Trump, named Time’s person of the year, rings the New York Stock Exchange’s opening bell
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NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump rang the opening bell Thursday at the New York Stock Exchange after being recognized for the second time by Time magazine as its person of the year.
It was a measure of Trump’s comeback from an ostracized former president who attempted to overturn his election loss four years ago to a president-elect who won the White House again in November despite a conviction on 34 felony counts and myriad other legal issues.
Before he rang the opening bell at 9:30 a.m., a first for him, Trump spoke at the exchange and called it “a tremendous honor.” He talked up some of the people he has named to his incoming administration, including Treasury secretary pick Scott Bessent, and some policies, including a promise that the federal government will issue expedited permits, including environmental approvals, for projects and construction worth more than $1 billion.
President-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin share some traits and want some of the same things. But a chasm divides them.
“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 the magazine’s 2024 person of the year, saying Trump was someone who “for better or for worse, had the most influence on the news in 2024.” He added that “there’s always a hot debate” at the magazine over the honor.
Some of Trump’s Cabinet picks have raised hopes that his policies will not be wildly disruptive or bring back inflation. That may be wishful thinking.
Trump has long had a fascination with being on the cover of Time, where he first made an appearance in 1989. He has falsely claimed to hold the record for cover appearances, and the Washington Post reported in 2017 that Trump had fake pictures of himself on the cover of the magazine hanging in several of his golf clubs.
Trump was on Wall Street to mark the ceremonial start of the day’s trading. The Time cover featuring him was projected onto a wall at the stock exchange, flanked by American flags. Trump took the stage at the exchange flanked by family members and members of his incoming administration while his favored walk-on song, “God Bless the U.S.A.,” played.
Trump was also Time’s person of the year in 2016, when he was first elected to the White House. Other finalists for this year’s award included Vice President Kamala Harris, X owner Elon Musk, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Kate, the Princess of Wales.
The NYSE regularly invites celebrities and business leaders to participate in the 9:30 a.m. ceremonial opening trading. Last year, Time Chief Executive Jessica Sibley rang the NYSE opening bell to unveil the magazine’s 2023 person of the year: Taylor Swift.
In an interview with the magazine published Thursday, Trump reiterated that he would pardon most of his supporters convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot, in “maybe the first nine minutes” of his administration.
Trump said he would not ask members of his administration to sign a loyalty pledge, but he said he will fire anyone who doesn’t follow his policies.
President-elect Donald Trump has nominated a slate of unorthodox loyalists to serve in his next administration, disregarding the kinds of legal baggage and inexperience he has carried through his own political career.
On the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Trump said he wants to end the conflict and that Netanyahu knows it. When Trump was asked whether he trusted Netanyahu, he told Time: “I don’t trust anybody.”
The incoming president also discussed his plans for mass deportations and asserted that he will have the authority to use the military to assist with the effort, even though, as the magazine notes, the Posse Comitatus Act forbids the deployment of the military against civilians.
President-elect Donald Trump said his plan to execute mass deportations of immigrants in the U.S. illegally will involve a national emergency declaration and the military.
“It doesn’t stop the military if it’s an invasion of our country,” he said. “I’ll only do what the law allows, but I will go up to the maximum level of what the law allows.”
Trump crafted his image as a wealthy real estate developer, which he played up as the star of the TV reality show “The Apprentice” and during his presidential campaign. Much of the business community has applauded his promises to reduce corporate taxes and cut regulations. But there are also concerns about his stated plans to impose broad tariffs and possibly target companies that he sees as not aligning with his own political interests.
The U.S. stock market has historically tended to rise regardless of which party wins the White House, with Democrats scoring bigger average gains since 1945. But Republican control could mean big shifts in the winning and losing industries underneath the surface, and investors are adding to bets built earlier on what the higher tariffs, lower tax rates and lighter regulation that Trump favors will mean.
Price and Bauder write for the Associated Press. AP writers Colleen Long, Josh Boak and Jill Colvin and Los Angeles Times staff contributed to this report.
President-elect Donald Trump vowed to enact hefty new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China as soon as he takes office as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration and drugs.
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