Trump is Time magazine’s Person of the Year

Donald Trump has been named ' Time' magazine's Person of the Year for 2024, marking the second time the former president has received the honour, following his 2006 win.

Trump, 78, the US president-elect, topped a shortlist that included prominent figures such as Vice President Kamala Harris, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, Catherine, Princess of Wales, controversial podcaster Joe Rogan, and billionaire Elon Musk, CEO of X.

In an accompanying interview, the business mogul revealed one of his first acts when he returns to office will be to pardon most of the rioters accused or convicted of storming the Capitol after he lost the last election.

He said: "It's going to start in the first hour. Maybe the first nine minutes."

In addition, Trump also plans to reverse many of current president Joe Biden's Executive Orders, expand the drilling of oil on federal land, and crack down on immigration, the latter of which he plans to force foreign governments to cooperate with.

He further indicated a willingness to bypass Congress, if necessary, stating, "If I have even a little bit of trouble, I go to an Executive Order because I can get it done."

Time described its annual designation as recognising "the individual who, for better or for worse, did the most to shape the world and the headlines over the past 12 months". The magazine explained its reasoning for selecting Trump, noting:

"In many years, that choice is a difficult one. In 2024, it was not.

"Since he began running for President in 2015, perhaps no single individual has played a larger role in changing the course of politics and history than Trump.

"He shocked many by winning the White House in 2016, then led the US through a chaotic term that included the first year of a pandemic as well as a period of nationwide protest, and that ended with his losing the election by seven million votes and provoking the violent attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

"If that moment marked Trump's nadir, today we are witnessing his apotheosis. On the cusp of his second presidency, all of us -- from his most fanatical supporters to his most fervent critics -- are living in the Age of Trump."