OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
President-elect Donald Trump rang in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) opening bell on Thursday after being named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” for the second time.
“The honors for the businessman-turned-politician are a measure of Trump’s remarkable comeback from an ostracized former president who refused to accept his election loss four years ago to a president-elect who won the White House decisively in November,” the Associated Press reported.
Before he rang the opening bell at 9:30 a.m., Trump spoke at the exchange and called it “a tremendous honor.”
“Time Magazine, getting this honor for the second time, I think I like it better this time actually,” he said.
People were chanting “USA” as Trump rang the bell.
He was with his wife Melania Trump, children Ivanka and Tiffany, and Vice President-elect JD Vance. After that, he raised his hand.
There were many things he liked about his speech. He talked about the people he chose to work in his new government, like Treasury pick Secretary Scott Bessent, and the policies he announced. For instance, he said this week that the federal government would speed up the process of getting permits for building and projects worth more than $1 billion. This includes getting environmental permits.
“I think we’re going to have a tremendous run. We have to straighten out some problems, some big problems in the world,” he said.
Sam Jacobs, Time’s editor in chief, announced on NBC’s “Today” show that Trump was Time’s 2024 Person of the Year. Jacobs said Trump was someone who “for better or for worse, had the most influence on the news in 2024.”
“This is someone who made an historic comeback, who reshaped the American presidency and who’s reordering American politics,” Jacobs said. “It’s hard to argue with the fact that the person who’s moving into the Oval Office is the most influential person in news.”
He added that “there’s always a hot debate” at the magazine over the honor, “although I have to admit that this year was an easier decision than years past.”
At the start of the business day, Trump was on Wall Street to do some work. The cover of Time magazine with him on it was projected onto a wall at the stock exchange. There were American flags on either side of the image.
During the exchange, Trump took the stage surrounded by family members and members of his new government. His favorite walk-on song, “God Bless the U.S.A.,” played in the background.
WATCH:
President-elect Trump shows up at the New York Stock Exchange with his family and members of his Cabinet in front of his giant TIME Person of the Year cover.
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸pic.twitter.com/BIj13eHHN2
— Martin Walsh (@martinwalsh__) December 12, 2024
“It’s 9:48am shouldn’t you be making money??” @JDVance 🤣💰pic.twitter.com/ibijVBoN2O
— Sara Rose 🇺🇸🌹 (@saras76) December 12, 2024
The moment comes hours after Trump announced that Kari Lake will serve as the director of Voice of America, the international broadcasting media network funded by the federal government.
In a post on his Truth Social website, Trump said that Lake would work with the next head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media “to ensure that the American values of Freedom and Liberty are broadcast around the World FAIRLY and ACCURATELY, unlike the lies spread by the Fake News Media. Kari was a beloved News Anchor in Anchor in Arizona, which supported me by record margins, for over 20 years.”
“VOA was established in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda with unbiased news and information. It’s funded by the government through the U.S. Agency for Global Media. It is governed by a longstanding charter that legally requires the VOA to report ‘accurate, objective, and comprehensive’ news abroad,” Axios reported. “VOA broadcasts in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly global audience of more than 354 million people.”
Lake thanked Trump on X, adding, “I am honored that President Trump has asked me to lead the Voice of America. @VOANews is a vital international media outlet dedicated to advancing the interests of the United States by engaging directly with people across the globe and promoting democracy and truth.”
