Donald Trump named as Time magazine's Person of the Year
Updated
Time magazine has named US President-elect Donald Trump its Person of the Year, citing the upheaval in American politics brought about by the election campaign and victory of the New York businessman.
Key points:
- Time says it's "hard to measure the scale of Trump's disruption" this year
- Trump takes issue with Time's "Divided States of America" cover description
- Hillary Clinton, Beyonce, and Turkish President Erdogan were also on the short list
"It's hard to measure the scale of his disruption," Time said in its announcement, noting Mr Trump's eclectic career as real estate magnate and reality television star before winning the highest office in the land.
"For those who believe this is all for the better, Trump's victory represents a long-overdue rebuke to an entrenched and arrogant governing class."
The magazine said its short list included Mr Trump's rival in the 2016 presidential race, Democrat Hillary Clinton, as well as Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan and singer Beyonce.
"It's a great honour, it means a lot," Mr Trump told NBC's Today show in an interview shortly after the announcement.
The Time cover reads, "Donald Trump: President of the Divided States of America" and the cover image features a photograph of the President-elect sitting in his private residence at Trump Tower.
In the NBC interview, Mr Trump took issue with the "Divided States of America" description.
"I didn't divide 'em," he said.
"We're going to put it back together and we're going to have a country that's very well-healed."
Each year, Time editors select the person who has most influenced the news and the world in the past year.
Trump a 'straightforward' choice 'for better or worse'
Time's managing editor Nancy Gibbs said on NBC's Today show said the magazine gave the title to the person who has had the greatest influence on events "for better or worse", and said Mr Trump was a "straightforward" choice.
The Manhattan real estate magnate went from fiery underdog in the race for the GOP presidential nomination to President-elect when he defeated Mrs Clinton in the November 8 election.
Mr Trump won 306 electoral votes and has begun the process of preparing for his presidency and filling Cabinet posts.
Ms Gibbs said Mrs Clinton was the second finalist for the magazine's title, and "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 number three finalist for the Person of the Year was "The Hackers", which Ms Gibbs said referred to "a new cyber security threat we saw this year of state-sponsored hackers looking to delegitimize an American election."
She said this was "something new this year and something very disturbing".
Reuters/AP
Topics: arts-and-entertainment, print-media, information-and-communication, internet-culture, world-politics, government-and-politics, united-states
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