The following article by Alicia Cohn was posted on the Hill website November 25, 2017:
Celebrities ranging from movie stars to professional athletes mocked President Trump for claiming Friday that he turned down being named Time’s “Person of the Year.”
Trump’s original tweet, which the magazine denied, claimed Time told him he was “probably” going to be named the magazine’s “Person of the Year” for 2017. But Trump “took a pass.”
High-profile Twitter users parodied Trump’s tweet to discuss all the hypothetical awards they had also turned down.
“@nytimes just called to say I was PROBABLY going to be named comedienne of the year but I would have to agree to an interview and a major photo shoot,” “Veep” star Julia Louis-Dreyfus tweeted. “I said probably is no good and took a pass. Thanks anyway!”
Tennis star Andy Murray and baseball star Noah Syndergaard jumped in with claims of sportsman awards.
“Bbc just called to say I was PROBABLY going to be named sports personality of the year but I would have to agree to an interview and a major photo shoot,” Murray tweeted.
“Sports Illustrated called and said I was probably going to be Sportsman of the Year, but it was going to take a long photo shoot and interview. I’m not proud of my recent perm and have a interpretive dance class at the interview time so I turned it down! No Thanks SI!!” tweeted Syndergaard.
Former adviser to former President Obama and current co-host of “Pod Save America” Dan Pfeiffer tweeted that Trump’s claim is “sad” and the president is “so needy for approval.
Time magazine also disputed Trump’s claim, tweeting that Trump was “incorrect” and that the editorial staff “does not comment on our choice until publication.”
Alan Murray, Time’s chief content officer, tweeted there is “not a speck of truth” to Trump’s claim.
The Washington Post reported in June that Time asked the Trump Organization to remove several fake covers featuring the president in his days as host of “The Apprentice” that were hanging in his golf clubs.
Actress Patricia Arquette suggested Trump “can always print yourself another fake cover.
Conservative editor and Trump critic Bill Kristol suggested special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating alleged Trump ties to Russia, might make enough of an impact to win the Time honor next year.
Trump was previously named Time’s 2016 “Person of the Year.”
View the post here.