Donald Trump used his image as a successful New York businessman to become a celebrity, reality TV star, and eventually president. The Time Magazine Person of the Year will enjoy one of the city’s most visible symbols of success when he rings the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday.
Trump is scheduled to appear on Wall Street to mark the start of trading that day, according to four people familiar with his plans. He will also be announced Thursday as Time magazine’s 2024 Person of the Year, according to a person familiar with the selection. The people who confirmed the stock exchange’s attendance and Time Award win were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
This is a double take for Trump, a born-and-bred New Yorker who has at times treated the stock market as a measure of public approval and has long been prized as a symbol of New York’s business success. It will be a remarkable moment that will be recognized by the public. His appearances on the covers of magazines, especially Time.
Trump was named the magazine’s “Person of the Year” in 2016, when he first won the White House. He was already shortlisted for this year’s award along with Vice President Kamala Harris, X owner Elon Musk, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Duchess Kate.
Time Inc. declined to confirm the selection ahead of Thursday morning’s announcement.
A spokeswoman for the magazine said Wednesday that “Time does not comment on its Person of the Year selections prior to publication.”
The ringing of the bells is a powerful symbol of American capitalism and a good photo opportunity in New York. Despite spending decades as a New York businessman, Trump has never done anything like that.
It is unclear whether Trump, a Republican, will meet with New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat who favors Trump and has not ruled out changing parties. Mr. Adams has been indicted on federal corruption charges and accused of selling influence to foreign nationals. He denied any wrongdoing.
Trump himself was once a New York icon, but he gave up full-time living in Manhattan’s namesake Trump Tower, left the White House and moved to Florida.
CNN first reported on Trump’s visit to the stock exchange on Wednesday, and Politico reported that Trump is expected to be announced as Time’s Person of the Year.
Stock exchanges regularly invite celebrities and business leaders to participate in the opening and closing ceremonies of trading. During President Trump’s first term, his wife, Melania Trump, rang a bell to promote his “Be Best” initiative on children’s welfare.
Last year, Time CEO Jessica Sibley rang the opening bell and announced the magazine’s 2023 Person of the Year: Taylor Swift.
After the Nov. 5 election, the S&P 500 rose 2.5%, its best day in nearly two years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1,508 points, or 3.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 3%. All three indexes surpassed records set in recent weeks.
Historically, the U.S. stock market has tended to rise regardless of which party wins the White House, with Democrats having a larger average increase since 1945. But behind the scenes, Republican control could mean big changes in the winning and losing industries, and investors are pinning their bets even further. The idea of what President Trump’s preferred combination of higher tariffs, lower taxes and less regulation would mean has been building for some time.
Mr. Trump has long been in the business world, based on his status as a wealthy real estate developer and even further as the star of the TV show “The Apprentice,” where his competitors tried to impress him with their business skills. gained fame. He won the election in part because he tapped into Americans’ deep anxieties about an economy that seemed unable to meet the needs of the middle class.
The larger business community has praised his pledge to cut corporate taxes and reduce regulation. But there are also concerns about his stated plans to impose broad tariffs and potentially target companies he deems not aligned with his political interests.
Trump spends most of his time at his home in Florida, but was in New York for several weeks this spring during his hush money trial there. He was convicted, but his lawyers are asking that the case be dismissed in light of his election.
After spending hours each day in a Manhattan courthouse during his criminal trial, Trump has taken his presidential campaign to the streets of Democratic-heavy cities, holding rallies in the Bronx and other gatherings of working-class New Yorkers. We stopped at a place, a brewery. Construction site and fire station.
President Trump returned to the city in September to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Manhattan Tower, and held another rally at Madison Square Garden in the final stages of the presidential campaign, but was met with rudeness and racism from speakers. The insults and inflammatory remarks sparked an immediate backlash. remarks.
Ringing the bell at the stock exchange has been a tradition since the 1800s. The first guest was a 10-year-old boy named Leonard Ross in 1956 who won a quiz show by answering questions about the stock market.
Companies listed on exchanges often ring a bell at 9:30 a.m. to commemorate the first sale at the start of trading. But its appearance has become an important cultural and political marker, and President Trump, who has promised historic levels of economic growth, wants to seize it.
Anti-apartheid advocate and South African President Nelson Mandela also rang the bell, as did Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone, as did his fellow cast members from The Expendables. The same goes for “Avengers” actors Robert Downey Jr. and Jeremy Renner, and Olympians Michael Phelps and Natalie Coughlin.
In 1985, Ronald Reagan became the first sitting US president to ring the bell.
President Reagan said at the time, “With tax reform and budget control, our economy will be free to expand to its fullest potential and the bears will return to permanent hibernation.” “We’re going to let the bulls go.”
The crowd of traders on the floor shouted “Ronnie!” Ronnie! Ronnie! ”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose in 1985 and 1986, but fell in October 1987 during a phenomenon known as “Black Monday.”
