Donald Trump is TIME’s 2024 ­Person of the Year.

For 97 years, the editors of TIME have been picking the Person of the Year: the individual who, for better or for worse, did the most to shape the world and the headlines over the past 12 months.

 By Sam Jacobs

December 12, 2024 7:40 AM EST

Three days before Thanksgiving, the former and future President of the United States is sitting in the sun-filled dining room of his Florida home and private club. In the lavish reception area, more than a dozen people have been waiting for nearly two hours for Donald Trump to emerge. His picks for ­National Security Adviser, special envoy to the Middle East, Vice President, and chief of staff huddle nearby. All afternoon, Trump pipes music throughout the 1927 oceanfront estate from a 2,000-song playlist he curates: Sinéad O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” ABBA’s “The Winner Takes It All,” James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World.”

For 97 years, the editors of TIME have been picking the Person of the Year: the individual who, for better or for worse, did the most to shape the world and the headlines over the past 12 months. In many years, that choice is a difficult one. In 2024, it was not.

Since he began running for President in 2015, perhaps no single individual has played a larger role in changing the course of politics and history than Trump. He shocked many by winning the White House in 2016, then led the U.S. through a chaotic term that included the first year of a pandemic as well as a period of nationwide protest, and that ended with his losing the election by 7 million votes and provoking the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The smart money wagered that we had witnessed the end of Trump.

Photograph by Platon for TIME

If that moment marked Trump’s nadir, today we are witnessing his apotheosis. On the cusp of his second presidency, all of us—from his most fanatical supporters to his most fervent critics—are living in the Age of Trump. He dispatched his Republican rivals in near record time. For weeks, he campaigned largely from the New York ­courtroom where he would be convicted on 34 felony counts. His sole debate with President Joe Biden in June led to his opponent’s eventual exit from the race. Sixteen days later, he survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally. In the sprint that followed, he outlasted Vice President Kamala Harris, sweeping all seven swing states and emerging from the election at the height of his popularity. “Look what happened,” Trump told his supporters in his election-­night victory speech. “Isn’t this crazy?” He almost couldn’t believe it himself.

Trump has remade American politics in the process. He won by enlarging his base, seizing the frustration over rising prices and benefiting from a global turn against incumbents. With those tailwinds, exit polls suggest that he won the largest percentage of Black Americans for a Republican since Gerald Ford and the most Latino voters of any GOP nominee since George W. Bush. ­Suburban women, whose anger over restrictions to reproductive rights was thought to be a ­bulwark for the Democrats, moved not away but toward him. He became the first Republican in 20 years to win more votes than the Democrat, with 9 of 10 American counties increasing their support for Trump from 2020.

Now we watch as members of Congress, international institutions, and global leaders once again align themselves with his whims. The carousel of Trumpworld characters spins anew. This time, we think we know what to expect. Supporters cheer even his promises to take revenge on his enemies and dismantle the government. In a matter of weeks, Trump will be returning to the Oval Office with his intentions clear: tariff imports, deport millions, and threaten the press. Put RFK Jr. in charge of vaccines. Chance war with Iran. “Anything can happen,” he told us.

Sitting with TIME three weeks after the election, Trump was more subdued than when we visited him at Mar-a-Lago in March. He is happiest to be in a fight, and now that he has won, he sounded almost wistful, recognizing that he had run for office for the final time. “It’s sad in a way. It will never ­happen again,” Trump told us. And while he is thinking about how that chapter has ended, for Americans and for the world, it is also the beginning of a new one. Trump is once again at the center of the world, and in as strong a position as he has ever been.

Over time, we’ve seen the Person of the Year franchise shift: from Man of the Year to its current designation; from the period between the world wars, defined by leaders like Mohandas Gandhi and Wallis ­Simpson, to the first quarter of the 21st century, an era marked by the tremendous changes ushered in by a technological revolution. ­Although the ­American presidency has evolved across these eras, its influence has not diminished. Today, 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.

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.⍐

'We are not ready for what's to come': NATO

 

'We are not ready for what's to come': NATO chief warns Russia 'is preparing for war' with the West

12 December 2024, LBC

By Henry Moore

The West is not ready for the threats it will face from Russia and its allies in the coming years, the head of NATO has warned.

Calling on members of the military alliance to shift into a wartime mindset, Mark Rutte, the secretary general of the organisation, said spending must increase far above the current rate of 2% of GDP.

Mr Rutte warned that NATO is “not ready” for what is to come as he said the current security situation was the "worst in my lifetime".

These comments come as Russia continues its brutal invasion of Ukraine, Israel’s wars in the Middle East continue to escalate and China continues to grow as an economic and military power.

Speaking in Brussels, Mr Rutte: "Russia is preparing for long-term confrontation, with Ukraine and with us.

