President-elect Donald Trump was named TIME’s 2024 “Person of the Year” on Thursday as the magazine highlighted his unparalleled “political rebirth.” The magazine reported Trump’s “first term ended in disgrace” and said “he was shunned by most party officials when he announced his candidacy in late 2022 amid multiple criminal investigations.” In his letter to readers, TIME Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs said it was not a difficult choice. “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,” Jacobs wrote, adding that with how his first term in office ended, “the smart money wagered that we had witnessed the end of Trump.” CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE Jacobs continued: 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. He dispatched his Republican rivals in near record time. For weeks, he campaigned largely from the New York ­courtroom where he would be convicted on 34 felony counts. His sole debate with President Joe Biden in June led to his opponent’s eventual exit from the race. Sixteen days later, he survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally. In the sprint that followed, he outlasted Vice President Kamala Harris, sweeping all seven swing states and emerging from the election at the height of his popularity.  The magazine noted the stunning way Trump won the election: by increasing his popularity with nearly every voter demographic. In the end, he became the first Republican to win the popular vote in two decades, increasing his support in 90% of U.S. counties compared to the 2020 election. “For marshaling a comeback of historic proportions, for driving a once-in-a-­generation political realignment, for reshaping the American presidency and altering America’s role in the world, Donald Trump is TIME’s 2024 ­Person of the Year,” Jacobs concluded. Donald Trump is TIME’s Person of the Year https://t.co/IjP5W2otV5 pic.twitter.com/CVHX9o0DB3 — TIME (@TIME) December 12, 2024