Riyadh (Web Desk): The controversial Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, is currently in first place in Time magazine’s annual "Person of the Year" poll.
International media reported, Bin Salman has made headlines around the world for his quick ascendency to the top of Saudi Arabia's power structure, for his ambitious reform plan and a surprise corruption purge of top officials and fellow princes.
The poll, started last week and, is "important," the magazine notes, but adds that "TIME’s editors ultimately have jurisdiction over who is deemed Person of the Year."
Time has been giving the honor since 1927, which began as "Man of the Year," recognizes the individual who had the most influence over the news in the last 12 months.
U.S. President Donald Trump, the 2016 "Person of the Year," began a feud with Time magazine last week over the honor and is currently ranked below both Taylor Swift and Vladimir Putin in the poll.
Trump says he’s not playing ball with Time magazine as it decides its Person of the Year. The magazine counters that Trump has it all wrong.
In a tweet Friday as he spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Florida, Trump sounded dismissive of the honor he received last year and could well receive again.
He tweeted: “Time Magazine called to say that I was PROBABLY going to be named ‘Man (Person) of the Year,’ like last year, but I would have to agree to an interview and a major photo shoot. I said probably is no good and took a pass. Thanks anyway!”
Time later posted a tweet of its own disputing Trump’s account: “The President is incorrect about how we choose Person of the Year. TIME does not comment on our choice until publication, which is December 6.”
Trump frequently brags about appearing on the cover of the iconic magazine. He has falsely claimed to hold the record for cover appearances.
Time’s "Person of the Year" has gone to a wide variety of people — even Adolf Hitler, in 1938, and Joseph Stalin, in 1939 and 1942.
