The 2016 Person of the Year has been named Donald Trump.. President-elect of the divided states of America
Time magazine states the title of Person of the Year is awarded to "the person or persons who most affected the news and our lives, for good or ill, and embodied what was important about the year, for better or worse," and this year I feel that statement couldn't be anymore true. President-elect Donald Trump is the 2016 Person of the Year, but that doesn't mean it's for the right reasons. Donald commented on how the award was a tremendous honor to receive, however looking back at the history of the award, I would say that is not the case. Previous winners have indeed included people who have done amazing things for the world that should be honored, but I cannot help but notice the fact that Adolf Hitler won the Person of the Year award in 1938, and Joseph Stalin was given the title not once - but twice. If history has taught us anything, it is that these individuals were very obviously not influencing our lives for the better. Trump has divided a once united country, violated norms, and shifted the political direction of the international order.
Despite my resentment to see Donald Trump held up high on a pedestal for his obnoxious ploys and hurtful comments that have been spewed across the media for the past year, I understand that that is the reason he has been named 2016 Person of the Year. Despite any of the bad, he has in fact been dominating the news for the past year. I honestly cannot remember a moment this past year that Donald Trump was not constantly on the news or being debated. As TIME managing editor Nancy Gibbs wrote, "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."
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2016 Person of the Year, TIME, Donald Trump, President-elect
