LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) - Time magazine has named President-elect Donald Trump as its Person of the Year."It's hard to argue that anyone had more influence over the events of this year than Donald Trump," Nancy Gibbs, managing editor of Time, said in announcing Trump's selection. She also noted the fact that the country continues to roil over "a profound argument about whether his influence was for the better or for the worse."The newsmagazine billed Trump as president of "the divided states of America."The cover story unveiled Wednesday marks the 90th Person of the Year designation by Time."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," Gibbs wrote.Time also revealed its short list of other candidates considered for the Person of the Year recognition. Trump's Democratic presidential rival Hillary Clinton was in the running, as were "the hackers," the faceless miscreants who the magazine said "took aim at American democracy itself."Musical megastar Beyonce, who on Tuesday topped this year's Grammy Award nominations with her provocative "Lemonade" album, and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who fended off a coup attempt, were also on the list. So were the biomedical scientists involved in the CRISPR research effort to edit and alter DNA in a multitude of species.The Person of the Year recognition marks Trump's 10th outing on the cover of Time. Trump's first Time cover came in 1989, the others have all been published since he launched his presidential campaign in June 2015.By Variety Staff