As the US presidential inauguration draws closer, TIME magazine’s decision to name Donald Trump as its Person of the Year is yet another reminder of the current state of global politics.
For those of us who had to grieve the result of the 2024 election, seeing Trump picked for this title likely feels like a punch in the gut. But TIME says that “for better or for worse”, it chose the Person of the Year based on “who did the most to shape the world and the headlines over the past 12 months”.
Given that 2024 was a US presidential election year, it fits with the pattern of previous election years that Trump would earn this title. The magazine had already given Trump the Person of the Year title after his 2016 presidential election victory. In 2020, it was handed to Democratic President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Meanwhile in non-election years, other public figures have taken the title, such as Taylor Swift in 2023.
For 97 years, TIME has been choosing a ‘Person of the Year’, and while many years have been a “difficult” decision, the news magazine says this year wasn’t a difficult choice.
So what does Trump’s massive influence say about the shifting state of world politics? Well, it’s no secret that ordinary people’s frustrations with elite groups– politicians and establishments– are growing.
This signals a “resurgence of populism”, as TIME notes, and populism left unchecked is what seems to have given us another four years of expected Trump chaos.
“Today, we are witnessing a resurgence of populism, a widening mistrust in the institutions that defined the last century, and an eroding faith that liberal values will lead to better lives for most people,” states TIME, adding that “Trump is both agent and beneficiary of it all.”
Returning to the Oval Office, Trump has made his policy intentions clear. He plans to deport millions of people, boost domestic oil drilling and lower corporate taxes to 15 per cent for US-made products.
Within TIME’s ‘Person of the Year’ feature, he also gave a lengthy interview, telling the magazine that he was against Ukraine’s use of US-supplied missiles deep into Russian territory, and said he plans to end childhood vaccination programs on US soil.
Speaking to his victory against Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump said he didn’t think the Democratic party “got the feel of the country”.