Donald Trump Blast German Leader Angela Merkel After She Is Named “Time Person Of The Year” [PICS]
![2015 TIME PERSON OF THE YEAR: ANGELA MERKELnChancellor of the Free World n nPlus: TIME names the Person of the Year shortlist: No. 2- Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of ISIS; No. 3. - Donald Trump; No. 4 ¿ The Black Lives Matter Activists; No. 5 ¿ Iran President Hassan Rouhani; No. 6 ¿ Uber CEO Travis Kalanick; No. 7 ¿ Caitlyn Jenner.n n(New York, December 9, 2015) ¿ Today, TIME names German Chancellor Angela Merkel TIME Person of the Year.n nTIME Editor Nancy Gibbs writes: "Not once or twice but three times there has been reason to wonder this year whether Europe could continue to exist, not culturally or geographically but as a historic experiment in ambitious statecraft. Merkel had already emerged as the indispensable player in managing Europe¿s serial debt crises; she also led the West¿s response to Vladimir Putin¿s creeping theft of Ukraine. But now the prospect of Greek bankruptcy threatened the very existence of the euro zone. The migrant and refugee crisis challenged the principle of open borders. And finally, the carnage in Paris revived the reflex to slam doors, build walls and trust no one. Each time Merkel stepped in. Germany would bail Greece out, on her strict terms. It would welcome refugees as casualties of radical Islamist savagery, not carriers of it. And it would deploy troops abroad in the fight against ISIS¿. You can agree with her or not, but she is not taking the easy road. Leaders are tested only when people don¿t want to follow. For asking more of her country than most politicians would dare, for standing firm against tyranny as well as expedience and for providing steadfast moral leadership in a world where it is in short supply, Angela Merkel is TIME¿s Person of the Year." n nSee the cover: http://bit.ly/1RE4Cax n nwww.time.com/poy n#TIMEPOYnnFrom the cover story by TIME Editor-at-Large Karl Vick, with Simon Shuster: ¿The year 2015 marked the start of Merkel¿s 10th year as Chancellor of a united Germany and the de facto leader of the European Union, the most prosperous joint venture on the planet. By year¿s end, she had steered the enterprise through not one but two existential crises, either of which could have meant the end of the union that has kept peace on the continent for seven decades. The first was thrust upon her¿the slow-rolling crisis over the euro, the currency shared by 19 nations, all of which were endangered by the default of a single member, Greece. Its resolution came at the signature plodding pace that so tries the patience of Germans that they have made it a verb: Merkeling. The second was a thunderclap. In late summer, Merkel¿s government threw open Germany¿s doors to a pressing throng of refugees and migrants; a total of 1 million asylum seekers are expected in the country by the end of December. It was an audacious act that, in a single motion, threatened both to redeem Europe and endanger it, testing the resilience of an alliance formed to avoid repeating the kind of violence tearing asunder the Middle East by working together.¿nnVick concludes: ¿Merkel¿s legacy¿her bold, fraught, immensely empathetic act of leadership¿challenges more than the comfort of European life. It also challenges the comfort of assumptions about any group, including, if it works out, Germans. And it¿s a legacy that flows not only from her childhood experience as a girl trapped behind a wall. It also follows from what she learned as an adult, applying her disciplined, methodical approach to what she calls 'the things that matter to us most.'"nhttp://ti.me/1ID84jGn nPlus:n-Read Nancy Gibbs¿ essay on why TIME chose Merkel: http://ti.me/1Na1j7K.n-See a narrative video about Merkel: http://ti.me/1jNSwOg n-Read more about the cover, which features an oil painting by Belfast-based artist Colin Davidson: http://ti.me/1PYHios n n----------nNO. 2 ¿ ABU BAKR AL-BAGHDADI n nTIME Correspondent Massimo Calabresi writes, ¿The violent and the suicidal, the lawless and the fanatical, gathering in cyberspace from around the world to pledge allegiance to his self-proclaimed caliphate. Some acted in his name in the real world, killing hundreds of innocents at hotels, mosques and concert halls from Paris to the Sinai, Beirut to San Bernardino. A handful of adherents were close to him¿. Others were thousands of miles away yet under his command and control¿He is Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the brooding muezzin of death who leads ISIS¿. In 2015, al-Baghdadi, 44, transformed the breakaway al-Qaeda group from a battlefield force operating in the chaos of Syria and Iraq into a trans-national terrorist franchise killing civilians in more than a dozen countries around the world. Orchestrating deadly attacks against far-flung targets¿including sports stadiums, beach resorts and museums¿ISIS has killed more than 1,200 civilian victimsoutside of Iraq and Syria this year while luring a steady stream of recruits to the so-called Islamic State.