U.S. President-elect Donald J. Trump was named Time magazine’s Person of the Year on Thursday in recognition of his political comeback and a campaign in which he overcame a felony conviction and assassination attempts to return to the helm of American leadership.
“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,’” the magazine wrote.
The magazine, which has bestowed the annual award for the last 97 years (called ‘Man of the Year’ or ‘Woman of the Year’ until 1999), awarded Trump the title in 2016 after his first presidential victory, in keeping with a quarter-century tradition of honoring new presidents.
The news magazine noted that while in some years the selection was difficult, this year it was unquestionably not.
“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,” Time said. “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. Trump is once again at the center of the world, and in as strong a position as he has ever been.”
The annual “Person of the Year” award is given to a newsmaker who has “done the most to influence the events of the year,” which in the past has included people ranging from Winston Churchill and Queen Elizabeth II to Vladimir Putin and Joseph Stalin.
