President-elect Donald Trump rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange shortly after being named TIME magazine’s “Person of the Year” for 2024. As Trump rang the bell, traders broke into a patriotic chant of “USA.” Trump noted his plans to cut taxes significantly, particularly for companies manufacturing in the U.S., aiming to incentivize domestic production.
Trump said, “We’re going to give tremendous incentive like no other country has,” adding, “We’re cutting your taxes. We’re going to cut them very substantially.”
Trump stated, “We are incentivizing everybody to come back to the United States. We want you back here. Car manufacturers, everybody. And we have one product that nobody has really to the extent that we do. It’s called oil and gas. There is no country in the world that has more, we’re number one.”
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son recently revealed a $100 billion investment in the U.S. over the next four years. The investment, which he announced alongside Trump, is expected to create 100,000 jobs focused on artificial intelligence and infrastructure.
SoftBank’s $100 billion pledge was made at an event at Mar-a-Lago, aligning with Trump’s goals to bolster the U.S. economy and combat inflation. While past promises from Trump about job creation have been met with skepticism, this investment is seen as a potential boost for the economy. However, the funding sources for this investment remain unclear, given SoftBank’s recent financial struggles.
In a separate reaction, former CNN host Don Lemon criticized TIME magazine for naming Trump “Person of the Year.” Lemon said, “If they wanted to make someone Person of the Year, I don’t know, they could’ve done it with any person. They could have done it to someone who actually stood for democracy, who stands for democracy in the country.”
Lemon asked, “Time magazine, what are you doing? Let me ask you, Time magazine, what would you say to those women who I guess still read Time magazine?”
Lemon stated, “Is this a joke? Did we get something wrong? Did someone scam us? Are we sure about this, producers? There is a convicted felon on the cover of Time magazine as the Person of the Year. Maybe we’re being scammed. Did someone put out a fake tweet or something about this? I don’t know.”
TIME magazine wrote, “Since he began running for President in 2015, perhaps no single individual has played a larger role in changing the course of politics and history than Trump.”
TIME magazine added, “Trump is once again at the center of the world, and in as strong a position as he has ever been.”
