NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 10: A general view of atmosphere before the TIME's 2010 Person of the Year Panel at Time & Life Building on November 10, 2010 in New York, New York. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for TIME Inc.)
(Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for TIME Inc.)

‘An utter embarrassment’: Americans roast Trump’s Time Person Of The Year confirmation

An utter embarrassment indeed.

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Time announced its Person of the Year, and to no one’s surprise, Donald Trump will once again hold the title. To celebrate, he rang the opening bell of the New York Stock exchange. Given the finalists, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise. In a TODAY exclusive, Time Editor-In-Chief Sam Jacobs said of the decision: “This is someone who made a historic comeback, who reshaped the American presidency and who’s reordering American politics. It’s hard to argue with the fact that the person who is moving into the Oval Office is the most influential person in the news.”

Yeah, so, about people who have made Person of the Year who have reordered politics

And before anything is said, yes, the accompanying article does not blindly praise Hitler. It is not a commendation of his contributions to the world. However, one has to see some sort of issue with giving anybody like that the title of Person of the Year. The same goes for Trump, especially in today’s world saturated with social media. It is putting them up on a platform they don’t need to be on. “Influential” does not equate to somebody who should be lifted up.

Following the announcement, people took to places like Bluesky, the ever-growing X alternative. Nick Knudsen kicks it off by listing several of Trump’s various, how should we say, pitfalls, such as his crimes, his involvement in the insurrection, his ability to continually gaslight and villify.

Man crimes.Man insurrects.Man gaslights.Man vilifies.Man wins. Man of the year. Apparently. Good lord, MSM.Good lord.

Nick Knudsen (@nickknudsenus.bsky.social) 2024-12-12T03:24:59.764Z

Art Candee responded, saying, “It’s an utter embarrassment.” And I have to agree. What does this say about us as a country?

It’s broken, and we need to figure out how to fix it

https://bsky.app/profile/artcandee.bsky.social/post/3ld3dfnauks2q

It isn’t like Trump is a candidate who knocked down walls and paved a path. He simply followed the well-worn one left by dozens of other people who walked it before him. Sure, he bounced back and got re-elected. Sure, he’s only the second President to have non-consecutive terms. But his entire platform has been built on hate and fear-mongering. He pushes uneducation because he knows it will benefit him. How does this make him Person of the Year?

We are at a crucial tipping point–not just the United States, but the world. We keep inching the hands of the Doomsday Clock closer and closer to midnight, and eventually we will hit the point of no return. “Trump is a fascist of a new generation. Same shit, different decade,” states Bluesky user Spicy Jalapeno. In 2016, this may have been seen as reactionary after his upset over Hillary Clinton. Now, almost ten years later, it is maybe far more truthful than we would like to admit.

Time magazine had Hitler as person of the year.Trump is a fascist of a new generation. Same shit, different decade.

Spicy Jalapeno (@jalapeno7.bsky.social) 2024-12-11T18:56:49.142Z

Though I am not a Taylor Swift fan, at least her 2023 nomination made sense. We should nominate people who influence the public for the good, not just because they are talked about, or because they’re all over the news. Person of the Year should be for people who make a positive impact. The person on the cover should make you pause at the grocery store with your precarious handful of items and say, “Oh, yes, I like them,” not inspire a grimace and a quick shuffle away to a lane without the magazine. We can do better. We should do better. And hopefully, this time next year, we’ll have some better candidates.


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Rachel Tolleson
Rachel (she/her) is a freelancer at The Mary Sue. She has been freelancing since 2013 in various forms, but has been an entertainment freelancer since 2016. When not writing her thoughts on film and television, she can also be found writing screenplays, fiction, and poetry. She currently lives in Brooklyn with her cats Carla and Thorin Oakenshield but is a Midwesterner at heart. She is also a tried and true emo kid and the epitome of "it was never a phase, Mom," but with a dual affinity for dad rock. If she’s not rewatching Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul she’s probably rewatching Our Flag Means Death.