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Donald Trump says Time Person of the Year title should be man of the year

President-elect accuses Time of trying to be 'politically correct' 

Heather Saul
Friday 09 December 2016 11:21 GMT
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US President-elect Donald Trump speaks at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, North Carolina on December 6, 2016 during his USA Thank You Tour
US President-elect Donald Trump speaks at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, North Carolina on December 6, 2016 during his USA Thank You Tour (TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)

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Donald Trump was crowned Time’s Person of the Year for being the man to dominate the news agenda so dramatically in one year.

But the President-elect isn’t happy with that title - he wants something altogether more masculine, believing the gender neutral ‘person’ is just Time’s attempt at being - you guessed it - “politically correct”.

Mr Trump told supporters are a rally in Iowa on Thursday night: “They used to call it ‘Man of the Year’ but they can’t do that anymore so they call it person — they want to be politically correct, that’s OK."

Unlike the US election, this title was less of a surprise. Mr Trump's ability to command headlines with controversy and provocation is unmatched, and he was recognised by Time “for reminding America that demagoguery feeds on despair and that truth is only as powerful as the trust in those who speak it, for empowering a hidden electorate by mainstreaming its furies and live-streaming its fears and for framing tomorrow’s political culture by demolishing yesterday’s”.

Mr Trump was announced as the winner of a list where figures are shortlisted based on the impact they had within the year, for better or worse. In a striking juxtaposition, Angela Merkel, the German chancellor who took direct action to alleviate the devastating refugee crisis, became the fourth woman to be announced as the Person of the Year last year, followed second by Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, the leader of Isis and the man who was one of the direct causes of it.

Mr Trump gave an interview filled with bombast about his plans for the future, including a promise that illegal immigrants who rape or kill “are finished”. He was otherwise vague about his policies.

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