Joe Biden and Kamala Harris: Time's Person of the Year 2020

Other candidates for Time Person of the Year were Donald Trump, frontline healthcare workers and Dr Anthony S Fauci, and the movement for racial justice.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris: Time's Person of the Year 2020

Friday December 11, 2020,

3 min Read

The Time magazine declared in the early hours of Friday, December 11, that its 'Person of the Year' for 2020 are US President elect Joe Biden and US Vice-President elect Kamala Harris.

According to media reports, Editor-in-chief of Time magazine, Edward Felsenthal said Joe and Kamala won the honor "for changing the American story, for showing that the forces of empathy are greater than the furies of division, for sharing a vision of healing in a grieving world..."

Every year, since 1927, US magazine Time announces Person of the Year, essentially a person or people who wielded the most influence in that particular year. While the ultimate decision is made by the editors, TIME invites readers to share their opinion on who they think should earn the title.


Joe Biden's win was nothing sort of an historic win. The 78-year old President elect broke former US President Barack Obama's record to become the most votes ever cast for a presidential candidate.


Edward further added, "If Donald Trump was a force for disruption and division over the past four years, Biden and Harris show where the nation is heading: a blend of ethnicities, lived experiences, and worldviews that must find a way forward together if the American experiment is to survive."


Similarly, Kamala Harris, at 56, became the first woman and the first South-Asian and African woman to hold a office in the White House - a historic moment.

TIME

Image Source: TIME

Other candidates for the Time Person of the Year honour were President Donald Trump, frontline healthcare workers and Doctor Anthony S Fauci, and the movement for racial justice.


The COVID-19 pandemic put the world into a standstill and the most essential people during these past year has been the frontline health workers. Dr Anthony Fauci, leader of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was honoured as the most visible scientific leader in the US in 2020.


If there is one incident that shook the world and brought about changes across the globe, it has to be the tragic killing of George Floyd. His death started a movement across nations and despite the pandemic, protestors took to the street to seek action against racial injustice.


Last year, climate activist Greta Thunberg was named the youngest Person of the Year. Prior to that, the Silence Breaker who spoke out against sexual assault and harassment were selected as the Person of the Year, in 2017. President Donald Trump was the Person of the Year for 2016.


Edited by Teja Lele