BREAKING: Donald Trump named Time magazine's 'Person of the Year' after historic re-election

Trump has been unveiled as the magazine's Person of the Year following his historic re-election, which saw him sweep the popular vote and restore both the House and the Senate to Republican control

Donald Trump has been named as Time magazine’s 'Person of the Year'.

It's the second time the property tycoon has been given the honour, which the US publication annually grants to a person, group, idea, or object that "for better or for worse ... has done the most to influence the events of the year".

Rumours that Trump would be named Person of the Year began circulating earlier this week after several sources close to the selection process leaked the announcement to the media. Those reports were confirmed this morning when Time unveiled its latest cover, which showed the newly re-elected president.

It comes after Trump's historic re-election to the White House in November, in which he comfortably defeated Kamala Harris despite months of polling indicating the race would be incredibly close. He swept several key battleground states, seeing the Republican Party take control of both the House and the Senate. He also won the popular vote by a considerable margin, unlike in 2016 in which Hillary Clinton won it.

It was a stunning comeback after he lost the 2020 race to Joe Biden. Trump - who survived an assassination attempt in July - will become the first former president to return to the White House in more than 130 years and, at 78, will be the oldest man ever elected to America's highest office.

In celebration of the recognition, Trump is reportedly set to ring the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday morning. He was previously named Time's Person of the Year in 2016 following that year's election win.

Trump has had a contentious relationship with Time in the past. In 2013 after failing to make the magazine’s annual list of influential people, he called it “a joke and stunt of a magazine that will, like Newsweek, soon be dead. Bad list!”

In 2015, Trump complained that he was not chosen for the cover which instead went to then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel. However his feelings improved following his 2016 win, which he called a “great honour.”

“It means a lot, especially me growing up reading Time magazine. And, you know, it’s a very important magazine,” Trump said at the time.

Pop superstar Taylor Swift was named Time's Person of the Year in 2023. Previous winners include Adolf Hitler, Queen Elizabeth II and Vladimir Putin.

A shortlist for Time Person of the Year was announced Monday which included Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris, Kate Middleton, Elon Musk and Benjamin Netanyahu.

Sir Elton John had already been announced as Time's Icon of the Year, while NBA star Caitlin Clark was Athlete of the Year and Lisa Su of Advanced Micro Devices was named CEO of the Year.