Cover of 'Time' magazine announcing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as People of the Year.TIME
Time
magazine
has chosen president-elect Joe Biden and vice-president-elect Kamala Harris as characters of 2020. The editors of the publication defended the election of the political duo because of how their historic triumph occurred last November: Biden is the candidate who she has obtained the most votes in a race for the presidency of the United States (81.2 million) and Harris is the first woman to reach the vice presidency.
She is also the first
number two
to be named by the magazine as Character of the Year.
"For changing American history, for showing that the force of empathy is greater than the fury of division, for sharing a vision of healing a grieving world, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are
Time's
2020 Person of the Year,
" wrote the magazine's editor, Edward Felsenthal.
The short list of those who disputed the honor of being on the cover of the magazine was made up of Republican President Donald Trump, the movement for racial justice unleashed after the death of African American George Floyd at the hands of the police and health workers public and the American doctor Anthony Fauci.
The latter and some activists against racial injustices were named "guardians of the year", but eventually
Time
chose the next leaders of the world power for its December cover.
"The magazine has always had a special relationship with presidents," the editors explained.
With the appointment of Biden and Harris and not a single individual, the magazine is making what was once the exception, the norm.
Of the last 10 characters, half have been collective.
Barack Obama was the character of the year 2008 and 2012 and Trump in 2016. In the interview of appreciation, President-elect Biden spoke of the task he will have with Harris to “heal” democracy after Trump's passage through the White House.
The editors explained in a special broadcast on NBC that they not only took into account the role of the duo this year, but also the work they will have in the future.
Many expected the magazine to choose health workers.
In 2014, the US magazine named “Ebola fighters” person of the year.
When he honored them, the outbreak concentrated in Africa had caused just over 6,000 deaths.
This Wednesday alone, the coronavirus destroyed 12,346 lives.
The total number exceeds a million and a half and the cases amount to more than 70 million.
At the beginning of the crisis, the citizens of the world came out to their balconies to applaud the front line and although those images are no longer seen, health personnel have not stopped risking their lives to save that of the infected.