TIME Magazine Unveils Epic Trump Cover For Person Of The Year
No one had a more turbulent year than President-elect Donald Trump, and he’s been rewarded with a stunning splash on the front of Time Magazine after being declared the outlet’s 2024 Person of the Year.
From surviving two assassination attempts to beating back the coronation of Vice President Kamala Harris, the incoming president has proven once again that his larger-than-life persona is more than performance — it is personal, especially to the men and women of America who have entrusted him to right the economy and reverse the largest period of illegal immigration in the country’s history. He beat out contenders including Harris, Kate Middleton, Elon Musk, and Benjamin Netanyahu and leads a cavalcade of influential figures Time has named this year: NBA star Caitlin Clark as Athlete of the Year, Elton John as Icon of the Year, and Lisa Su of Advanced Micro Devices as CEO of the Year.
He last graced the magazine’s cover after surviving the July 13th assassination attempt when a gunman struck his ear with a high-caliber rifle round before Secret Service agents tackled Trump to the stage floor. Rather than bear crawl his way to safety, Trump rose, pumping his fist repeatedly and encouraging the crowd to “fight” in a moment emblazoned by the magazine. This time around, Trump appears as a pensive president-elect, sitting deep in thought while leaning over his right knee.
Donald Trump is TIME’s Person of the Year https://t.co/IjP5W2otV5 pic.twitter.com/CVHX9o0DB3
— TIME (@TIME) December 12, 2024
President-elect Trump last earned the distinguished honor in 2016 following his surprise victory, a decision which Time took heat for from the left and drew comparisons to its decision to honor Adolf Hitler as its 1938 Time Person of the Year. The outlet told Politico this week that it does not comment on deliberations about how or why it chooses to award the annual recipient. “It means a lot, especially me growing up reading Time magazine. And, you know, it’s a very important magazine,” Trump said at the time.
The magazine’s photographer Platon described how he chose to seat Trump on a simple wooden box that he carries around the world and which had seated some of modern history’s most iconic leaders including Barack Obama, Muammar Gaddafi, Robert Mugabe, Vladimir Putin, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Benjamin Netanyahu, Imran Khan, Paul Kagame, Jacob Zuma, Tony Blair, George W. Bush, Hugo Chávez, and Boris Johnson. In doing so, Platon explained, he hoped to capture the “essence of power” while provoking a “respectful debate” about Trump’s existing mark on the country and the world — and what is to come.
Shot at Mar-a-Lago, Trump was asked to think back to a moment at CPAC when he grabbed the American flag and kissed it on stage. Platon described the surreal scene in his own words:
“I first met Donald Trump 22 years ago in Trump Tower. I built a small studio in his office. He had charm and charisma. Even back then, it was clear to me he knew his ‘best side.’ He was a master communicator and storyteller, and I was convinced he saw the media as a powerful instrument. After the portrait session, he invited me to sit in on some of his business meetings that day while I took some less formal pictures. He then wrote about the entire shoot in one of his books.
“While my team set up our studio, adjacent to the main lounge, at Mar-a-Lago, the President’s personal playlist was piped through hidden speakers. ‘My Way’ by Frank Sinatra, ‘What a Wonderful World’ by Louis Armstrong, ‘Nobody Does It Better’ by Carly Simon, ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ by Sinéad ‘O’Connor, ‘Beat It’ by Michael Jackson, and ‘The Winner Takes It All’ by ABBA. After a three-hour delay, he finally appeared, surrounded by his team and Secret Service. Today, Trump’s power dominates the room. We briefly talked about our last meeting – so much had happened to him since then. I asked him about the playlist I had been listening to. ‘They are all my favorite songs–I chose every one of them, 2,000 in all.’ I told him I felt each song was a message–he smiled. ‘I chose them for a reason,’ he said.”
“We talked about that moment at CPAC when he hugged and kissed the flag on stage–something no other politician would do. ‘Would you let me photograph you with a flag to honor that moment?” I asked. As he stood with arms around a flag and pole, he gestured a kiss for a second and I caught it on film. He squeezed the fabric and said, ‘We are gonna fix it.’”