Time has been critical of Trump many times over the course of the past year

He also said of illegal immigrants: 'They’re killing and raping everybody out there. They're illegal. And they are finished'

Inside the magazine Trump spoke about how his leadership style would be like Bill Belichick of the New England

Trump leaked that he would be the winner 15 minutes before it was announced by telling his Twitter followers he would be appearing on Today

Hillary Clinton came in second and Hackers came in third

It was the second year in a row that the President-elect had been a finalist

Donald Trump has been named Time 'Person of the Year.'

The President-elect was declared the latest winner of the annual honor on Today Wednesday morning, beating out finalists including Hillary Clinton, Beyonce and Vladmir Putin.

This was the second year in a row that Trump had been a finalist of the accolade. Hillary Clinton came in second and Hackers came in third.

'To be on the cover of Time as Person of the Year is a tremendous honor,' said Trump.

Time editor-in-chief Nancy Gibbs said it was the easiest decision the magazine has ever made for the honor.

The magazine has been incredibly critical of both Trump and his politics over the past year, with the August 22 issue of Time showing Trump's melting face with the word 'Meltdown.'

Two months later, on October 24, the image was even more severe with the subhead reading 'Total Meltdown.'

In his interview with the magazine, Trump compared his leadership style to that of New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and said of illegal immigrants: 'They’re killing and raping everybody out there. They're illegal. And they are finished.'

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Winner: Donald Trump has been declared Time 'Person of the Year' (magazine cover above)

Runner up: Hillary Clinton (above) finished in second while Hackers came in third

'I don’t think there’s one way of leading people. I think if you talk - and I mention him because he was so great to me - but if you mention, like, a great leader is a Coach Belichick. I guarantee you he deals with different people in a different way,' said Trump during his interview with Time.

They’re killing and raping everybody out there. They're illegal. And they are finished. -Trump on illegal immigrants

'He’ll deal with Tom Brady differently than he’s going to deal with some rookie that just came in, and they don’t know whether or not he’s going to make it. It’s a different form of leadership.'

Belichick is a supporter of Trump, and the Patriots are one of the greatest teams in the history of football.

Trump also said in the interview that he does not believe Russia 'interfered' and was behind the wave of hacks over the past few months including the DNC emails.

He then took things a step further and said that assessment was politically motivated, noting: 'They tried to build up my relationship with Russia.'

And when asked about illegal voting during the election, Trump said: 'I’ve seen many, many complaints. Tremendous numbers of complaints.'

The President-elect made it clear as well that he was not backing off his plan to build a wall between American and Mexico.

We’re going to build the wall. I’m going to build the wall. We’re going to have strong borders. But we’re also going to have people coming across the borders because we need workers. We have to be able to have people come in to our country, because that’s good for all of us. It’s good for them, but it’s good for all of us. But we’re going to have very strong borders. -Trump on immigration

'We’re going to build the wall. I’m going to build the wall. We’re going to have strong borders. But we’re also going to have people coming across the borders because we need workers,' said Trump.

'We have to be able to have people come in to our country, because that’s good for all of us. It’s good for them, but it’s good for all of us. But we’re going to have very strong borders.

'We’re not going to have illegals coming in. But we’re going to have people coming in, but we’re also going to have them coming in based to a certain extent on merit.'

He said that he did still want to welcome in young Dreamers however despite the wall.

'On a humanitarian basis it’s a very tough situation,' said Trump.

'We’re going to work something out that’s going to make people happy and proud. But that’s a very tough situation.'

Slip of the tongue: Trump actually let it leak a bit early that he had won the honor by revealing he was being interviewed on Today (above)

The interview: Trump meets with the Time editors inside his apartment at Trump Tower (above)

Trump spoke during the interview about how he would measure his success as a president as well, saying: 'I think we’re going to have a lot of jobs brought back. I think we’re going to have a lot fewer companies leaving our country.

I don’t think there’s one way of leading people. I think if you talk - and I mention him because he was so great to me - but if you mention, like, a great leader is a Coach Belichick. I guarantee you he deals with different people in a different way. He’ll deal with Tom Brady differently than he’s going to deal with some rookie that just came in, and they don’t know whether or not he’s going to make it. -Trump on leadership

'I believe we will be successful with defeating ISIS or bringing them down to a level where it’s almost the same thing. And I hope I’m judged from the time of the election, as opposed to from January 20th, because the stock market has had a tremendous bounce.

'And people are seeing very good things for business in this country. So I think we’re going to have a lot of victories.'

When then asked what he thought of this country, Trump said: 'Most incredible place ever. And we were losing that. And I don’t want to lose that. And the people that voted for me, we call them the forgotten men and women.

'These are great people, these are people that built this country, and they’ve been forgotten. They’re people that work hard, that they’re people that love the country. And they didn’t like what was happening.'

Trump's extreme wealth also came up during the interview, with the billionaire businessman being questioned about how he could understand the middle and working class given his own opulent lifestyle.

'I’m sitting in an apartment the likes of which nobody’s ever seen. And yet I represent the workers of the world. And they love me and I love them,' said Trump.

'But when I was in Brooklyn I worked for my father on construction sites where he built houses or what he built, a building in Brooklyn. And I got to understand the construction workers and the police. These are great people. These are the people that built the country.'

He later added: 'I think people aspire to do things. And they aspire to watch people. I don’t think they want to see the president carrying his luggage out of Air Force One. And that’s pretty much the way it is.'

Mixed feelings: Time has been critical of Trump many times over the course of the past year (Aug. 22 issue on left, Oct. 24 issue on right)

When asked on Tooday if he saw the honor as a condemnation given how divided the country has become and the fact that the Time subhead reads 'President of the Divided States of America,' Trump said: 'Well I think putting divided is snarky. But again it’s divided, I'm not president yet. I didn't do anything to divide.'

I believe we will be successful with defeating ISIS or bringing them down to a level where it’s almost the same thing. And I hope I’m judged from the time of the election, as opposed to from January 20th, because the stock market has had a tremendous bounce. -Trump on his accomplishments

He then added: 'There's a lot of division. We're going to put it back together.'

Trump actually let it leak a bit early that he had won the honor, with Today promoting the fact that they would be speaking with the winner at 7:30am on Wednesday morning.

Trump tweeted 15 minutes prior: 'I will be interviewed on the @TODAYshow at 7:30. Enjoy!'

When later asked about his tweeting, Trump said: 'It's a modern-day form of communication.'

He also used that interview to praise President Obama and talk about their newfound friendship.

Man in charge: Trump said he would run the country in a manner similar to the way Bill Belichick runs the Patriots

Time revealed on Monday that Prime Minister Modi was the winner of the online reader's poll for the 'Person of the Year' honor.

He won 18 percent of the vote, finishing well ahead of the other finalists.

I’m sitting in an apartment the likes of which nobody’s ever seen. And yet I represent the workers of the world. And they love me and I love them. -Trump on his wealth

There was a three-way tie for second place, with Trump, President Barack Obama and Julian Assange all finished with 7 percent of the vote.

Trump was beat out last year by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

He responded to the magazine's decision at the time by writing on on Twitter: '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.'

The 2015 finalists included Caitlyn Jenner, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, the Black Lives Matter protest movement and Uber CEO Travis Kalanick.