Trump is named Time's Person of the Year and rings the New York Stock Exchange's opening bell

NEW YORK (AP) — 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.

The honors for the businessman-turned-politician are a measure of Trump's remarkable comeback from an ostracized former president who refused to accept his election loss four years ago to a president-elect who won the White House decisively in November.

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.”

“Time Magazine, getting this honor for the second time, I think I like it better this time actually,” he said.

Trump, accompanied by his wife, Melania Trump, daughters Ivanka and Tiffany and Vice President-elect JD Vance, grinned as people chanted “USA” before he opened the trading day. He then raised his fist.

In his remarks, he talked up some of the people he has named to his incoming administration, including Treasury pick Scott Bessent, and some of his announced policies, including a promise this week that the federal government will issue expedited permits, including environmental approvals, for projects and construction worth more than $1 billion.

“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 Time’s 2024 Person of the Year. Jacobs said Trump was someone who “for better or for worse, had the most influence on the news in 2024.”

“This is someone who made an historic comeback, who reshaped the American presidency and who’s reordering American politics," Jacobs said. "It’s hard to argue with the fact that the person who’s moving into the Oval Office is the most influential person in news."

In an interview with the magazine published Thursday, Trump spoke about his final campaign blitz and election win.

“I called it ‘72 Days of Fury,’” Trump said. “We hit the nerve of the country. The country was angry.”

Trump was on Wall Street to mark the ceremonial start of the day’s trading. The Time magazine 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. He was listed as a finalist for this year’s award alongside notables including Vice President Kamala Harris, X owner Elon Musk, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Kate, the Princess of Wales.

Jacobs, in making the announcement Thursday, said that “there’s always a hot debate” at the magazine over the honor, “although I have to admit that this year was an easier decision than years past.”

The NYSE regularly invites celebrities and business leaders to participate in the 9:30 a.m. ceremonial opening trading. Thursday will be Trump's first time doing the honors, which have become a marker of culture and politics.

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 a fake picture of himself on the cover of the magazine hanging in several of his golf country clubs.

Earlier this year, Trump sat for interviews with the magazine for a story that ran in April. Time’s billionaire owner, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, criticized Harris for not granting the magazine an interview during her campaign with Trump.

In his latest interview published Thursday, Trump reiterated that he’s going to pardon most of those convicted in riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. “It’s going to start in the first hour,” he said of the pardons. “Maybe the first nine minutes.”

Trump said he would not ask members of his administration to sign a loyalty pledge. “I think I will be able to, for the most part, determine who’s loyal,” he said. But he said he will fire anyone who doesn’t follow his policies.

On the 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 argued 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.

“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. He won the election in part by channeling Americans' anxieties about the economy’s ability to provide for the middle class.

In an interview on CNBC after he rang the bell, Trump likened the broad cuts to the federal workforce that he and his advisers have telegraphed to the TV firings he made of contestants.

“We're going to be doing the same thing, I can tell you. Unfortunately, there's too many of them," Trump said.

Afterward, he walked the floor of the exchange and shook hands with traders.

Associated Press writers Colleen Long and Josh Boak in Washington and Jill Colvin and David Bauder in New York contributed to this report.

President-elect Donald Trump, with Lynn Martin, President NYSE, right, is greeted by trader Peter Giacchi, as he walks the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President-elect Donald Trump is greeted by traders, as he walks the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President-elect Donald Trump pauses for a photograph after ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President-elect Donald Trump is handed a coat by trader Peter Giacchi, as he walks the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President-elect Donald Trump stands for a selfie after ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President-elect Donald Trump signs a guest book after ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

FILE - New York Stock Exchange President Stacey Cunningham, right, and first lady Melania Trump, with the help of students from the United Nations International School, ring the opening bell of the NYSE in New York, Sept. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

President-elect Donald Trump walks the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President-elect Donald Trump walks the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President-elect Donald Trump arrives to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President-elect Donald Trump gestures after ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President-elect Donald Trump gestures after ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

People stand outside the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

An NYPD officer walks outside of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a Time magazine Person of the Year event at the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

A cover of Time magazine's person of the year, shows President-elect Donald Trump, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

A cover of Time magazine's person of the year, shows President-elect Donald Trump, before a ceremony at the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

A cover of Time magazine's person of the year, shows President-elect Donald Trump, before he arrives to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

A banner for Alaska Air Group hangs on the front of the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

President-elect Donald Trump takes the stage before speaking at the FOX Nation Patriot Awards, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in Greenvale, N.Y. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

FILE - President-elect Donald Trump attends a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Dec. 7, 2024. (Sarah Meyssonnier/Pool via AP, File)

BEIRUT (AP) — Isatta Bah wakes up from a nap in a crowded shelter on the outskirts of Beirut, clutching her baby, Blessing.

