TThree days before Thanksgiving, the former and future president of the United States sits in the sun-drenched dining room of his home and private club in Florida. In the spacious reception area, more than a dozen people waited for almost two hours for Donald Trump to appear. His candidates for national security adviser, special envoy for the Middle East, vice president and chief of staff are huddled nearby. Throughout the afternoon, Trump’s entire 1927 seaside estate will ring with music from a 2,000-song playlist he curated: Sinéad O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” ABBA’s “The Winner Takes It All” and “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World by James Brown. ”

For 97 years, TIME editors have chosen the Person of the Year: the person who has done the most to shape the world and headlines over the past 12 months, for better or worse. In many years this decision will be difficult. This was not the case in 2024.

Since he began running for president in 2015, perhaps no one has played a greater role in changing the course of politics and history than Trump. He shocked many when he won the White House in 2016, then led the US through a chaotic term that spanned the first year of a pandemic and a period of nationwide protests and ended with a defeat in the election by 7 million votes and provocation of violence Attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. The smart money was betting that we had seen the end of Trump.

If this moment marked Trump’s nadir, today we are witnessing his apotheosis. As he enters his second presidency, we all—from his most fanatical supporters to his most ardent critics—are living in the age of Trump. He defeated his Republican rivals in almost record time. For weeks, he campaigned largely from the New York courtroom where he was to be sentenced on 34 felony charges. His only debate with President Joe Biden in June ultimately led to his opponent’s exit from the race. Sixteen days later, he survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally. In the ensuing sprint, he outlasted Vice President Kamala Harris, won all seven swing states and emerged from the election at the height of his popularity. “Look what happened,” Trump told his supporters in his victory speech on election night. “Isn’t that crazy?” He almost couldn’t believe it himself.

Trump has reshaped American politics. He won by expanding his base, capitalizing on frustration over rising prices and capitalizing on a global turn against the incumbents. With that tailwind, exit polls suggest he won the largest share of black Americans for a Republican since Gerald Ford and the most Latino voters of any Republican candidate since George W. Bush. Suburban women, whose anger over restrictions on reproductive rights were seen as a bulwark of Democrats, turned not away from him but toward him. He became the first Republican in 20 years to win more votes than the Democrat, with nine out of 10 American counties increasing their support for Trump from 2020.

Now we are watching members of Congress, international institutions and global leaders once again fall in line with his whims. The carousel of Trumpworld characters is turning again. This time we think we know what to expect. Supporters even cheer his promises to take revenge on his enemies and overthrow the government. In a few weeks, Trump will return to the Oval Office with clear intentions: impose import tariffs, deport millions and threaten the press. Put RFK Jr. in charge of vaccines. Accidental war with Iran. “Anything can happen,” he told us.

When we sat with TIME three weeks after the election, Trump seemed more subdued than when we visited Mar-a-Lago in March. He’s happiest when he’s participating in a fight, and now that he’s won, he sounded almost wistful as he realized it was the last time he’d run for office. “It’s sad in a way. “This will never happen again,” Trump told us. And as he reflects on how this chapter has ended for Americans and the world, it is also the beginning of a new one. Trump is once again at the center of the world and in a stronger position than ever before.

Over time, we’ve seen the Person of the Year franchise change: from “Man of the Year” to its current designation; From the interwar period, defined by leaders such as Mohandas Gandhi and Wallis Simpson, to the first quarter of the 21st century, an era marked by the enormous changes ushered in by a technological revolution. Although the American presidency has evolved during these eras, its influence has not diminished. Today we are witnessing a resurgence of populism, a growing distrust of the institutions that shaped the last century, and a fading belief that liberal values ​​will lead to a better life for most people. Trump is both an agent and a beneficiary of it all.
Donald Trump has been named TIME’s Person of the Year for 2024 for orchestrating a comeback of historic proportions, driving a once-in-a-generation political realignment, reshaping the American presidency and transforming America’s role in the world .