NEW YORK – TIME Magazine's 90th Person of the Year was revealed Wednesday, and their pick is President-elect Donald Trump. Second pick was Democrat presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
Why Donald Trump, who they dub as "President of the Divided States of America"?
TIME's Nancy Gibbs explains that in their opinion, Trump is a populist with no political experience, but who was able to tap into a frustrated American public and connect directly with them via rallies and the Internet. What he will do as the nation's commander-in-chief is unknown, saying his opinions change with his moods. She then writes:
His supporters and his critics will discover together how much of what he said he actually believes. In the days after the election, everything was negotiable: the wall became a fence, “Crooked Hillary” is “good people,” and maybe climate change is worth thinking about. Far from draining the swamp, he fed plums to some of its biggest gators. Were his followers alarmed? The critics were hardly reassured: nearly half of Americans expect race relations to worsen, and many women fear that his ascent comes directly at their expense. Trump prefers to talk about the alienated workers who flocked to his rallies and believed a billionaire could be their tribune—“I love them and they love me”—and avers that his every action will be on their behalf. But can he devise a New Deal for workers in the age of automation, renegotiate trade deals and reopen factories while simultaneously elevating many of the same people who profit from the trends he denounced?
For reminding America that demagoguery feeds on despair and that truth is only as powerful as the trust in those who speak it, for empowering a hidden electorate by mainstreaming its furies and live-streaming its fears, and for framing tomorrow’s political culture by demolishing yesterday’s, Donald Trump is TIME’s 2016 Person of the Year.
More HERE.
