On Monday morning, Time Magazine released its top ten “shortlist” ahead of the Tuesday reveal for its annual “Person of the Year” issue and many of the nominees came as no surprise. Whether it was the March for Our Lives students or Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, it was a liberal list made in heaven.
NBC’s Today announced the list in the 8:00 a.m. half-hour after six teases and co-host Hoda Kotb led-in with the top three results from Time’s online poll by readers with those spots going to K-pop band TBS, Earth, and the Thai cave divers. Of course, none of those were on the actual list.
Ahead of the actual reveal on Tuesday’s Today, Kotb led off the shortlist in no particular oder with President Donald Trump, which is almost a guarantee as each President has won the award since its inception in 1927 with the exceptions of Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, and Gerald Ford.
Kotb continued with Central American families trying to cross the Mexico-U.S. border illegally and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin was the 2007 Person of the Year and made the 2014, 2015, and 2016 shortlists. Co-host Savannah Guthrie revealed the next three:
Okay. Also, on the shortlist, Robert Mueller, the special counsel who is leading the Russia investigation. Ryan Coogler, director of Black Panther. Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who accused then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault when they were teenagers.
Co-host Craig Melvin finished out the list:
And rounding out the list, Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi contributor to The Washington Post, who was killed in the Kingdom’s consult in Istanbul, Turkey. March for Our Lives activists, the movement against gun violence that grew out of a shooting at a Parkland, Florida high school. South Korea’s president, Moon Jae-in, also making the list and then, finally, last but certainly not least, the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle.
Ah, so the list includes far-left Parkland students, illegal immigrants, Kavanaugh’s accuser, Mueller, Putin, and a woke filmmaker. On Parkland, they could have named the entire community, but that would have meant adding right-leaning figures like Kyle Kashuv, Ryan Petty, and the Pollack family.
As for Dr. Ford, it’s worth noting that the Justice himself was not mentioned as were the far-less-credible accusers Deborah Ramirez and Julie Swetnick. Somehow, one was historic but the others weren’t. Huh. Wonder why that was. And one also has to wonder why liberal darlings Michael Avenatti, Stormy Daniels, or even the news media itself did not make the list. Sad!
Before the list was revealed, Guthrie then noted that “Time’s decision is who has had the biggest impact on the world, for better or for worse.”
While people like Gandhi, Rudy Giuliani, the #MeToo movement, U.S. Presidents, U.S. troops, and You (yes — you) would be seen as positive choices, past examples of that latter point have included Adolf Hitler, Ayatollah Khomeinini, Nikita Khrushchev, Joseph Stalin, and Deng Xiaoping.
To see the relevant transcript from NBC’s Today on December 10, click “expand.”
NBC’s Today
December 10, 2018
8:11 a.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Today Exclusive; Time Person of the Year; Finalists Revealed Live on Today]
CRAIG MELVIN: This morning on Today’s Talker, Time’s Person of the Year. Speculation building over who it might be or the group it might be.
HODA KOTB: Check out the results from the online readers poll. The top three, the popular K-Pop band TBS.
MELVIN: What? Really?
KOTB: Yeah. That’s one. And planet Earth.
MELVIN: That’s a good one.
KOTB: And then, the Thai cave divers.
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Those are good guesses. But this morning, we’ve got your exclusive first look at the actual short list from Time magazine. As a reminder, Time’s decision is who has had the biggest impact on the world for better or for worse, so in no particular order — do we have a drum roll or anything — you guys ready? These are the ten choices for Time’s person of the year.
KOTB: Here we go. President Donald Trump. He was Time’s person of the year in 2016. Separated families. That’s the battle over immigration that really heated up this last year. Last year's person of the year, Russian President Vladimir Putin, on the list once again.
GUTHRIE: Okay. Also, on the shortlist, Robert Mueller, the special counsel who is leading the Russia investigation. Ryan Coogler, director of Black Panther. Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who accused then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault when they were teenagers.
MELVIN: And rounding out the list, Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi contributor to The Washington Post, who was killed in the Kingdom’s consult in Istanbul, Turkey. March for Our Lives activists, the movement against gun violence that grew out of a shooting at a Parkland, Florida high school. South Korea’s President, Moon Jae-in, also making the list and then, finally, last but certainly not least, the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle.
GUTHRIE: If Today show producers were voting, it would definitely be Meghan Markle.
KOTB: Hands down.
DYLAN DREYER: I kind of agree. I think she — the whole wedding was this moment to step away and just —
KOTB: Feel good.
DREYER: — get wrapped up in this love story for a couple of days.
DREYER: She would be the feel-good choice of the year, I think.
GUTHRIE: Yeah.
DREYER: Yes. Yeah, which is where my mind was at.
GUTHRIE: Would you like to actually have to make this decision?
MELVIN: No.
KOTB: No.
GUTHRIE: Can you imagine?
MELVIN: It’s a — it’s a — I — I would nominate Al Roker. That would be my nomination. Absolutely.
AL ROKER: Very odd.
MELVIN: Absolutely — no. National treasure.
ROKER: Very odd.
KOTB: Alright, by the way, we should point out Putin was 2007, not last year.
MELVIN: Oh, that’s right.
GUTHRIE: Okay, He’s been on the list. Yeah, I know, well, it's interesting. They have to — they look at whether someone was consequential.
KOTB: Yes, yes.
GUTHRIE: So, I think there's good contenders there.
ROKER: When do we find out?
MELVIN: Tomorrow.
GUTHRIE: Well, I'm glad you asked. We will reveal it first, right here. Another Today show exclusive, tomorrow morning.
KOTB: Exciting. Alright.
