidate after he dinged the magazine.

The publication published a second story with a one-minute video behind the scenes of a photo shoot in the mogul’s office from August. The video featured several blooper reel moments with Trump’s co-star of the shoot, a bald eagle named Uncle Sam.

Time tweeted out the story with a gif of the eagle flapping his wings at Trump, who quickly ducked out of the way.

RELATED: TIME names German leader Angela Merkel its Person of the Year

CNN’s Jeremy Diamond contributed to this report.