Depending upon what side of the political aisle you may be on, you either cheered or threw up in your mouth when you may have come across the image and story that the world first learned of Wednesday morning, via such sources as POLITICO’s Meredith McGraw:
Donald Trump is expected to be named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” — and to celebrate the unveiling of the cover, the president-elect will ring the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday morning, according to three people familiar with the plans granted anonymity because they were not authorized to divulge the plans.
Trump was also named Time Person of the Year in 2016 after he won the presidential election. He joins 13 other U.S. presidents who have received the recognition, including President Joe Biden.
It’s that last line that I personally found more jarring than the fact that it produced that ridiculously smug photo op of a 78-year-old man as giddy as a teenage incel who received a sex doll for Christmas. Unlike so many afflicted with what some might say is TDS, I have come to grips with the fact that the way Time defines who qualifies as Person of the Year certainly opened up the door for his consideration. As the BBC’s Madeline Halpert reminded her readers yesterday:
Time magazine’s tradition – which started in 1927 as “Man of the Year” – recognises a person or movement that “for better or for worse… has done the most to influence the events of the year”.
For better or worse. Duly noted. And THE EVENING STANDARD’s dynamic duo of
Adolf Hitler – 1938
Undoubtedly Time magazine’s most controversial selection, the choice to make Adolf Hitler Person of the Year in 1938 has long provoked disbelief among those who aren’t aware of the outlet’s morally neutral criteria for selection.
Joseph Stalin – 1939 and 1942
Stalin was twice named Person of the Year, firstly in 1939 for signing a non-aggression pact between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. The magazine wrote that he “not only sacrificed the good will of thousands of people the world over sympathetic to the ideals of Socialism, he matched himself with Adolf Hitler as the world’s most hated man”.
In 1942, the magazine praised the Soviet dictator for standing resolute against Hitler in what the magazine described as the “year of blood and strength”.
Ayatollah Khomeini – 1979
Mr Khomeini was the central figure in the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, which saw a pro-Western government ousted and involved the Iran Hostage Crisis at the US embassy in Tehran.
Vladimir Putin – 2007
Time magazine named Russian president Vladimir Putin its Person of the Year for 2007, saying he had returned his country from chaos to “the table of world power” though at a cost to democratic principles.
The complete winners’ list reveals the full litany of their nearly century of choices, and it’s telling. What I take away is that at least TIME is only honoring Russian despots once in this century, and that their originality is limited to the simple concept of a twice-elected president getting the honor by default–though, in fairness, in the 20th century at least the likes of Clinton, Eisenhower and Reagan weren’t necessarily winners merely for winning a popular vote.
So I’m much more piqued at TIME’s lack of originality than their seeming subservience that is apparently becoming more prevalent among mainstream media hoping to avoid the potential wrath of someone who continues to saber-rattle about any entity that dares to say or print not nice things. I suppose this buys what’s left of TIME a mulligan for now.
And when one considers that last year’s winner, who TIME believed met all the qualifications for the title was none other than Taylor Freaking Swift, I would further offer that they may have missed a first-time candidate at least as deserving as Fat Orange Jesus for the honor in 2o24.
Allow me to present the qualifications for Selena Marie Gomez.
As ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, that one-time print companion to TIME, anonymously gushed in their digital pages yesterday:
Scoring an Emmy acting nomination for the first time would have been enough of a career highlight to count 2024 as a win, but Selena Gomez was just getting started. Following that nomination for season 3 of her hit Hulu comedy Only Murders in the Building, the actress is now getting Oscar buzz for her supporting part in Netflix’s surreal musical Emilia Pérez — a role that’s already garnered her the best actress win at the Cannes Film Festival (shared with her costars Karla Sofía Gascón, Adriana Paz, and Zoe Saldaña). To top that all off, the newly engaged Wizards Beyond Waverly Place executive producer — who is also the founder of both cosmetic brand Rare Beauty and mental health website Wondermind — just became a double nominee for the upcoming 2025 Golden Globes.
Her EMILIA PEREZ co-star Edgar Ramirez was invited to share his own effusive thoughts:
Selena has an elegance about her. A grace that shines through the moment you meet her. Working on Emilia Pérez in Paris, we had an immediate connection — this immediate understanding of each other and this immediate trust. It was almost like we had met before. That’s Selena’s superpower.
