Time Magazine has named President-elect Donald Trump as its person of the year, beating out Austin residents podcaster Joe Rogan and tech billionaire Elon Musk.
Trump had a historic comeback victory in the 2024 presidential election, mobilizing young male voters, winning the popular vote for the first and turning every swing state red.
Trump’s year wasn’t only filled with his presidential campaign. He was also convicted by a New York jury on 34 felony counts of fraud earlier this year. Trump made headlines with a polarizing political platform with a focus on the economy and border control. He announced plans to implement tariffs on Mexico, China and Canada once he takes office, possibly significantly impacting trade and the prices of goods across the country. Trump has made several controversial cabinet picks since his election.
Time Magazine named Donald Trump as its person of the year following a leak the day before publication.
Elon Musk, Joe Rogan make shortlist for Time Magazine Person of the Year 2024
The two Austinites on the shortlist, Musk and Rogan, had big years that merged with Trump ahead of the election.
Musk’s presence as an ultra wealthy innovator has long been known and felt across the world. But, his presence in politics was new this year after he endorsed Trump in July and joined him on the campaign trail. Trump announced Musk would co-lead a new commission, the Department of Government Efficiency.
Rogan released a special episode of his podcast with a three-hour interview alongside Trump just days before the election. Rogan’s later endorsement of Trump influenced the decision of some voters. His podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” was Spotify’s top podcast in 2024 for the fifth year in a row with an average 11 million listeners per episode, with the majority of those being young men. Netflix aired his live stand-up special, “Joe Rogan: Burn Your Boats,” in August.
Time is famously protective of its choice before publication, but this year the magazine’s most coveted secret was leaked a day early. It was reported that Meridith McGraw, who wrote the all-access book about Trump after he left the White House in 2021, wrote in Politico that Time would announce Trump as its person of the year Thursday morning and that the president-elect will ring the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange to celebrate.
The majority of staffers at Time are kept in the dark about the person of the year nominations and picks, with only need-to-know staffers communicating in code about the publication.
Trump was previously named Time person of the year in 2016 after first winning the presidency.
Along with Musk and Rogan, Trump beat out Vice President Kamala Harris, Princess of Wales Kate Middleton, Russian economist Yulia Navalnaya, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Time Magazine names Donald Trump as person of the year 2024
