Donald Trump Named Time Magazine’s Person Of The Year

On Thursday, Time Magazine named United States President-elect Donald Trump its “Person of the Year.” This becomes the second time he has won the accolade in acknowledgment of the mogul’s stunning political comeback.

Trump, who defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the November 5, 2024 election, adorns the magazine’s title cover sporting his distinctive red tie and striking a pensive pose.

“For marshaling a comeback of historic proportions, for driving a once-in-a-generation political realignment, for reshaping the American presidency and altering America’s role in the world, Donald Trump is Time’s 2024 – Person of the Year,” the statement issued by the magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, Sam Jacobs, read.

Harris was among those shortlisted for the award, alongside Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian economist Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of late opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

This year saw Trump convicted on charges of business fraud and nearly assassinated twice — and will end with him preparing to return to the White House with Republican majorities in both chambers of Congress.

“We are witnessing a resurgence of populism, a widening mistrust in the institutions that defined the last century, and an eroding faith that liberal values will lead to better lives for most people. Trump is both agent and beneficiary of it all,” the magazine said.

The award, given out annually, is an acknowledgement of the year’s most influential figure. Past winners include Taylor Swift and Volodymyr Zelensky — and Trump himself, in 2016, after his shock defeat of Hillary Clinton.

Having dominated the news events of 2024, Trump’s influence is set to continue when he assumes the presidency in January 2025.

This time around, Trump is promising mass expulsions of undocumented immigrants and major tariffs that threaten to shake up not just the US economy but those of key trade partners.

He’s cast doubt on continued support for Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion and has already become something of a shadow president, feting foreign leaders at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

His comeback — on the cover of Time magazine, but also at the helm of the US government — was unthinkable a few years ago.

After his supporters stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss, it seemed like the Republicans might be ready to wash their hands of the brash outsider who had taken over the party.

Criminal cases were launched over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and he was found liable in civil court for sexual abuse. He remains a polarising figure in US and world politics.