Donald Trump is TIME's Person of the Year 2016 #TIMEPOY https://t.co/5pTGOksevE pic.twitter.com/N8BtqTu9Nl
— TIME (@TIME) December 7, 2016
By now you’ve probably heard that Donald Trump has been named as the Time 2016 Person of the Year, which makes sense as the now president-elect undeniably fit the magazine’s criteria as “the person who had the greatest influence, for better or worse, on the events of the year.” But the title hardly came as an honor, as the magazine referred to Trump as the “President of the Divided States of America” right on the cover and explained the choice by stating that it was “hard to measure the scale of his disruption,” summing up his popularity as “reminding America that demagoguery feeds on despair.”
Likewise, the photo shoot itself was a subtle dig, reminiscent of 1940s style portraiture that was popular at the time of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, two former Time Persons of the Year — which could have in no way been a coincidence. In fact, it’s telling that Trump himself has not taken to Twitter to crow on about this latest achievement, and it’s probably only a matter of time before he takes to the format to admonish Time for being “unfair” and “bad,” as he is wont to do in light of unflattering media angles.
The rest of the internet however, was definitely not at a loss for words at Trump’s selection, noting everything from apt comparisons to the fact that Time seemed to intentionally give the president-elect devil horns.
Person of the Year pic.twitter.com/3t5Q79YO29
— Elaine Scattermoon (@scattermoon) December 6, 2016
https://twitter.com/ditzkoff/status/806480354349633536
https://twitter.com/max_read/status/806483369731170305
Kudos to the designer who made the "M" look like devil horns. We will send you care packages after Trump throws you in prison. pic.twitter.com/jsqKxC8IOq
— Rex Huppke (@RexHuppke) December 7, 2016
https://twitter.com/ChristophHooton/status/806500538347044864
Jesus, @TIME, give the man some privacy! pic.twitter.com/QaIRdB0ZGX
— Samantha Bee (@realsambee) December 7, 2016
Remember that time when TIME's Person of the Year wasn't a person? Well, it happened again!
— Doug Benson (@DougBenson) December 7, 2016
https://twitter.com/ShaunKing/status/806490161915854853
— Christopher Sebela (@xtophersebela) December 7, 2016
Controversial choice pic.twitter.com/BH3lYh7IWj
— Dr. Bucky Isotope, Astrologist, IQ 188 (@BuckyIsotope) December 7, 2016
https://twitter.com/ditzkoff/status/806519254703083521
Time Magazine made Trump its person of the year because they know he'll buy 500,000 copies.
— Crutnacker (@Crutnacker) December 7, 2016
https://twitter.com/Panayisalad/status/806526158976221185
A little on the nose, @TIME. pic.twitter.com/fWcpo09BD9
— Mike Drucker (@MikeDrucker) December 7, 2016
TIME in one year! #Trump pic.twitter.com/yBHE3wEyTh
— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) December 7, 2016
https://twitter.com/feministabulous/status/806506277908217856