Then-former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally, Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022, in Conroe, Texas. Associated Press
Jason Fochtman
President-elect Trump was named Time magazine’s Person of the Year for a second time on Thursday, and he celebrated by ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.
Trump, who was previously honored by Time after his 2016 White House victory, called the second win “a tremendous honor.”
“Time Magazine, getting this honor for the second time, I think I like it better this time actually,” he said before ringing the bell on Wall Street.
Trump signaled the importance he places on the NYSE appearance by enlisting Vice President-elect JD Vance, first lady Melania Trump and his daughter, Ivanka, to join him.
He name-checked some of the Wall Street heavyweights in his incoming administration, including Treasury Secretary-nominee Scott Bessent along with his new pledge the federal government will issue expedited permits, including environmental approvals, for projects and construction worth more than $1 billion.
“I think we’re going to have a tremendous run. We have to straighten out some problems, some big problems in the world,” he said.
Time editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs said Trump was someone who “for better or for worse, had the most influence on the news in 2024.”
“This is someone who made a historic comeback, who reshaped the American presidency and who’s reordering American politics,” Jacobs said. “It’s hard to argue with the fact that the person who’s moving into the Oval Office is the most influential person in news.”
Trump is one of 13 people, mostly American presidents, to win the honor twice since it was launched in 1927. Former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt is the only one to be named person of the year three times.
Other 2024 finalists included billionaire Elon Musk, Vice President Kamala Harris, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Britain’s Princess Kate.
Pop star Taylor Swift won last year.
In an interview with Time that was published Thursday, Trump said his historic White House comeback reflected the deep anger among Americans over the direction of the nation.
“We hit the nerve of the country,” Trump said. “The country was angry.”
Trump also re-upped his plan to pardon most of his extremist supporters who were convicted of storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
It’s going to start in the first hour,” he said of the pardons. “Maybe the first nine minutes.”
The incoming president also discussed his plans for mass deportations and argued he would have the authority to use the military to assist, although legal experts dispute that claim.
“I’ll only do what the law allows,” he said. “But I will go up to the maximum level of what the law allows.”
