by Daniel Johnson
December 14, 2024
The decision to choose Trump as Time’s person of the year has drawn backlash.
As part of his Person of The Year interview for Time Magazine, President-elect Donald Trump said he believed that the biggest mistake that Vice President Kamala Harris made during the 2024 presidential election was agreeing to face him in the first place.
According to Revolt, Trump repeated his embellishments to Time that Harris didn’t talk to reporters, despite his own reported refusal to appear on 60 Minutes. He said Harris’ biggest mistake was “taking the assignment.”
“I think that when she wouldn’t talk to anybody, it shone a light on her,” Trump said. “You know, she didn’t do anything. And people said, ‘Is there something wrong with her?’”
He continued, somewhat contradicting himself, “She had some pretty [flawed] interviews, and maybe it was highlighted more than it [should’ve been]. In other words, if she did those same interviews, but [had done] another 15 interviews, you wouldn’t have really noticed it that much.”
He added, “She put so much emphasis on interviews. Somebody thought there was something wrong, and I don’t think she ever recovered from that.”
In the magazine’s explanation for why Trump was chosen, Time editor Sam Jacobs declared it was not a difficult choice for the magazine to make.
“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. Trump is both agent and beneficiary of it all,” Jacobs wrote. “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 decision to choose Trump as its person of the year drew criticism from several notable figures, as well as criticism from people on social media.
According to The Hill, former CNN anchor Don Lemon blasted the choice of Trump as the magazine’s person of the year.
“They could’ve done it to someone who actually stood for democracy, who stands for democracy in the country,” Lemon said on his podcast “The Don Lemon Show.” “Just because you are elected president of the United States does not mean that you should be Person of the Year.”
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