President-elect Donald Trump has been named Time magazine's Person of the Year, the magazine announced Thursday, as he became the second president in US history to lose re-election and then win back the White House four years later. .
"Trump's political renaissance is unparalleled in American history," Time said in a statement. Trump beat out a short list of finalists for the title that included Vice President Kamala Harris, billionaire Trump ally Elon Musk, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Catherine, Princess of Wales, aka Kate Middleton. (Musk was Time's 2021 pick.)
Trump rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan to mark the occasion. It was the first time the real estate mogul-turned-politician has rung the bell, according to the Associated Press. Former First Lady Melania Trump appeared alongside him in Manhattan, as did daughters Tiffany and Ivanka and Vice President-elect JD Vance.
Trump was also Time's Person of the Year in 2016, when he upset Washington's expectations by defeating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the presidency. "This is an honor, a tremendous honor," Trump said Thursday. "And I have to say, Time magazine, getting this honor for the second time. I think I like it better this time, actually, but we did a good job."
Trump is the second president to serve non-consecutive terms in office, the other being Grover Cleveland in the late 1800s.