Trump, Mueller, Putin among Time Person of the Year candidates
Update: Jamal Khashoggi was among the four journalists and a newspaper named Time's Person of the Year for 2018.
Time magazine on Monday released its shortlist of finalists for its annual Person of the Year. The list includes special counsel Robert Mueller, Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump.
The 10 candidates are:
- Christine Blasey Ford
- "Black Panther" director Ryan Coogler
- Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi
- March For Our Lives Activists
- Meghan Markle
- South Korean President Moon Jae-in
- Special counsel Robert Mueller
- Russian President Vladimir Putin
- Separated Families
- President Donald Trump
Mueller's probe into possible coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin has been heating up. The special counsel said in court filings Friday that Mr. Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, was in touch as far back as 2015 with a Russian who offered "political synergy" with the campaign and proposed a meeting between the candidate and Putin.
Last summer, Mr. Trump stopped his administration's policy of separating children from their parents who crossed the southern U.S. border illegally. A "60 Minutes" investigation broadcast last month found that the separation of families began far earlier and detained many more children than the administration has admitted.
In September, Blasey Ford gave emotional testimony about sexual-assault allegations from the 1980s against Brett Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Kavanaugh denied the allegations, and the Senate narrowly confirmed Mr. Trump's second nominee to the nation's highest court.
Khashoggi was killed two months ago. The journalist, who had lived in the U.S. and wrote for The Washington Post, had been critical of the Saudi regime.
U.S. intelligence officials determined that Saudi security officials were most likely acting on orders from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman when they killed and dismembered Khashoggi inside the Saudi Consulate in Turkey. Mr. Trump, who views the crown prince as an ally, has been reluctant to accept the CIA's findings.
Moon, South Korea's liberal president, has facilitated a series of high-level talks between the U.S. and North Korea, including a summit between Mr. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June. Moon has met Kim three times this year.
In March, the March For Our Lives attracted hundreds of thousands of young people determined to put a stop to gun violence. Protests were held across the nation from New York to Los Angeles, Atlanta to Minneapolis and to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 14 students and three staff members were killed by a gunman.
Coogler's "Black Panther" was the first major superhero movie with a black lead character, a black director, black writers and a predominantly black cast. The film notched countless records, pulverized box-office myths and set new marks for inclusivity.
Markle, the American actress and advocate, married Britain's Prince Harry before a global audience in May. The Duchess of Sussex broke the barrier of who can be royal.
