Donald Trump named ‘Person of the Year’, Joe Biden pardon shock
President-elect Donald Trump savaged Kamala Harris as he was named Time magazine’s ‘Person of the Year’ for a second time, as Joe Biden delivered the largest single-day pardon in US history.
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Time Magazine named US President-elect Donald Trump its “person of the year,” marking the second time he has won the accolade, in acknowledgment of the mogul’s stunning political comeback.
Mr Trump, who defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the November 5 election, adorns the magazine’s title cover sporting his distinctive red tie and striking a commanding pose.
“For marshaling a comeback of historic proportions, for driving a once-in-a-generation political realignment, for reshaping the American presidency and altering America’s role in the world, Donald Trump is Time’s 2024 – Person of the Year,” the magazine said.
This year saw Mr Trump convicted on charges of business fraud and nearly assassinated twice — and will end with him preparing to return to the White House with Republican majorities in both chambers of Congress.
“We are witnessing a resurgence of populism, a widening mistrust in the institutions that defined the last century, and an eroding faith that liberal values will lead to better lives for most people. Trump is both agent and beneficiary of it all,” the magazine added.
Mr Trump rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange to applause from traders on Thursday local time, flanked by his wife Melania and Vice President-elect JD Vance, with his Time Magazine cover displayed prominently behind him.
In remarks before the markets opened, Mr Trump sounded a note of caution about the promises he made on the campaign trail to bring down stubbornly high US grocery prices.
“It’s hard to bring things down once they’re up,” Mr Trump said.
“You know, it’s very hard.”
The magazine’s award, given out annually, is an acknowledgment of the year’s most influential figure.
Past winners include Taylor Swift and Volodymyr Zelenskyy — and Mr Trump himself, in 2016, after his shock defeat of Hillary Clinton.
In his Time interview, Mr Trump savaged Harris’ failed White House bid – saying her biggest mistake was “taking the assignment” at all.
He said Harris’ campaign was doomed from the start “because you have to know what you’re good at.”
Mr Trump said her failure to reach a wider audience on the campaign trail by speaking to streamers and podcasters – including Joe Rogan – cost her the election.
“When she wouldn’t talk to anybody, it shone a light on her,” Mr Trump said.
“You know, she didn’t do anything. And people said, ‘Is there something wrong with her?’ Why would they? I mean, I’m doing this interview with you. I did interviews with, if I had the time, anybody that would ask, I’d do interviews,” he said.
“I think the Joe Rogan interview, you know, went on for almost three and a half hours.”
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META DONATES $US1M TO TRUMP’ INAUGURAL FUND
Meta has donated $US1 million to Donald Trump’s inaugural fund amid more than a month before he takes office.
The $1.6 trillion owner of Facebook and Instagram confirmed the donation to The New York Post.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg met with the incoming president at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida last month.
It appears the tech whizz is trying to repaur his relationship with Mr Trump after he banned the president-elect in the wake of the January 6, 2021 US Capitol riots.
UNDERCOVER FBI AGENTS HAD NO ROLE IN CAPITOL RIOTS
Undercover FBI agents were not present during the 2021 attack on the US Capitol by Donald Trump supporters, a Justice Department watchdog said in a report debunking a popular right-wing conspiracy theory.
“We found no evidence in the materials we reviewed or the testimony we received showing or suggesting that the FBI had undercover employees in the various protest crowds, or at the Capitol, on January 6,” Justice Department inspector general Michael Horowitz said in an 88-page report.
Thousands of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6 in a bid to prevent congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory.
Right-wing media and even some Republican politicians have spuriously claimed that undercover FBI agents provoked the attack on Congress, which followed a fiery speech by Trump in which he falsely claimed the election had been stolen.
BIDEN GRANTS MOST PARDONS IN SINGLE DAY
Outgoing US President Joe Biden said he had commuted the sentences of nearly 1500 people and pardoned 39 others, in what the White House called the largest single-day act of clemency in the nation’s history.
“America was built on the promise of possibility and second chances,” Mr Biden said in a statement announcing the action.
“As President, I have the great privilege of extending mercy to people who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation.”
With their days in power ticking down, lame-duck presidents often issue a flurry of such acts of clemency, which are only applicable to federal crimes.
The White House said the nearly 1500 people granted commuted sentences — “the most ever in a single day” — had been serving them at home for at least one year.
“These commutation recipients, who were placed on home confinement during the Covid pandemic, have successfully reintegrated into their families and communities and have shown that they deserve a second chance,” Mr Biden said.
The mass clemency was announced over a week after the president pardoned his son Hunter, something he had previously promised not to do, prompting outrage from both Republican opponents and many Democratic allies.
