Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Trump is Time magazine’s Person of the Year
WASHINGTON — Time magazine on Wednesday named Donald Trump its Person of the Year, bestowing what the presidentelect called an “honor” even as he derided the idea that he’ll lead “the Divided States of America.”
That was a reference to Time’s cover line for the Dec. 19 issue, “Donald Trump — President of the Divided States of America,” which was positioned next to the cover photograph of the president-elect sitting in his residence at Trump Tower.
“I didn’t divide ’em,” Trump said on NBC’s “Today” show. “We’re going to put it back together and we’re going to have a country that’s very well-healed.”
Time editor Nancy Gibbs said the publication’s choice was a “straightforward” choice of the person who has had the greatest influence on events “for better or worse.”
Trump climbed from self-styled fiery outsider in the race for the GOP presidential nomination to defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton in the Nov. 8 election, losing the popular vote but winning enough electoral votes.
Trump stomped campaign traditions and social norms, including by insulting women, Muslims, GOP leaders and a reporter with disabilities and more.
He also praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and last week irritated China and broke diplomatic norms by speaking by phone with the leader of Taiwan.
“When have we ever seen a single individual who has so defied expectations, broken the rules, violated norms, beaten not one but two political parties on the way to winning an election that he entered with 100to-1 odds against him?” Gibbs said.
Clinton was the No. 2 finalist, Gibbs said.
She said Clinton “came closer than any woman ever has to winning the White House, and in the process revealed, I think, both the opportunities and the obstacles that women face in the public square.”
“The Hackers” ranked after Clinton.
Gibbs said that referred to “a new cyber security threat we saw this year of state-sponsored hackers looking to delegitimize an American election.”