"We are not ready for what is coming our way in four to five years," the NATO secretary general said.

He continued: "It is time to shift to a wartime mindset, and turbocharge our defence production and defence spending."

He demanded leaders "stop creating barriers between each other and between industries, banks and pension funds".

And to defence companies, he added: "There is money on the table, and it will only increase. So dare to innovate and take risks."

Since Russia launched its invasion in 2022, NATO members agreed that 2% would be the bare minimum spending, but most nations have failed to substantially boost defence investment in the years since.

Sir Keir Starmer has pledged Labour will soon “set out a plan” to boost spending to around 2.5%, but some military experts have said even this won’t be enough.

Last month, Sir Keir was warned the British army would only last six months if war broke out with Russia.

Al Carns, the veterans minister, who is also a reservist, issued the warning as he spoke of the importance of rebuilding the UK's reserve forces.

During a speech at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London, Mr Carns said: "In a war of scale - not a limited intervention, but one similar to Ukraine - our army for example on the current casualty rates would be expended - as part of a broader multinational coalition - in six months to a year.”

Fears of a Russian offensive outside of Ukraine come amid concerns incoming US president Donald Trump is not as committed to NATO as his predecessors.

Mr Trump has pledged to pull out of the alliance if other member states fail to pay their fair share.

Nato chief says ‘time to shift to wartime mindset’ amid warning over Putin

Mark Rutte warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants a long-term confrontation with Europe after Ukraine.

Nato secretary general Mark Rutte has warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to “wipe Ukraine off the map” and could come after other parts of Europe next, as he urged Europeans to press their governments to ramp up defence spending.

“It is time to shift to a wartime mindset,” Mr Rutte told security experts and analysts at the Carnegie Europe think tank in Brussels.

He said people should prepare themselves for the prospect that Russia might try to use “swarms of drones” in Europe as it has to deadly effect in Ukraine.

Mr Putin “is trying to crush our freedom and way of life”, Mr Rutte said

The former Dutch prime minister listed Russia’s attacks on Georgia in 2008, the annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, and the all-out invasion launched almost three years ago.

“How many more wake-up calls do we need? We should be profoundly concerned. I know I am,” he said. “Russia is preparing for long-term confrontation. With Ukraine, and with us.”

Mr Rutte’s inaugural speech came just over two months after he took office as Nato’s top civilian official. He has since toured the capitals of the 32 allies, including a visit to President-elect Donald Trump in the United States, Nato’s most powerful ally.

Nato has been a staunch backer of Ukraine and has helped most of its members funnel weapons, ammunition and other support into the country. But Mr Trump’s return, and pledge to end the war quickly, has fuelled concerns that an unfavourable truce might be forced on Ukraine.

Mr Trump routinely complains that US allies in Nato are not spending enough on defence. Mr Rutte said Russia’s military spending is likely to amount to 7% to 8% of its GDP next year – far more than any Nato ally – while its defence industry churns out tanks, armoured vehicles and ammunition.

Mr Putin also has the support of allies such as China, Iran and North Korea.

Mr Rutte noted that defence spending has risen sharply in Europe, with 23 allies expected to reach Nato’s target of putting 2% of GDP into their military budgets. But he added: “I can tell you, we are going to need a lot more than 2%.”

Mr Rutte listed a series of recent “hostile actions” by Russia against Nato allies, including cyber attacks, assassinations, an explosion at a Czech ammunition depot, the jamming of radars in the Baltic region to disrupt air traffic, and the “weaponisation” of migrants to destabilise Europe.

“These attacks are not just isolated incidents. They are the result of a co-ordinated campaign to destabilise our societies and discourage us from supporting Ukraine,” he said. “They circumvent our deterrence and bring the front line to our front doors.”

Beyond increased defence spending in Europe, Mr Rutte noted that Nato now has tens of thousands of troops on high readiness should they been needed to defend allied territory.

“With all this, our deterrence is good – for now. But it’s tomorrow I’m worried about,” he said, and warned that “we are not ready for what is coming our way in four to five years. Danger is moving towards us at full speed.”

“What is happening in Ukraine could happen here too, and regardless of the outcome of this war, we will not be safe in the future unless we are prepared to deal with danger,” Mr Rutte added.

Mr Rutte appealed to governments to provide the defence industry with “the big orders and long-term contracts they need to rapidly produce more and better capabilities”. He urged industry to boost production for defences against drones and other new war tactics.

He added that “freedom does not come for free” to the estimated one billion people living in the Euro-Atlantic area.

“If we don’t spend more together now to prevent war, we will pay a much, much, much higher price later to fight it. Not billions, but trillions of euros. That’s if we come out on top, and that’s if we win,” he said.

By Press Association