Since 2000, it has become a tradition for the winner of the U.S. presidential election every fourth year to be named Time’s Person of the Year. Former President George W. Bush won it twice in 2000 and 2004, while former President Barack Obama received the title in 2008 and 2012.
“This year it was an easier decision than in years past,” Time Magazine editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs said on the TODAY show. Jacobs mentioned that his outlet spent more time on the record with the president-elect this year than any other outlet. This marks the 97th year Time has named the most influential person in the news.
Google’s top searches of 2024 also saw Trump among the top trending people, and the “U.S. Election” was the leading global news search, surpassing all other international elections.
Other nominees for the title included Vice President Kamala Harris, who shared the honor with President Joe Biden in 2020; Princess of Wales Kate Middleton, who revealed a cancer diagnosis this year; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who led the country through a year-long war with Hamas; and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Other contenders included comedian Joe Rogan, Russian economist Yulia Navalnaya, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
The magazine, which last interviewed Trump in the spring, will release its issue with him on the cover beginning Friday.
Last year, pop star Taylor Swift won the title while in the midst of her Eras Tour, which grossed millions of dollars over two years. Previous winners also included Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2022, after the war in Ukraine began, and climate change activist Greta Thunberg in 2019.
