Tipsheet

TIME Magazine Names 'Person of the Year'

Leah Barkoukis
Leah Barkoukis  |  December 11, 2020 7:12 AM

TIME magazine named Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as 2020’s Person of the Year in a glowing piece about the pair that also took shots at President Trump throughout, referring to him as a hurricane that “was tearing through America, ripping through institutions, chewing up norms and spitting them out.” 

The author Charlotte Alter praised Biden’s approach to campaigning and said his appeal to voters came from the desire for a return to “decency, dignity, experience and competence.”

“To him, it wasn’t about fighting Trump with righteous vengeance, or probing any deeper rot that might have contributed to his ascent. Biden believed most voters simply wanted reconciliation after four years of combat,” Alter wrote. 

“What I got most criticized for was, I said we had to unite America,” Biden told her. “I never came off that message.”

But being a “78-year-old white man,” Biden couldn’t do it all on his own. He had to also offer “generational change, a fresh perspective, and an embodiment of America’s diversity.” Enter Kamala Harris. 

Recommended

These Democratic Senators Could Sure Be in Trouble After Voting for Sanders' Anti-Israel Resolutions Rebecca Downs
The Forever-Tarnished Legacy of Barack Obama Jeff Davidson

“Together, they offered restoration and renewal in a single ticket,” Alter states. 

Twitter users offered a number of different takes. 

While many criticized TIME for not choosing frontline workers, the magazine did pick Dr. Anthony Fauci and frontline health workers as "Guardians of the Year."