An exciting annual event and honor, the 2026 Person of the Year award, issued by Time, has a slew of contenders going at it for this year’s honor. Per the outlet, this award is an annual issue of the American news magazine and website, Time, featuring a person, group, idea, or object that “for better or for worse … has done the most to influence the events of the year.” Per some betting outlets, the leading frontrunner for this year’s honor is sitting United States president Donald Trump. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence or AI, is the second leading contender for the award after dominating much of the discourse in society for recent times. Indeed, with such strong nominees, it will be interesting to see who the outlet selects as the winner of the award.
For this report, SBS will be going over the main contenders for the 2026 Time Person of the Year
| Time Person of the Year |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donald Trump | +250 | +250 | +250 |
| AI | +600 | +600 | +600 |
| Zohran Mamdani | +700 | +700 | +700 |
| David Attenborough | +800 | +800 | +800 |
A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021 and, of course, is the current president of the United States. Trump began his second presidency by initiating mass layoffs of federal workers. Additionally, he imposed tariffs on nearly all countries at the highest level since the Great Depression and signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Additionally, in Latin America, he pursued a legally contested campaign to attack alleged drug traffickers and ordered a military raid into Venezuela to capture the country’s president. More recently, in February 2026, Trump authorized joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran that resulted in the 2026 Iran War. Certainly, someone whose influence is very well-known, Trump’s candidacy should be one that is watched in this competition.
An integral part of the 20th and 21st centuries, investment in AI has boomed in the 2020s. The recent AI boom, sources note, was initiated by the development of transformer architecture, which led to the rapid scaling and public releases of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT. These models exhibit human-like traits, another report notes, of things like knowledge, attention, and creativity, and have been integrated into various sectors, fueling exponential investment into AI. However, concerns about potential risks and ethical implications of advanced AI have also emerged, causing debate about the future of AI and its impact on society. Ethical AI areas have many application points, particularly important ones reside in the fields of healthcare, education, criminal justice, and the military.
Mamdani is an American politician who has served as the 112th mayor of New York City since January 2026. A member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, Mamdani served from 2021 to 2025 as a member of the New York State Assembly for the 36th district. In October 2024, Mamdani announced his candidacy for mayor of New York City in the 2025 election. A democratic socialist, Mamdani campaigned on a progressive plan that featured universal health care and a $30 minimum wage by 2030, sources note. Additionally, he won the Democratic primary in June 2025, defeating former governor Andrew Cuomo in an upset, and was elected mayor in the November general election. He is New York City’s first Muslim and first Asian American mayor.
Our final nominee showcase, Attenborough, is an English broadcaster, natural historian, and writer. Attenborough was a senior manager at the BBC, working as controller of BBC Two and director of programming for BBC Television in the 1960s and 1970s. While his earlier work primarily focused on the wonders of the natural world, his later work has been more vocal in support of environmental causes, sources note. He has advocated for restoring planetary biodiversity, limiting population growth, switching to renewable energy, and mitigating climate change. Additionally, on his broadcasting and passion for nature, NPR stated that Attenborough “roamed the globe and shared his discoveries and enthusiasms with his patented semi-whisper way of narrating.” Additionally, sources note, he is widely considered a national treasure in the UK, though he does not embrace the term.
Prediction: A huge honor, the 2026 Person of the Year will certainly be notching a place in time for the current world’s events. With that in mind, all of these candidates do bring some enviable and interesting credentials to the table. However, Trump continues to shape the current events of our planet more than most individuals, so him earning this honor in 2026, does seem to be destiny at this point. Of course, it might be foolish to overlook something as prevalent as AI.
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About the Author
Chris Boline is a Reno-based business development professional and freelance sports writer with over a decade of experience covering the NBA G League, Los Angeles Chargers, and national football and basketball. His expertise spans the NFL, NBA, UFC, boxing, golf, and motorsports, along with topical news, marketing, and promotional content. A proud University of Nevada graduate, Chris earned both his BS in Management & Economics (2015) and MBA (2023). He is active in the Reno community, serving on boards such as the Nevada Sagebrush Alumni Chapter, NCET, and the College of Business Alumni Association, where he was past president (2022–23). Notable honors include: - Two-time University of Nevada Alumni Chapter of the Year honoree (2017, 2021) - 2021 NCET Professional Services Organization of the Year (with TAC) - 2016–17 Reno Bighorns MVP, awarded by the Sacramento Kings - Nevada Press Association Award for Best Sports Column (2015) - Former Editor-in-Chief of The Nevada Sagebrush Chris blends his passion for sports with a strong background in sales, marketing, and community engagement.
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