¿ [and] the rest of 2015 was a red tide of ISIS terrorism¿. Whatever he does in the coming months and years, al-Baghdadi has made himself the new face of terrorism and Target No. 1 in the long struggle to defend humane values."n nRead the full story: http://ti.me/21N1f5on n----------nNO. 3 ¿ DONALD TRUMPn nEXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW¿ Washington Bureau Chief Michael Scherer writes, ¿The Republican nomination, by all rights, is within [Donald Trump¿s] grasp, which means the presidency as well, which will bring, he promises, a new national Valhalla, a chance to ¿Make America Great Again.¿ These are glory days for a man who has never tired of self¿glorification¿. Trump¿s dark accomplishment is all the more dramatic because he did it alone, without outside funding or external advice, private pollsters or written speeches. He now claims the support of about 30% of Republican-leaning voters, who make up about 42% of the nation¿s electorate. That number may grow or fade, but his success has already shifted the country, making possible ideas once seen as out of bounds by both the established press and elected officials¿. He knows how to read people, and he believes his nation is ready for a wartime consigliere, a tough guy for a scary time. He makes no apologies, even when he is wrong or people get pummeled. His words are weapons, slicing through the national consciousness¿. But there is a larger question of how Trump¿s tough rhetoric and policies might change the country, and the world, in ways he does not directly control." n nOn TIME¿s Person of the Year Issue, Trump says: "I think there is only one person you can pick¿. It¿s got to be Trump."n nOn his campaign strategy, he tells TIME: ¿You know what? Maybe it¿s good, maybe it¿s not¿. And if it¿s not, that¿s all right. They¿ll get somebody else, and you know what¿s going to happen? Our country is going to go to hell.¿ n nOn whether he would have opposed forced internment of Americans with Japanese ancestry during the Second World War, he tells TIME: ¿I would have had to be there at the time to give you a proper answer. It¿s tough. But you know war is tough. And winning is tough. We don¿t win anymore.¿ n nRead the full story and see an exclusive video interview: http://ti.me/1YX03tXn n----------nNO. 4 ¿ THE BLACK LIVES MATTER ACTIVISTSn nTIME¿s Alex Altman writes: ¿In 2015, Black Lives Matter blossomed from a protest cry into a genuine political force. Groups that embraced the slogan hounded police chiefs from their jobs, won landmark prosecutions and turned college campuses into cauldrons of social ferment¿. The Black Lives Matter network, founded by [Alicia] Garza, [Patrisse ] Cullors and New York-based immigration activist Opal Tometi, now counts nearly 30 official chapters, including an outpost in Canada. There is no legal entity, no 501(c)(3). Getting chartered simply requires a promise to uphold certain principles."n nBrittany Packnett, whose role in the Ferguson protests earned her a spot on President Obama¿s police-reform task force, tells TIME: [The year 2014 was about] "connecting the dots for people and weaving a broader story about systemic injustice so the masses could understand life as a black person in America.¿ n nRead the story: http://ti.me/1M1B8fDn n----------nNO. 5 ¿ HASSAN ROUHANIn nTIME Columnist Joe Klein writes: ¿Rouhani is not exactly a counterrevolutionary; he is a long-standing member of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei¿s inner circle. But he has emerged this year as a historic figure, perhaps the harbinger of a new political calculus within Iran¿a significant step toward normalization, both within the country and in its dealings with the rest of the world.¿ n nRead the story: http://ti.me/1Na20Ogn n----------nNO. 6 ¿ TRAVIS KALANICKn nEXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW ¿ TIME¿s Assistant Managing Editor Rana Foroohar writes, ¿During the five years in which Uber shot from being a two-car operation in San Francisco to delivering 3 million rides a day in 66 countries. He [Kalanick] has been called a visionary, a disrupter, a genius and a jerk. One thing is certain: his company is unlike anything the world has seen before. Uber is likely the fastest-growing startup in history and definitely the most valuable at $62.5 billion.