US Vice-President-elect JD Vance weighed in on social media platform X after retired General Michael Hayden, a former CIA director and NSA, shared a controversial post about Time magazine’s 2024 Person of the Year selection, Donald Trump.
Hayden had posted an image comparing Time magazine’s 1938 Person of the Year, Adolf Hitler, with its 2024 choice, Donald Trump, captioned, “Enough said.”
In response, Vance wrote, “Barack Obama was also Time’s person of the year. So was Bill Clinton. One of President Trump’s great contributions to American society is revealing that many of our respected career bureaucrats are, in fact, fools.”
General Hayden has been a vocal critic of Trump over the years. His 2018 book, ‘The Assault on Intelligence: American National Security in the Age of Lies’, scrutinised Trump’s governance and its impact on the intelligence community. Hayden’s critiques have ranged from Trump’s campaign rhetoric to his handling of national security, which Hayden characterised as detrimental to the US.
In 2020, Hayden endorsed Joe Biden for the presidency, describing a second term for Trump as “very bad for America” in an interview with CNN. His warnings included concerns about Trump’s approach to intelligence and its potential to alienate allies. Hayden also opposed Trump’s policies during the 2016 election, describing some proposals as “destructive” in a BBC interview.
Time magazine’s Person of the Year selections have historically stirred controversy. While the title recognises individuals who shape global events, its choices, such as Adolf Hitler in 1938, have been met with backlash.
Trump, who also received the title in 2016, was recognised in 2024 for his “historic political realignment,” according to Time’s editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs.
Interestingly, Vance’s recent defence of Trump contrasts with his earlier views. According to Reuters, Vance had previously called Trump “reprehensible” and compared him to Hitler during the 2016 election.
However, his position shifted significantly in recent years, culminating in his role as Trump’s Vice-President-elect.
