NEW YORK _ President Donald Trump claimed Friday afternoon that he turned down an offer to be Time Magazine's person of the year. He also boasted about his reluctance to give press interviews.
"Time Magazine called to say that I was PROBABLY going to be named 'Man (Person) of the Year,' like last year," he tweeted just a few hours after calling for a border wall with Mexico in light of a bloody terror attack in Egypt. "But I would have to agree to an interview and a major photo shoot. I said probably is no good and took a pass. Thanks anyway!"
Since 1927, Time Magazine has featured one person who has "for better or for worse" done "the most to influence the events of the year."
The monthly magazine gave Trump that distinction last year and motivated it with a scathing feature piece that appeared to lean more toward "worse" than "better."
But Trump didn't mention that in his tweet, instead hinting that interviews are a waste of time.
The president hasn't been interviewed by a major news organization other than Fox News since May. He does, however, regularly lash out against what he calls the "fake news" media.
A Time representative did not immediately return a request for comment from the New York Daily News.
Trump's Friday tweet quickly became a target of seething Twitter satire.
"Hollywood just called to say that I was PROBABLY going to be named the next James Bond but I would have to agree to an interview and a major photo shoot. I said probably is no good and took a pass. Thanks anyway!" English comedian David Schneider tweeted.
Richard Stengel, the undersecretary of state for President Barack Obama, referenced a June expose that Trump has fraudulent Time covers of himself hanging at several of his golf clubs.
"Hate to tell you but that PROBABLY means you're NOT Person of the Year," Stengel tweeted. "But I'm sure you still have that fake TIME cover somewhere in storage."