¿ In 2015, it cemented its role as the most prolific and pugnacious among companies creating the 'gig economy,¿ inlcuding Airbnb, TaskRabbit and dozens more."n nKalanick tells TIME: "What drives me is a hard problem that hasn¿t been solved, that has a really interesting and impactful solution. And for me it doesn¿t even matter what the problem is. I just gravitate towards it. Maybe that results in a style that¿s a little different. I¿m learning how to be as passionate as I am but understand that when you get bigger, you have to listen more and be more welcoming. And step on toes more lightly.¿n nRead the full story: http://ti.me/1QtYbpsn n----------nNO. 7 ¿ CAITLYN JENNERn nEXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW ¿ TIME San Francisco Bureau Chief Katy Steinmetz writes, "To the plenty she already has¿a cliff-top home in Malibu, Calif., an Olympic gold medal, membership in reality television¿s first family¿Jenner added a title in 2015: the most famous transgender woman in the world. It¿s one she earned instantly, the moment the former 'world¿s greatest athlete' said that we should call her Caitlyn. Jenner¿s rare, generation-spanning fame made her announcement about her gender identity a global media event.¿n nOn her new role as an advocate, Jenner tells TIME: ¿What a responsibility I have towards this community. I just hope I get it right¿. I am not a spokesperson for the trans community. I am a spokesperson for my story and that¿s all I can tell. And hopefully by telling my story, I can make people think.¿n nOn what it means to be a woman, Jenner tells TIME: ¿Over the last couple of months, I got to the point where I¿m very comfortable with myself and where I¿m at, but what does all this mean? It¿s more than makeup and clothes and all that other stuff. And what is that? I¿m working on that. There¿s still a lot to learn about being a woman.¿n nRead the full story and see an exclusive video interview: http://ti.me/1QtYdOgn n----------nTIME teamed up with Bitmoji to bring readers the opportunity to create their own #BitmojioftheYear: Download the app and check out what your Bitmoji would look like as Person of the Year: http://bit.ly/1OOqsaxn nHere¿s Why It¿s Been 29 Years Since A Woman Was Person of the Year: http://ti.me/1M1ZyFKn nSee every Person of the Year cover in TIME's history: http://ti.me/1m9m7DBn nThe 13 Most Surprising Things You Never Knew About Angela Merkel: http://ti.me/1M1ZlT3n nPast Persons of the Year: Where Are They Now?: http://ti.me/1lNkVoNn n----------nThe December 21, 2015, Person of the Year issue of TIME goes on sale on newsstands Friday, December 11. n nMedia Contacts: TIME PR HOTLINE, (212) 522-4800nKerri Chyka (212) 522-3651; Erin Madigan White (212) 522-8862; Kelsey Rohwer (212) 522-2401n](http://tunezmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/2F36DA9100000578-0-image-a-26_1449686999175.jpg)
2015 TIME PERSON OF THE YEAR: ANGELA MERKEL, Chancellor of the Free World
Presidential hopeful Donald Trump epitomized the sore loser when he slammed German leader Angela Merkel being named Time Person of the Year.
Trump, who came in third after Merkel and ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, responded to losing out on the title by claiming Time magazine had ‘picked the person who is ruining Germany’.
The 61-year-old German Chancellor topped a list of finalists that included Trump, the Black Lives Matter protest movement and Uber’s CEO Travis Kalanick.
ISIS’s Bakr al-Baghdadi, described by Time as a ‘brooding muezzin of death’, was second on the list.
Merkel’s selection was announced this morning on NBC’s Today show.
She was praised by the magazine for her leadership on everything from Syrian refugees to the Greek debt crisis.
‘Leaders are tested only when people don’t want to follow,’ Time editor Nancy Gibbs said in a statement issued Wednesday.
‘For asking more of her country than most politicians would dare, for standing firm against tyranny as well as expedience and for providing steadfast moral leadership in a world where it is in short supply, Angela Merkel is TIME’s Person of the Year.’
In her commentary, Gibbs said the Chancellor was ‘not taking the easy road’.
‘Not once or twice but three times there has been reason to wonder this year whether Europe could continue to exist, not culturally or geographically but as a historic experiment in ambitious statecraft.
— Daily Mail
Post a Comment