(Headline USA) President Joe Biden failed to make Time magazine’s list of the 100 “most influential people” this year—the first time he’s been left off it since 2020.
The list, published on Wednesday, included political leaders, artists, entrepreneurs, athletes and activists. Two of the top political figures named were Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Honored to be named one of @TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in the world.
Every day, I wake up with the goal to keep Texas the #1 place to live, work, and raise a family.
I am proud to serve as Governor of the greatest state in the greatest nation. #TIME100 pic.twitter.com/IaUcE7b4Oy
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) April 17, 2024
Although it tilted heavily leftward in its cultural selections, the list also included conservative-minded world leaders Javier Milei of Argentina and Giorgia Meloni of Italy, as well as a key Trump ally, Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York.
Former President Donald Trump himself was absent, however—although he, like Biden, normally appears on it.
Vice President Kamala Harris likewise did not make the cut, but she did contribute an article on Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of deceased Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. (Other article contributors included former Democrat first ladies Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama.)
Time’s features on Abbott and Newsom highlighted both politicians as future leaders of their respective parties.
Time senior correspondent Philip Elliott described Abbott as a “talented room reader” who, “[d]espite some glaring missteps … remains one of his party’s most persuasive pitchmen.”
And Time senior White House correspondent Brian Bennett admitted in his feature of Newsom that the Democrat is seen as potential replacement for Biden in the 2024 election.
“Amid pressure for Democrats to trade in Joe Biden, Newsom has instead adopted the role of full-throated attack dog for the 81-year-old President,” he wrote. “That’s helped put Newsom, 56, on a short list of Democratic contenders for the White House in 2028.”
Notably, two of the other names mentioned in Time’s list were serial rape accuser E. Jean Carroll and corrupt special counsel Jack Smith, both of whom have brought legal cases against Trump recently.
Predictably, Time’s descriptions of both Smith and Carroll were glowing.
“As a man who built his career prosecuting powerful public officials accused of major crimes, he is better equipped for this than most,” former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal wrote of Smith for the magazine. “Time and again, he has met the challenges with an aggressive and decisive approach befitting his position.”
Smith’s only other high-profile case, an attempt to take down Republican Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, was later reversed by a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court, who rebuked the prosecutor for his overreach.
Carroll’s profile was written by Tarana Burke, an activist and the founder of the #MeToo movement. Burke described the former magazine columnist and Manhattan socialite as embodying “what #MeToo was actually about: not a woman taking down a powerful man, but a woman freeing herself.”
Carroll, who was revealed to have been bankrolled by leftist billionaire Reid Hoffman, has a long history of making rape allegations, with at least six other men—including former CBS executive Les Moonves—fallen victim to her predatory finger-pointing, in addition to Trump.
In case you didn’t know, E Jean Carroll has accused many men of raping or sexually assaulting her…
Including a babysitter’s boyfriend, a dentist, a camp counselor, an unnamed college date, an unnamed boss and CBS chief executive Les Moonves – Per The National Pulse
This is why…
— Ryan Fournier (@RyanAFournier) January 27, 2024