Time magazine announced Thursday that President-elect Donald Trump is its Person of the Year for 2024, a decision the magazine said was an obvious choice given his remarkable political comeback against steep odds. “Since he began running for President in 2015, perhaps no single individual has played a larger role in changing the course of politics and history than Trump,” the magazine said.
While the decision is sure to anger people who see Trump as dangerous or a buffoon, Time said that the president-elect perfectly aligns with its criteria for choosing “the individual who, for better or for worse, did the most to shape the world and the headlines over the past 12 months.
“In many years, that choice is a difficult one. In 2024, it was not,” Time said.
The article by Sam Jacobs went on to say that Trump’s first term was “chaotic” and “ended with his losing the (2020) election by 7 million votes and provoking the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The smart money wagered that we had witnessed the end of Trump.”
But, Jacobs continued, “If that moment marked Trump’s nadir, today we are witnessing his apotheosis. On the cusp of his second presidency, all of us — from his most fanatical supporters to his most fervent critics — are living in the Age of Trump.”
The reaction on social media was predictable, with Trump supporters celebrating the magazine cover, and Trump opponents saying the designation was “a joke” and “shameful.” Some pointed out that Time named Adolf Hitler Man of the Year in 1938.
Earlier this week, Time released its short list of candidates: Vice President Kamala Harris, Catherine, Princess of Wales, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Russian economist Yulia Navalnaya, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, podcaster Joe Rogan, Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
But by then, Trump and his team already knew of the decision. He had done a lengthy interview with four Time editors and writers on Nov. 25 at Mar-a-Lago; Time published the transcript of that interview today, as well as a “fact check” of things that the president-elect said. (The interview, according to the magazine, is a “59-minute read,” compared to the fact check, a “12-minute read.”)
In addition, Trump’s appearance at the New York Stock Exchange this morning had been planned as a celebration of the news, with Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, Melania Trump and other family members and allies on hand.
Last year’s Person of the Year for Time was entertainer Taylor Swift.
Correction: An earlier version of this article said that Trump had been named Person of the Year for 2025.