The 24-year-old from Sierra Leone spends her days waiting for an exit visa that could put her and her 1-year-old on a plane back to the West African nation. She wants to reunite with her family after what she called exploitative work conditions and sexual violence, along with the recent horrors of war in Lebanon.

“My experience in Lebanon is not good for me. I am really tired,” Bah said. “I want to go home.”

Hundreds of migrant workers in Lebanon are waiting to be repatriated after the ceasefire ending the 14-month war between the Lebanon-based Hezbollah and Israel went into effect last month.

Lebanon has long drawn migrant workers dreaming of building better lives for their families. Enticed by promises of stable jobs and decent pay, they enter Lebanon via recruitment agencies under a sponsorship-based labor system known as Kafala — only to find themselves often trapped with confiscated passports, long hours, withheld wages and, for many, abuse.

The Kafala system has long been criticized by human rights groups, but the government rarely if ever addresses the criticism. But Bah knew little of that when she came to Lebanon in 2022. She was promised a job at a supermarket with a $200 monthly salary, she said. Instead, she was sent to care for an older woman once she arrived.

Within a month of her arrival, her 3-year-old son back home fell ill and died. She said she was not given the time to grieve and fled her employer’s house. Since her employer held her passport and other documents, Bah said she had to leave them behind.

Her experience in Lebanon then took a darker turn. One day she and five housemates were picked up by a taxi driver who said he would take them home. Instead, she said, the driver dropped them at the wrong spot. As they tried and failed to find another cab, a group of men chased them and raped them.

“Men were coming and they were cheering for us,” said Bah, who gave her consent to be named. “They beat us and they had sex with us.” She said it took her about two weeks to recover and resume work at two hotels. Without documents, migrants can hesitate to go to police.

Two months later, she and another friend found out they were pregnant.

Bah recounted the experience as she watched her baby’s wobbly footsteps.

With war, their lives became more precarious. When Israel intensified its bombardment of Beirut’s southern suburbs in September, Bah fled the area with her baby and friends on foot.

Not every migrant worker escaped the attacks. An estimated 37 have been killed and 150 wounded since October 2023, said Joelle Mhanna with the U.N.'s International Organization for Migration.

There were few places to turn. Most government-run shelters refused to take in displaced people who were not Lebanese, said activist Dea Hage-Shaheen. After supporting migrant women during previous crises in Lebanon, she stepped in again along with other volunteers.

To house over 200 women from Sierra Leone including Bah, they repurposed an abandoned space owned by her family — a former car dealership that was later a venue for pop-up events and named The Shelter.

The kitchen was alive with activity as women cooked, some dancing to Nigerian music. In another area, rows of thin mattresses lay in the dim light from broken windows. Despite the modest conditions, the women set up a Christmas tree crafted from sticks.

While some migrants have been accepted at government-run shelters, there were regular reports of others being evicted or denied access, the IOM said.

Some migrants hesitate to approach the government shelters for fear of detention or deportation, Mhanna said. “As a result, most are being hosted by embassies, NGOs and community-based organizations including churches, monasteries and other religious groups.”

The Lebanese government has not directly addressed the issue of migrant workers being rejected from government-run shelters, despite repeated calls for action from rights organizations and the United Nations.

Moving on from the shelters they found posed another challenge for migrants like Bah, as many had passports and other documents confiscated by former employers.

“We had to secure exit permits, immigration clearances and even child travel documents for the five children in this group,” said Shaheen, who coordinated the repatriation last month of 120 women and their children with the support of IOM, who chartered the flight.

IOM said it has received requests from around 10,000 migrants seeking to be repatriated, a small fraction of the over 175,000 in Lebanon.

