# 2020 Time Person of the Year: Is there any debate? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 7, 2020, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-time-person-of-the-year-is-there-any-debate/855194 "2020-06-07T06:32:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-time-person-of-the-year-is-there-any-debate/855194/41 "2020-06-11T16:16:56Z")
> [@chela](#): > > LAst year it was Greta and boy did the right whingers have a fit!I remember trump cult friends were seething with rage that the weird little girl with a mysterious backstory was chosen. After **I** set them on the path to the truth they continued to sputter about how magazines kill trees and Greta was a hypocrite then **I** had to let them know about recycled paper content and digital editions and that publishing is not the worst environmental offender on earth but then they shouted someone else was more worthy than her. smh. Sounds like you should get it this year. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-time-person-of-the-year-is-there-any-debate/855194/42 "2020-06-11T16:22:51Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > It was “YOU” in 2006, with a very crude mirror on the cover. If they did that this year, it could be interpreted as “All Lives”. Might not go down so well. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-time-person-of-the-year-is-there-any-debate/855194/43 "2020-06-11T17:08:29Z")
Essential workers of all stripes. From doctors and nurses to grocery store employees and McDonalds employees. No contest. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-time-person-of-the-year-is-there-any-debate/855194/44 "2020-06-11T17:56:09Z")
Daniella Frazier. She’s the teen who video-taped the murder of George Floyd. She didn’t expect to be a civil rights hero but she is one. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-time-person-of-the-year-is-there-any-debate/855194/45 "2020-06-12T14:52:18Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Yeah, but I can’t decide whether to throw a shoe at it, or just shoo it away. 🙂 In that case, I’ll pretty much say what I said there, although with a change. If Biden is elected, he gets it, and I expect there to be quite a few E-mails to him and/or Time saying, “Thank (you / Biden) for saving 2020,” similar to what happened in 1968. If Trump is re-elected, it almost certainly goes to some “representative” of the BLM movement; my guess is, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery are named together. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-time-person-of-the-year-is-there-any-debate/855194/46 "2020-06-12T23:03:37Z")
[Dean Winters](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2010/06/21/business/Adco/Adco-popup.jpg)??? ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2020, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-time-person-of-the-year-is-there-any-debate/855194/47 "2020-06-13T21:49:36Z")
It will 100% be something to do with COVID. Elections are every 4 years, they’re not that special. The BLM protestors will be old news by the fall. The virus has had more of an impact on the world than most things we’ve seen in our lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2020, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-time-person-of-the-year-is-there-any-debate/855194/48 "2020-06-14T08:11:04Z")
At this moment, I’m thinking CHOP (formerly CHAZ) might get it. Too soon to tell. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2020, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-time-person-of-the-year-is-there-any-debate/855194/49 "2020-06-14T20:37:05Z")
If it’s not Fauci, it will be Biden. As winner of the election, he’ll be the Great New Hope. ---
**Author:** ![jebert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ec9cab/32.png) [@jebert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jebert)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2020, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-time-person-of-the-year-is-there-any-debate/855194/50 "2020-06-14T22:08:14Z")
I know that they only award Nobel prizes to living persons, but I’m not sure if the same applies to Time Person of the Year. If so, it won’t be Floyd. The producer of the Covid vaccine will not be a single person but rather a team of scientists. Nevertheless, the media like to focus on individual heroes, so the team leader would be a strong candidate if we get a vaccine this year. ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2020, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-time-person-of-the-year-is-there-any-debate/855194/51 "2020-06-14T22:27:57Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > The first case is now considered to have been in 2019. That doesn’t preclude (Edit to clarify: the person who had the first confirmed case) from being newsworthy and having a great effect on the world in 2020. Additional edit: Although I think the virus is a more likely winner than any particular patient at this point ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2020, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-time-person-of-the-year-is-there-any-debate/855194/52 "2020-06-14T22:35:04Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > It will 100% be something to do with COVID. Elections are every 4 years, they’re not that special. The BLM protestors will be old news by the fall. The virus has had more of an impact on the world than most things we’ve seen in our lifetime. If it is COVID-related, then I’m pretty sure it goes to “The Health Workers” in general, the same way it went to “The Ebola Fighters” in 2014. No one person stands out. