Donald Trump has been named Time magazine‘s Person of the Year ahead of his second presidency.
The Republican Party leader has had the title bestowed on him for a second time, with the first coming after his first presidential win in 2016.
“All of us — from his most fanatical supporters to his most fervent critics — are living in the Age of Trump… [He] has remade American politics in the process,” writes Time Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs in a letter to readers.
“He won by enlarging his base, seizing the frustration over rising prices and benefiting from a global turn against incumbents… Now we watch as members of Congress, international institutions, and global leaders once again align themselves with his whims. The carousel of Trumpworld characters spins anew. This time, we know what to expect.”
“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.”
Trump comfortably beat Democrat rival Kamala Harris to the White House in last month’s election, and will return to the Oval Office on Monday, January 20, 2025.
Time has interviewed Trump for the Person of the Year feature, with the president-elect addressing how he seized on American anger to win the election, pardoning January 6 insurrectionists “maybe in the first nine minutes” of his presidency, and his willingness to use the military to round up and deport migrants.
He also calls the Russia-Ukraine war harder to handle than the conflict in the Middle East, adding, “The numbers of dead young soldiers lying on fields all over the place are staggering. It’s crazy what’s taking place.” He criticizes Kyiv for launching U.S.-made missiles into Russia, but says he will continue to support Ukraine as he looks for an agreement to end the conflict.
Trump pledged to issue executive orders if his policies are stymied in Congress, telling Time, “If I have even a little bit of trouble…I go to an Executive Order because I can get it done.”
Asked if he would agree to end childhood vaccination programs if Robert Kennedy Jr., his choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, seeks to do so, Trump said, “We’re going to have a big discussion. The autism rate is at a level that nobody ever believed possible. If you look at things that are happening, there’s something causing it.”
Scientific studies have repeatedly found no evidence that vaccines cause autism, per FactCheck.org.
Trump also appeared to be less certain that he could lower the price of groceries, as inflation was a predominant campaign issue. “It’s hard to bring things down once they’re up…You know, it’s very hard,” he said.
When asked if he would reverse Biden administration protections for transgender kids, Trump said, “I’m going to look at it very closely. We’re looking at it right now. We’re gonna look at it. We’re gonna look at everything. Look, the country is torn apart. We’re gonna look at everything.”
Trump’s campaign spent huge sums on ads attacking Kamala Harris for supporting transgender rights, but during the 2016 campaign Trump said that transgender individuals could use whatever bathroom they choose. Asked about this by Time, Trump said in the Person of the Year interview, “I don’t want to get into the bathroom issue. Because it’s a very small number of people we’re talking about, and it’s ripped apart our country, so they’ll have to settle whatever the law finally agrees.”
Time also named Caitlin Clark as Athlete of the Year, Lisa Su as CEO of the Year, and Elton John as Icon of the Year.
Trump was in New York this morning, and rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.
“Getting this honor for the second time, I think I like it better this time, actually,” Trump said, standing in front of the magazine’s cover.
“The media has tamed down a bit. They are liking us much better now, I think. If they don’t, we will just have to take them on again. And we don’t want to do that.” He praised “the whole group at Time” as “very professional people.”
Time has traditionally emphasized that the Person of the Year distinction is not an award, as past selections have included Adolf Hitler and Ayatollah Khomeini.
— Ted Johnson contributed to this report.
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