President-elect Donald Trump has been named Time Person of the Year for 2024 after a political renaissance that Time magazine described as “unparalleled in American history.”
Trump was revealed exclusively to TODAY on Dec. 12 as the magazine’s nominee after being selected from an initial list of 10 celebrities, which was narrowed down to five on Dec. 11. .
This is the second time Trump has been named Time magazine’s Person of the Year, having won the award in 2016 following his presidential election victory. He first appeared on the cover of Time magazine in 1989.
Every year since 1927, the magazine has chosen a Person of the Year, ranging from historical world leaders to cultural figures. In 2023, Taylor Swift became the first person of the year to be recognized for her success in the arts.
In November, the 78-year-old Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris, another person on this year’s Time Person of the Year finalist list, returning to the presidency after losing the previous presidential election in 1800. He was the first president since Grover Cleveland in the late 1990s.
He made a spectacular political comeback after his first term, when a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in an effort to overturn the 2020 election results. He announced his candidacy in 2022 amid multiple criminal investigations involving him, and became the Republican candidate earlier this year.
She defeated Harris, becoming the first Republican to win the popular vote in 20 years, after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race. After the election, Republicans also took control of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.
“I called it 72 Days of Rage,” President Trump told Time magazine about his selection as Person of the Year. “We struck a nerve with this country. The country was angry.”
During his campaign, Mr. Trump pledged to deport millions of immigrants, cut parts of the federal government and impose tariffs on foreign goods to encourage the growth of American businesses. He also told Time that one of his first acts would be to pardon rioters convicted of storming the Capitol and other crimes starting on January 6.
“It starts in the first hour,” he said. “Maybe the first nine minutes.”
Trump also recalled how he was nearly assassinated by a gunman at a rally in Pennsylvania in July when he raised a handgun and yelled “fight!” as Secret Service agents tried to take him to safety.
“A lot of people changed in that moment,” he told Time magazine.
He also discussed the incoming administration’s plans, including the Department of Justice, abortion pill availability, immigrant deportation, foreign affairs related to Israel, Iran, Ukraine and more.
This article first appeared on TODAY.com. Today’s continuation:
Source link
