Donald Trump named Time's Person of the Year 2024

President-elect Donald Trump rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange today with a huge grin on his face.

Was he excited about the start of the day’s trading? Maybe. But it's more likely that behind the smirk was a great sense of satisfaction, after being recognized for the second time by Time Magazine as its Person of the Year.

Indeed, the Time magazine issue featuring him on the cover was projected onto a wall at the stock exchange, flanked by American flags.

It’s the cherry on the cake for Trump, capping off his remarkable comeback from an ostracized former president who refused to accept his election loss four years ago to a president-elect who won the White House decisively in November.

Before he rang the opening bell, Trump called it “a tremendous honour.”

“Time Magazine, getting this honour for the second time, I think I like it better this time actually,” he said. 

Indeed, Trump was also Time's Person of the Year in 2016, when he was first elected to the White House.

He was listed as a finalist for this year’s award alongside notable names including Vice President Kamala Harris, X owner Elon Musk, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Kate, the Princess of Wales.

Trump was elected as this year’s cover star 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,” according to Time Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs in his letter to readers.

Jacobs announced on NBC's “Today” show that Trump was someone who “for better or for worse, had the most influence on the news in 2024.”

“This is someone who made an historic comeback, who reshaped the American presidency and who’s reordering American politics," Jacobs said. "It’s hard to argue with the fact that the person who’s moving into the Oval Office is the most influential person in news."

He added that “there’s always a hot debate” at the magazine over the honour, "although I have to admit that this year was an easier decision than years past.”

Last year, Time CEO Jessica Sibley rang the NYSE opening bell to unveil the magazine’s 2023 Person of the Year: Taylor Swift.

A far less divisive choice. 

Trump has long had a fascination with being on the cover of Time, where he first made an appearance in 1989. He has falsely claimed to hold the record for cover appearances, and The Washington Post reported in 2017 that Trump had a fake picture of himself on the cover of the magazine hanging in several of his golf country clubs.

He previously complained in 2015 when he was not chosen for the magazine cover during his run for office. The award that year went to former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Other previous winners of Time’s Person of the Year include former President Barack Obama, climate change activist Greta Thunberg, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Pope Francis and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Stay tuned to Euronews Culture for our People of the Year 2024, which will be published later this month.

Additional sources • TIME, AP, Washington Post