Netanyahu, Trump, and Harris named finalists for TIME Person of the Year

TIME magazine has revealed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a finalist for the 2024 Person of the Year. 

While last year’s Person – Taylor Swift – was chosen for the record-breaking global impact her Eras Tour had, this year’s candidates were largely chosen for their political impact, for better or for worse.

In the case of Netanyahu, TIME referred to him as “one of the most influential and controversial world leaders this year,” referencing his leadership throughout the Israel-Hamas war and Northern Arrows, making special note of the now famous Hezbollah pager attack in September.

Alongside Netanyahu are notable political figures, such as Vice President Kamala Harris and President-elect Donald Trump, as well as other personalities, including Elon Musk and Joe Rogan.

Every one of these candidates has previously been featured by TIME, including Netanyahu, who was named one of the top 100 most influential people of 2019.

“I’d rather have bad press than a good obituary,” he said.

Social media outrage

The list, which was posted on social media, sparked outrage, with many claiming that Harris should be removed from consideration after losing the 2024 election, and others online have claimed Trump should be the 'obvious' choice.

"[Harris] is the worse person of the year who tried to ruin the county and kill babies," one X/Twitter user wrote, "Trump should be the person of the year."

“I don't think even Netanyahu wants that kind of attention,” another wrote, “He is juggling a lot of difficult issues.”