Trump Sparks Twitter Storm Over Time’s “Person of the Year” Award

As 2017 comes to a close, Time magazine is preparing to announce who their “Person of the Year” will be. While this year’s winner of the feature has not yet been released, President Donald Trump has publicized his views about it on Twitter.

Time was founded in 1923 by Briton Haden and Henry Luce. The popular publication became the first weekly news magazine in the United States and began publishing an annual “Person of the Year” feature in 1927, beginning with Charles Lindbergh. Since then, Time has been selecting influential people across the world to star in an annual write-up.

Trump, who was elected as president of the United States in Nov. 2016, was named as Time’s “Person of the Year” last year. However, he still took to social media to voice his opinion on the matter of whether or not he would be chosen for the feature again this year.

Trump’s tweet, published on Nov. 24, said:

“Time Magazine called to say that I was PROBABLY going to be named ‘Man (Person) of the Year,’ like last year, but I would have to agree to an interview and a major photo shoot. I said probably is no good and took a pass. Thanks anyway!”

The social media post, which has generated more than 43,770 retweets and 164,517 favorites on Twitter within four days of its initial appearance, has gained a lot of attention by users. Average followers and celebrities have responded to the tweet with various responses, most of which make fun of the post.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, former Seinfeld star and current lead in Veep, used Trump’s words to fabricate her own comical tweet, reading:

“@nytimes just called to say I was PROBABLY going to be named comedienne of the year but I would have to agree to an interview and a major photo shoot. I said probably is no good and took a pass. Thanks anyway! @andy_murray.”

Actor, comedian and director Jordan Peele, who recently directed the hit movie Get Out, crafted his own tweet in response to the president, which says:

“Patton Oswalt called to say that he was going to tweet that GET OUT was PROBABLY his favorite movie of the year, but I would have to agree to get lunch with him and do a major photo shoot. I said probably is no good and took a pass. Thanks anyway!”

Some stars, like Patricia Arquette, decided to tweet at Trump with short and sweet responses. Arquette tweeted from her own account:

“You can always print yourself another fake cover.”

Hundreds of similar tweets and social media posts were published in response to Trump’s words, putting their own personal twist on his words to show how outlandish they believed his opinion to be.

The official Twitter account for Time took matters into their own hands by responding to Trump’s allegations, stating:

“The President is incorrect about how we choose Person of the Year. TIME does not comment on our choice until publication, which is December 6.”

Until then, it is unclear who will be named as 2017’s “Person of the Year.” Only time will tell who it will be, but Time has made it clear that no decision has been publicly determined.