Former President Donald Trump, entrepreneur Elon Musk, and podcast host Joe Rogan are among the finalists for Time magazine's 2024 Person of the Year, alongside other prominent figures like Vice President Kamala Harris.
The annual award recognizes the individual, group, or concept that has had the most significant global impact in the preceding year. Recent winners include Taylor Swift, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Musk himself.
Trump, who previously received the title in 2016 following his electoral victory, is recognized by Time for his continued influence on the American political landscape. Both Musk and Rogan publicly endorsed Trump's presidential bid. Musk has also been tapped to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) alongside Vivek Ramaswamy. Musk was also Time's Person of the Year in 2021.
Rogan's podcast, "The Joe Rogan Experience," maintained its position as Spotify's top podcast for the fifth consecutive year. His three-hour conversation with Trump has garnered over 52 million views on YouTube.
An interesting side note to this story involves Vice President Harris. While Rogan extended an open invitation to Harris to appear on his podcast, the interview never materialized. Post-election, Harris' campaign staff cited Trump's lengthy interview with Rogan as a factor in their decision. Rogan later clarified that he had offered Harris a flexible schedule to accommodate her availability.
Harris and President Biden were jointly named Time's Person of the Year in 2020 after defeating Trump and then-Vice President Mike Pence.
