In a bid to remain relevant, Time magazine has selected Donald Trump as its Person of the Year for 2024.

Seriously, Time? Tell me something surprising.

Last month, over 77 million Americans, including myself, elected Trump as their president. For the last decade, he has dominated headlines whether he’s campaigning or serving in office.

Trump is not just any award winner; he’s currently the most talked-about figure. We’re all just living in his world, which also includes Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Time magazine itself.

Time Magazine Recognizes Trump’s Victories

The magazine’s extensive profile acknowledges that “Trump’s political resurgence is unmatched in American history” and highlights his victory over not just one, but two Democratic candidates, his success in all seven swing states, and being the first Republican in two decades to win the popular vote.

Nevertheless, the authors of the profile, influenced by cynicism and leftist perspectives, express skepticism about America’s decision. A significant portion of the profile questions Trump’s strategies, his leadership team, and his past.

“Whether Trump can address the foundational issues causing American frustration is another matter. He will also find out how much the nation is ready to allow him,” the article points out. “If he succeeds, he may transform the country. However, he risks dismantling the constitutional principles and institutions that have supported America’s democratic journey for two and a half centuries.”

As a Republican, I also harbor doubts about Trump. But if I hear “constitutional norms” linked with Trump yet again without acknowledgment of the many norms shattered this year by Biden, Harris, and the Democratic Party, I will deem Time magazine irrelevant once and for all.

Time magazine is attempting to profit from Trump, just as he has leveraged their platform to appear charismatic, influential, and confident. (He’s my president-elect, sure, but he still loves the spotlight.)

The connection between the media and Trump reflects a harmful cycle rooted in self-serving interests.

Time Can’t Resist Featuring Trump on the Cover

The editors at Time elaborately justify their choice of Trump as Person of the Year. Alongside the main feature, there’s a piece discussing how the cover photo was arranged, and another that reveals the “stories behind” each instance of Trump appearing on the cover.

Trump has graced Time’s cover 43 times—outnumbering Bill Clinton’s 40 appearances and Barack Obama’s 31. And he hasn’t even begun his second term yet.

The current cover depicts Trump as serious and commanding. However, the magazine has frequently featured more negative portrayals of him. For example, during the COVID-19 crisis, he was illustrated as a drowning figure.

In October 2016, he was depicted as a melting orange blob on the cover, just days before he was elected president for the first time. (A striking example of missing the central narrative.)

Time openly acknowledges its fixation on Trump: “[I]n the subsequent years, we depicted [Trump] as an anxious Twitter user destroying the Washington monument (March 20, 2017), as a punching bag (October 9, 2017), as a chaotic wrecking ball (November 6, 2017), an angry figure with his hair aflame (January 22, 2018), a hybrid of himself and Vladimir Putin (July 30, 2018), a king gazing into a mirror (June 18, 2018), a combatant holding a slingshot against Nancy Pelosi (January 21, 2019), a joyful President relaxing under an umbrella in the rain (April 8, 2019), and a man who trapped himself (October 7, 2019).”

Is everything alright at Time? Someone should check on them.

Even Time magazine must concede that Trump is once again the focal point of the news landscape. He’s on the cover of a once-respected publication that has largely lost its relevance. Meanwhile, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris seem sulky in a White House corner.

As William Thackeray once remarked, “All is vanity, nothing is fair.”