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The Finalists for TIME's 'Person of the Year' Have Been Announced and People Have Thoughts

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  December 06, 2022 1:45 PM

As 2022 comes to a close, TIME magazine is putting together its list of finalists as to who will be their person of the year. Included on the list is a figure who just won't go away, the soon-to-be-former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), who lost her primary in August by nearly 40 points. 

On Monday, NBC's "Today Show" put out a list of the finalists that they had obtained. On Wednesday the person or persons of the year will be exclusively revealed to them. 

Alex Portée's write-up included a blurb on the various names included on the shortlist, and had this to say about Cheney:

Following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Rep. Liz Cheney has continuously voiced her support for the impeachment of former President Donald Trump, which has had resounding effects on her political career over the last year and a half. 

Just months after first expressing support for Trump’s impeachment, the House Republicans voted to remove Cheney from the No. 3 position in caucus leadership. Then, in August 2022, the congresswoman lost her House seat in the Wyoming primary to her Trump-endorsed opponent, Harriet Hageman. Following the loss, Cheney spoke with TODAY’s Savannah Guthrie in an exclusive interview on Aug. 17, where she said she would do “whatever it takes to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office” in the next election. 

Of course, it would be helpful to have some context in order. Cheney was not so much removed from her position as then House Republican Conference chair in May of last year for her opposition to former and potentially future President Donald Trump, but because she made it such a distraction. 

Other names on the list include Xi Jinping, Elon Musk, the U.S. Supreme Court, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, MacKenzie Scott, the protesters in Iran, Ron DeSantis, Janet Yellen, and "Gun Safety Advocates."

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Regardless as to if Cheney is chosen as the person of the year or not, it's unfortunately not likely she'll be going away quietly. As mentioned in the except above, she sat down for an eyebrow-raising interview with Savannah Guthrie, where she revamped her opposition to Trump. The interview raised eyebrows in part because she did not rule out a run against Trump. The former president officially declared last month.  

"Liz Cheney" was trending on Twitter as a result, with many pointing out how ridiculous it was for her to be included. Our friends at Twitchy also highlighted how ridiculous many of the names on the list overall were, and also included tweets pointing out that the list isn't even taken all that seriously anymore.