But that’s not surprising, because Selena is a leader. She’s firm and subtle at the same time, which is a rare and wonderful quality in a human being. She brings quiet dedication to everything she does.
She’s almost like a monk, she works in silence. I think that can be confused as shyness, but it’s not that. It’s just that she’s a very good observer — ready to listen, be curious, ask profound questions, and learn. That serves her well as a performer, but also in her work as an entrepreneur and producer and in her humanitarian work. She choses the causes and stories she wants to get behind and tackles them full force and with passion, but she’s humble and lets the work speak for itself.
As someone who is quite familiar with one of those causes she chooses to get behind, I’ll double down on all of that praise and more. WOMEN’S HEALTH’s Jacqueline Tempera and Korin Miller authored an extensive piece last month that articulates my experience with her:
In November, the actress, 32, clapped back at online commenters who said that she was hiding her body during her Emilia Pérez premiere. In response, Sel shared that she actually has a disorder called SIBO, a.k.a. small intestinal bacterial overgrowth…SIBO can cause abdominal pain, bloating, constipation, fatigue, and more according to the Cleveland Clinic.
But that isn’t the only condition that Selena struggles with. She has also been living with lupus, an autoimmune disease, for more than a decade. Over the years, she’s gotten candid about her experience with the chronic illness, from undergoing a kidney transplant and chemotherapy to how it’s impacted her mental health.
SELF’s Karen Miller added some details I’m quite familiar with in a 2023 piece:
The…singer has lupus, an autoimmune condition that causes chronic inflammation in many parts of the body, like the skin, joints, heart, kidneys, lungs, and more. This leads to a spectrum of symptoms and possible complications, like persistent pain, overwhelming fatigue, skin rashes, frequent fevers, kidney damage, heart problems, and mental health disorders like depression, among others. Though her health is nobody’s business, Gomez has been open about her condition and how it affects her physically and emotionally. “My lupus, my kidney transplant, chemotherapy, having a mental illness, going through very public heartbreaks—these were all things that honestly should have taken me down,” she told Elle in 2021. But she would think to herself: “‘You’re going to help people,’” she recalled. “That’s really what kept me going.
And in Gomez’ own words via Instagram in 2017 in the wake of that life-saving transplant:
I’m very aware some of my fans had noticed I was laying low for part of the summer and questioning why I wasn’t promoting my new music, which I was extremely proud of. So I found out I needed to get a kidney transplant due to my Lupus and was recovering. It was what I needed to do for my overall health. I honestly look forward to sharing with you, soon my journey through these past several months as I have always wanted to do with you. Until then I want to publicly thank my family and incredible team of doctors for everything they have done for me prior to and post-surgery. And finally, there aren’t words to describe how I can possibly thank my beautiful friend Francia Raisa. She gave me the ultimate gift and sacrifice by donating her kidney to me. I am incredibly blessed. I love you so much sis. Lupus continues to be very misunderstood but progress is being made. For more information regarding Lupus please go to the Lupus Research Alliance website: www.lupusresearch.org/ -by grace through faith.
Believe me, I’ve seen people who have dealt with far less dramatic experiences who have expected to be have been given far more pity and gravitas. One I can actually discuss publicly. I can’t say a Tampax-like bandage evokes all that much emotion from me either.
From my perspective, you total up Gomez’s accomplishments both as a professional and in life, even from her earliest days as a Disney Channel princess that invested a generation to support her every endeavor, and I’d contend she would have been a far more worthy successor to Swift on many levels.
But my voice is small and I’m at least aware enough to realize that there’s certainly enough of a groundswell of support to justify running Trump back instead–this year. And no, Gomez hasn’t won any of those nominations in this calendar year. So grudging but sincere congrats, Mr. President-Elect.
Still, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he and/or his minions are already lobbying for a threepeat because, sheesh, he just looks so darn cute ringing his dingy. In which case, I’m serving notice that Ms. Gomez’s body of work should at least be the standard he will need to overachieve for the 2025 honor.
Assuming, of course, TIME’s still around in a print version to award it by then.
Until next time…