Time Magazine has named US President-elect Donald Trump ‘person of the year’, the magazine said on Wednesday.
“It’s a great honour, it means a lot,” Trump told NBC’s ‘Today’ show in an interview shortly after the announcement.
The magazine's managing editor, Nancy Gibbs, said on the program that Democrat Hillary Clinton was the No 2 finalist. Gibbs said the choice of Trump this year was "straightforward."
The Manhattan real estate magnate went from fiery underdog in the race for the GOP presidential nomination to president-elect when he defeated Clinton in the 8 November election.
Trump won 306 electoral votes, easily enough to make him president when the electors meet on 19 December. Clinton won the popular vote.
Trump has begun the process of preparing for his presidency and filling Cabinet posts.
Commenting on the announcement, Gibbs also said:
Trump’s assault on truth and logic, far from hurting him, made him stronger. His appeal – part hope, part snarl – dissolved party lines and dispatched the two reigning dynasties of US politics...The year 2016 was the year of his rise; 2017 will be the year of his rule, and like all newly elected leaders, he has a chance to fulfil promises and defy expectations.
Earlier, the title has also been held by Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and Ayatollah Khomeini.
A year ago in 2015, Trump had tweeted about not getting the title.
PM Modi Declared Person of the Year by Popular Vote
This announcement follows another on 6 December which declared Narendra Modi person of the year according to online readers’ poll. However, on Wednesday, when Trump was announced the winner, Modi did not make it to even the runners’-up list.
(With inputs from media agencies and TIME.)
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