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2020, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-time-person-of-the-year-is-there-any-debate/855194/53 "2020-06-14T23:15:51Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Sounds like you should get it this year. Please elaborate. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2020, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-time-person-of-the-year-is-there-any-debate/855194/54 "2020-06-14T23:29:19Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > The first case is now considered to have been in 2019. > [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Now? I’m pretty sure it always has been. Hence Covid- **19**. You’re right, of course - I was thinking about the first US case, for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2020, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-time-person-of-the-year-is-there-any-debate/855194/55 "2020-06-14T23:58:09Z")
> [@Smudge777](#): > > The hypothetical person who first contracted SARS-CoV-2. I’d say they have had one of the most pronounced effects on the world in a long, long time. Pangolins. ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-time-person-of-the-year-is-there-any-debate/855194/56 "2020-06-15T01:43:16Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > If it is COVID-related, then I’m pretty sure it goes to “The Health Workers” in general, the same way it went to “The Ebola Fighters” in 2014. No one person stands out. I think the Essential Workers is likely, since it’s a buzzword we didn’t really have before. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-time-person-of-the-year-is-there-any-debate/855194/57 "2020-06-15T04:02:30Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > If it is COVID-related, then I’m pretty sure it goes to “The Health Workers” in general, the same way it went to “The Ebola Fighters” in 2014. No one person stands out. It’s only June. 6 months to make covid not the most important story. Try not to think about that too much. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2020, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-time-person-of-the-year-is-there-any-debate/855194/58 "2020-06-15T04:29:38Z")
…I don’t understand how Dr. Fauci could even be in the running? He hasn’t really done anything? I mean his qualification for entry here seems to be that “he is an American.” I can’t think of any reason why he would be elevated above the hundreds of other healthcare/medical professionals. Definitely George Floyd over Fauci. And if we are talking local heroes in the fight against Covid-19 I would have to nominate the dynamic duo of [Jacinda Ardern](https://time.com/5852567/new-zealand-coronavirus-jacinda-ardern-election/) and [Ashley Bloomfield.](https://thespinoff.co.nz/money/22-05-2020/all-the-weird-and-wonderful-creative-tributes-to-dr-ashley-bloomfield/) We’ve seen how Ardern has responded in a crisis before (the Mosque shootings, Whakaari eruption) but Bloomfield was a typical civil-service bureaucrat forced into the daily limelight who turned into a folk-hero, “sex-symbol”, and a hero of the nation. Government documents released a few weeks ago revealed that New Zealand were on track to rival Italy if we didn’t lock down hard and early. We didn’t have a testing and tracking regime in place. Not enough ICU beds. So big decisions were made, we shut the country down, and now we have essentially eliminated the virus from our shores. Apart from the borders being closed we are back to normal here with no restrictions. Ardern and Bloomfield is a story about how we beat the virus in just a few months. Fauci story hasn’t finished yet, and when it does it isn’t going to be a happy ending. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2020, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-time-person-of-the-year-is-there-any-debate/855194/59 "2020-11-20T20:37:31Z")
Time to bump this, as NBC is showing a “Time Person of the Year” special on 12/10, although the magazine may make the actual announcement a few days earlier. My predictions, in order of confidence: 1. Biden & Harris, if for no other reason than to stick “He’s the President (and she’s the VP) as of January 20” in Trump’s face 2. “The Front Line Workers” - not just health workers, but people like grocery clerks…and where would we be without truck drivers? 3. George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, although BLM seems to have died down ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2020, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-time-person-of-the-year-is-there-any-debate/855194/60 "2020-11-20T20:56:50Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > > [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > > > I hope not. Only because if Fauci gets the award and Trump is tweeting about it, that likely means that he won the election. If Trump loses tweeting about Fauci being person of the year would likely be way down at the bottom of his list of things to tweet about. > > Interesting… so you think trump will stop tweeting if he loses? I suspect that Trump will totally lose it when reality finally hits, and at some point after Jan 20 he will be de-Twittered for rules violations. He’ll probably end up solely on Parler. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-time-person-of-the-year-is-there-any-debate/855194.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-time-person-of-the-year-is-there-any-debate/855194.md?page=4)