Time magazine on Thursday, the 12th of December, named US President-elect Donald Trump its “Person of the Year”, highlighting his great influence on US politics and the country’s role in the world, reports Reuters.
“For a historic comeback, for leading a once in a lifetime political realignment, for transforming the American presidency and for reshaping America’s role in the world, Donald Trump is Time’s 2024 Person of the Year,” Sam Jacobs, the magazine’s editor-in-chief, wrote in a letter to readers.
Donald Trump is TIME’s Person of the Year https://t.co/IjP5W2otV5 pic.twitter.com/CVHX9o0DB3
— TIME (@TIME) December 12, 2024
The magazine had previously awarded Trump the “Person of the Year” title in 2016, after his first presidential election victory. In 2020, it named President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris “Person of the Year” after they defeated Trump. Last year, the title went to pop star Taylor Swift.
The latest issue of Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” features a lengthy interview with Trump in which he strongly criticised Ukraine for using US-supplied missiles deep inside Russian territory.
” It’s crazy what’s happening. It’s crazy. I strongly disagree with sending missiles hundreds of miles into Russia. Why are we doing this? We are only escalating this war and making it worse. This should never have been allowed,” Trump said in an interview.
Trump has said he wants to end the nearly three-year war quickly, but has been restrained on the details. He told Time that he has a “very good plan” to help, but if he reveals it now, “it will become almost worthless”.
Asked if he would abandon Ukraine, Trump replied: “I want to get a deal and the only way to get a deal is not to abandon”.
He said that the entry of North Korean troops into the situation was a “very difficult factor”.
President Biden lifted the ban on Ukraine’s use of US long-range missiles for strikes inside Russia, following pleas by the Ukrainian President. The White House cited Russia’s deployment of 15 000 North Korean troops on the front line as the main reason for this move.
He also said he would have a “big discussion” about ending children’s vaccination programmes with Robert F. Kennedy Jr, his nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services, and that his new administration might waive some vaccines.
To celebrate the Time choice, Trump rang the bell of the New York Stock Exchange.
He was joined by Kennedy, his wife Melania, daughters Ivanka and Tiffany, Vice President-elect JD Vance and Trump’s choice for Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent. Business leaders were also present, including Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon and Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser.
Celebrating an extraordinary milestone with my father @realdonaldtrump, @melaniatrump @tiffanytrump @jdvance as he rang the NYSE opening bell in front of his TIME Person of the Year cover.
Congratulations, Dad !🗽 pic.twitter.com/W6H8ecvlKO
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) December 12, 2024
In a speech on CNBC at the New York Stock Exchange, Trump reiterated his plans to boost domestic oil drilling and reduce corporate tax to 15% on US-made products.
The ringing of the bell on the world’s biggest stock exchange marks the start of trading and is usually done by business leaders to mark important events, but has also been done by celebrities and politicians such as Ronald Reagan, Nelson Mandela and Arnold Schwarzenegger.