TIME Magazine announced Donald Trump as the winner of their ‘Person of the Year’ title, the magazine stated on Thursday, December 12 2024. This isn’t the first time that the US president-elect has been featured on the cover as he’d previously won the title in 2016 when he defeated the Democratic Party’s Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Presidential election.
The magazine stated that Trump’s political rebirth was ‘unparalleled in American history’. Trump marked the announcement by ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan, a first for the president-elect. Trump beat out a comprehensive list of people including the current US vice-president Kamala Harris and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. While Trump is this year’s winner, Taylor Swift claimed the title last year in 2023.
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Why has Trump won the title again?
As stated above, the magazine shared how Trump’s political comeback was something never seen before in American history. While the president-elect’s chances of ever sitting in the White House again looked slim courtesy of his defeat in the 2020 Presidential Election to Joe Biden, Trump’s subsequent comeback in this years election has come as a surprise to many people.
Donald Trump is TIME’s Person of the Year https://t.co/IjP5W2otV5 pic.twitter.com/CVHX9o0DB3
— TIME (@TIME) December 12, 2024
The defeat in 2020 saw Trump inciting a mob of his supporters to storm the Capitol Building in Washington DC in an attempt to overturn the result of the election in what’s now famously called the ‘January 6 insurrection’. Since then, Trump has been arrested and convicted by the authorities, and even survived an assassination attempt at one of his rallies. All of these factors have undoubtedly highlighted a wild time in American politics and history in the buildup to this year’s presidential election.
How did Trump win? (and how did Republicans win the majorities)
byu/Higgs__Boson_ inPoliticalDiscussion
Trump’s election win is a result of growing discontentment among the people in the US, rising inflation, unemployment, an increase in illegal migration from Latin American countries as well as a general rise in conservatism in the country. Trump’s win has defied political borders as many of his voters included minorities. Speaking to the magazine, Trump said that winning the title again was a ‘tremendous honor’.
Here’s how the internet reacted to his win
As always, the internet had a lot to say about Trump’s win. Most people seemed appalled by the decision and criticized the magazine. Here are some of the reactions on social media following the announcement:
Donald Trump, 2024 TIME Person of the Year
byu/200-inch-cock inmoderatepolitics
What has he done to be person of the year? I didn’t know being a convicted felon was apart of the qualifications smh 🤦🏾♂️
— Don Corleone (@YungD23_) December 12, 2024
We had better people but decided to go with the convicted felon? Time is a joke
— Ron Smith (@Ronxyz00) December 12, 2024
Is this a joke https://t.co/Tzeq7qDs4M
— 희망 (@purplehuimang) December 13, 2024
Hell no imagine idealizing this man .
— ❄️WINTERS POLITICS❄️ (@WintersPolitics) December 12, 2024
I have canceled my subscription. Having him as Person of the Year once was bad enough but two? No. Enough
— Barbara Othmer (@OthmerBarbara) December 12, 2024
Our library just cancelled its subscription!!!
— Michael68 (@michaeljburns12) December 13, 2024
Person of the Year; what other presidents have won the title?
Donald Trump joins a long list of US presidents who have previously won the title including the likes of Barrack Obama, George W Bush, Bill Clinton, Lyndon B Johnson, John F Kennedy and Franklin D Roosevelt. Interestingly, this isn’t the first time that a US president has won the title multiple times. In fact, Franklin D Roosevelt won the then ‘Man of the Year’ title thrice.
Trump invited Chinese leader Xi Jinping to his inauguration but it’s highly unlikely that Xi would go. No foreign leader has never attended a US presidential inauguration in modern history.
“Going to Trump’s inauguration makes Xi Jinping look like a supplicant to Trump, because… pic.twitter.com/Ct8EyxlEcS
— Selina Wang (@selinawangtv) December 12, 2024
As Donald Trump gears for a historic second term in the White House, many have raised questions about how he will deal with domestic issues like inflation, illegal migration, LGBTQ+ rights while also the rising competition from China, and Israel’s war on Gaza. Trump is all set for his swearing-in ceremony dated January 20, 2025, making him the 47th president of the United States of America.
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