United States President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have been chosen as Time magazine’s 2020 “Person of the Year”.
The Democratic pair were chosen ahead of three other finalists – frontline health care workers and Anthony Fauci, the racial justice movement, and President Donald Trump who Biden defeated in November’s election.
Time’s magazine cover has a picture of Biden, 78, and Harris, 56, with the subtitle “Changing America’s story.” Biden beat Trump by 306 electoral college votes to Trump’s 232 to end hiss presidency after one term.
Biden reacted to the news on Twitter.
“I’m honored to be Person of the Year with @KamalaHarris and grateful to be on this list with so many extraordinary folks,” he wrote. “From front line workers to racial justice organizers, Americans met this year with strength, fortitude, and an unflinching belief in a brighter tomorrow.”
I’m honored to be Person of the Year with @KamalaHarris and grateful to be on this list with so many extraordinary folks. From front line workers to racial justice organizers, Americans met this year with strength, fortitude, and an unflinching belief in a brighter tomorrow. https://t.co/zrCCb4O6xp
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) December 11, 2020
Harris is the country’s first female, first Black and first South Asian vice president-elect. Biden, who at 78 will be the oldest person ever to assume the presidency, is also the oldest ever to be named Person of the Year by the magazine. He follows Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate activist who last year became the youngest ever to receive the honor — at age 16.
Biden and Harris made the cut after topping a shortlist that included the movement for racial justice, Dr. Anthony Fauci and front-line workers in the fight against COVID-19.