Hunter pleaded guilty in a tax evasion trial in September and was facing up to 17 years in prison.
He had separately been convicted of federal gun charges, for which he was facing 25 years in prison.
FBI DIRECTOR TO QUIT BEFORE TRUMP TAKES OFFICE
The director of the FBI has bowed to pressure from Donald Trump and revealed he will resign next month, allowing the President-elect to replace him with a new boss who has vowed to shut down the bureau’s Washington headquarters and take on the so-called “deep state”.
Christopher Wray, who was appointed by Mr Trump during his first term in power, confirmed at an FBI town hall that he would step down in January with more than two years left on his 10-year term.
The President-elect had already announced his plan to replace Mr Wray with loyalist Kash Patel, who has vowed to overhaul the law enforcement agency that has become a lightning rod for criticism among Republicans.
Mr Wray was initially tapped to lead the FBI when Mr Trump fired former director James Comey over the bureau’s investigation into whether his advisers colluded with Russia during the 2016 election campaign.
But Mr Wray also infuriated him by refuting his false claims of election interference in 2020 and then allowing agents to raid his Mar-a-Lago estate to investigate allegations that he mishandled classified files after he left office.
Mr Trump and his allies have painted the FBI as part of the “deep state” that weaponised the justice system against him. In a statement, the President-elect described Mr Wray’s resignation as “a great day for America”.
“It will end the Weaponization of what has become known as the United States Department of Injustice. I just don’t know what happened to him,” he said on his social media platform.
“They have used their vast powers to threaten and destroy many innocent Americans, some of which will never be able to recover from what has been done to them.”
“Kash Patel is the most qualified Nominee to lead the FBI in the Agency’s History, and is committed to helping ensure that Law, Order, and Justice will be brought back to our Country again, and soon.”
Mr Wray said he believed stepping down was “the right thing to do”.
“My goal is to keep the focus on our mission — the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day,” he told the bureau’s agents.
“In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray, while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work.”
“It should go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway — this is not easy for me. I love this place, I love our mission, and I love our people — but my focus is, and always has been, on us and doing what’s right for the FBI.”
Mr Patel has promised that he would “shut down the FBI Hoover Building on day one and reopen it the next day as a museum of the deep state”.
“I’d take the 7,000 employees that work in that building and send them across America to chase down criminals. Go be cops,” he has said.
In an interview last weekend, Mr Trump attacked Mr Wray, saying he had “invaded my home” by authorising the raid of Mar-a-Lago.
“I can’t say I’m thrilled with him,” he said.
NEW TWIST IN TRUMP JR LOVE LIFE
US political power couple Donald Trump Jr and Kimberly Guilfoyle have broken up.
Sources have confirmed the news to Page Six as Mr Trump’s father, US President-elect Donald Trump, named Ms Guilfoyle the new US Ambassador to Greece.
Sources told the gossip outlet the pair frequently bickered in public before the split.
“Don and Kimberley haven’t been getting along over the past year,” a source said.
“They get argumentative at Mar-a-Lago in front of people.”
Ms Guilfoyle, 55, worked as a prosecutor in San Francisco and Los Angeles before making the move into the media industry, working at Fox News from 2006-2018.
The TV personality met Mr Trump in 2018, while serving as an adviser for his father’s unsuccessful presidential campaign, and the pair got engaged on New Year’s Eve in 2020.
She was previously married to Gavin Newsom, the Governor of California and a Democrat, who was in the running as a potential Vice President for Kamala Harris.
Ms Guilfoyle has not previously worked in any foreign policy role.
“For many years, Kimberly has been a close friend and ally. Her extensive experience and leadership in law, media, and politics along with her sharp intellect make her supremely qualified to represent the United States, and safeguard its interests abroad,” the US President-elect wrote on Truth Social.
“Kimberly is perfectly suited to foster strong bilateral relations with Greece, advancing our interests on issues ranging from defence co-operation to trade and economic innovation.”
Her appointment to the role is subject to approval from the US Senate.
“As ambassador, I look forward to delivering on the Trump agenda, supporting our Greek allies, and ushering in a new era of peace and prosperity,” she wrote on X.
Despite the break up, Mr Trump also posted to X, supporting the move.
“I am so proud of Kimberly. She loves America and she always has wanted to serve the country as an Ambassador. She will be an amazing leader for America First,” he said.
Rumours have been circling about status of the couple’s relationship for months and Mr Trump, 46, has been photographed a number of times with socialite Bettina Anderson.
“Bettina and Don have been together a few months and are super cute and happy together. It’s just a natural fit, everyone is happy for them,” a source told Page Six.
The Daily Mail reports the pair have been staying together at Ms Anderson’s house.
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