As of Nov. 26, the IOM had supported over 400 migrants to return home. That included two charter flights for people from Bangladesh and Sierra Leone. It wasn't clear how many more flights are planned. or to where.

Laughter and cheer filled Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport on Nov. 19. The women from Sierra Leone arrived in groups, dragging suitcases and sharing hugs. Some danced in celebration for their long-awaited flight.

“It wasn’t easy in Lebanon,” said Amanata Thullah after four years. “I am happy to be going back to my country."

Mariam Sesay, who described herself as the head of Sierra Leone's community in Lebanon, said there had been “a lot of distress and trauma” in recent months.

Bah was not among those leaving, but she said she and others at the shelter were happy to see friends return home.

She now awaits her turn, along with over 50 others.

At first she was told she needed official documents for her baby and the father’s consent to travel. But a lawyer waived the requirement due to her circumstances, Shaheen said.

“I wish to go back home to continue my education,” Bah said. “Since I was little, I always wanted to be a computer science student, because I’m good at that.”

She looked down at Blessing. “Now I have something to take care of,” she said. “When I watch her walk or laugh, that gives me joy.”

This story has been corrected to show that the spelling of the name of the activist is Dea Hage-Shaheen, not Hajj Chahine.

Follow AP coverage of migration at https://apnews.com/hub/migration

Sierra Leonean migrant workers stranded in Lebanon work on their colleague's hair as they wait to be repatriated back home, as they are sheltered at a former car dealership that was turned into a shelter in Hazmieh, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A Sierra Leonean migrant worker stranded in Lebanon, poses for a photograph as she waits to be repatriated back home, while sheltered at a former car dealership in Hazmieh, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Sierra Leonean migrant workers stranded in Lebanon, dance as they wait to be repatriated back home, as they are sheltered at a former car dealership in Hazmieh, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A Sierra Leonean migrant worker stranded in Lebanon, waits to be repatriated back home, as she is sheltered at a former car dealership in Hazmieh, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A stack of mattresses used by female Sierra Leonean migrant workers stranded in Lebanon, are stacked up at a former car dealership that was turned into a shelter in Hazmieh, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A Sierra Leonean migrant worker stranded in Lebanon, poses for a photograph as she waits to be repatriated back home, at a former car dealership that was turned into a shelter in Hazmieh, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A baby doll is seen lying on a mattress belonging to a female Sierra Leonean migrant worker stranded in Lebanon, as she waits to be repatriated back home, while sheltered at a former car dealership in Hazmieh, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Mohammad, 3, son of a Sierra Leonean migrant worker stranded in Lebanon, eats bread as he waits to be repatriated back home with his mother, as they are sheltered at a former car dealership in Hazmieh, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Female Sierra Leonean migrant workers stranded in Lebanon, wait to be repatriated back home, as they are sheltered at a former car dealership that was turned into a shelter in Hazmieh, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Sierra Leonean migrant worker Isatta Bah, 24, reacts as she holds her daughter, Blessing, one year old, during an interview with The Associated Press while waiting to be repatriated back home, as they are sheltered at a former car dealership that was turned into a shelter in Hazmieh, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Sierra Leonean migrant workers stranded in Lebanon, work on their colleague's hair, as they wait to be repatriated back home, as they are sheltered at a former car dealership that was turned into a shelter in Hazmieh, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A Sierra Leonean migrant worker stranded in Lebanon with her baby, waits to be repatriated back home, as they are sheltered at a former car dealership that was turned into a shelter in Hazmieh, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Female Sierra Leonean migrant workers stranded in Lebanon, wait to be repatriated back home, as they are sheltered at a former car dealership shop that was turned into a shelter in Hazmieh, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Female Sierra Leonean migrant workers stranded in Lebanon, wait to be repatriated back home, as they are sheltered at a former car dealership shop that was turned into a shelter in Hazmieh, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Female Sierra Leonean migrant workers stranded in Lebanon, wait to be repatriated back home, as they are sheltered at a former car dealership shop that was turned into a shelter in Hazmieh, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Sierra Leonean migrant worker Isatta Bah, 24, smiles as she holds her daughter, Blessing, one year old, during an interview with The Associated Press while waiting to be repatriated back home, as they are sheltered at a former car dealership in Hazmieh, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)