anointed

Regardless, Newsom inevitably will be pushed into the presidential arena by the news media, which already has anointed him as a leading contender.

After Biden dropped out of the race following a disastrous debate performance, Harris was anointed to the top of the ticket, bypassing the scrutiny of a primary without a single vote being cast.

It was during that 2010 stint on “The X Factor” that Cowell anointed him a member of One Direction, which would go on to become one of the most successful pop groups of the decade.

In following Christ, she explained, it is his mercy and advocacy for the downtrodden — for whom he was anointed to bring "glad tidings" — that she and her fellow marchers look to for guidance.

The national media anointed him with a label he immediately rejected: hero.