Donald Trump
From Ballotpedia - Reading time: 13 min
Donald John Trump (b. June 14, 1946, in Queens, New York) was the 45th president of the United States, serving from January 20, 2017, to January 20, 2021.
Former Vice President Joe Biden (D) defeated Trump in the 2020 presidential election on November 3, 2020. Biden received 306 electoral votes, while Trump received 232. Trump won the 2016 presidential election against Hillary Clinton (D), receiving 304 electoral votes.
Key policy initiatives during Trump's first term included the United States withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and First Step Act in 2018, reducing the size of the ISIS caliphate, and establishing the Space Force as an independent military branch.[1][2] Trump made more than 200 federal judicial appointments, including three U.S. Supreme Court justices.
During his presidency, Trump issued nine vetoes. To read more about these vetoes, click here.
On December 18, 2019, Trump became the third president in U.S. history to be impeached by the U.S. House.[3] The U.S. Senate acquitted Trump on both charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress on February 5, 2020.[4] Trump was impeached a second time on January 13, 2021, for incitement of insurrection. The Senate acquitted Trump on February 13, 2021.
Biography[edit]
Trump was born in Queens, New York, in 1946.[5] He attended Fordham University before transferring to the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a B.S. in economics in 1968.[6]
After graduation, Trump joined his family's company, Elizabeth Trump & Son. He took control of the company in 1971 and later renamed it the Trump Organization.[7] He was involved in a variety of real estate and other business ventures in the following years. From 2004 until 2015, Trump hosted and served as executive producer of The Apprentice on NBC.[8][9]
In 1999, Trump ran as a Reform Party presidential candidate; he withdrew from the race in February 2000.[6][10] Between 1987 and 2012, he changed his official party affiliation five times, registering most recently as a Republican in April 2012.[11]
Trump declared his candidacy for the 2016 presidential election on June 16, 2015, and officially received the nomination of the Republican Party on July 19, 2016, at the Republican National Convention.
On November 8, 2016, Trump was elected the 45th president of the United States. He was sworn into office on January 20, 2017.
Career[edit]
Below is an abbreviated outline of Trump's professional and political career:[12][13][14]
- 2017-2021: President of the United States
- 1971-2017: President, The Trump Organization
- 2004-2015: Producer and host, The Apprentice
- 1996-2015: Owner, Miss Universe Organization
- 1987: Author, The Art of the Deal
- 1968: Graduated with B.S. in economics from the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania
Elections[edit]
2020[edit]
Presidency[edit]
- See also: Presidential candidates, 2020
Former Vice President Joe Biden (D) won the presidential election on November 3, 2020. Biden received 306 electoral votes and President Donald Trump (R) received 232 electoral votes. In the national popular vote, Biden received 81.2 million votes and Trump received 74.2 million votes.
Click here for Trump's 2020 presidential campaign overview.
2016[edit]
- See also: Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016 and Splits between the Electoral College and popular vote
Trump won the 2016 presidential election on November 8, 2016. His vice presidential running mate was Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R).
Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton were projected to receive 306 and 232 electoral votes, respectively, but seven electors cast votes for other candidates. Trump won 304 electoral votes and Clinton won 227.
| U.S. presidential election, 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine | 48.3% | 65,844,969 | 227 | |
| Republican |  Donald Trump/Mike Pence |
46.2% | 62,979,984 | 304 | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson/Bill Weld | 3.3% | 4,492,919 | 0 | |
| Green | Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka | 1.1% | 1,449,370 | 0 | |
| - | Other | 1.2% | 1,684,908 | 7 | |
| Total Votes | 136,452,150 | 538 | |||
| Election results via: Ballotpedia | |||||
Policy issues under the Trump administration[edit]
Trump administration on domestic policy[edit]
Click on the tiles below to learn more about President Donald Trump's policies.
Trump administration on economic affairs and government regulations[edit]
Click on the tiles below to learn more about President Donald Trump's policies.
Trump administration on foreign policy and national security[edit]
Click on the tiles below to learn more about President Donald Trump's policies.
Political involvement[edit]
Opinion polling during the Trump administration[edit]
| President Trump average approval rating, 2017-2021 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Overall average approval | Highest approval average | Lowest approval average | Overall average disapproval | Highest disapproval average | Lowest disapproval average | Overall average approval spread[15] | Most positive approval spread | Most negative approval spread |
| Year 1 Jan. 20, 2017 - Jan. 19, 2018 |
40% | 47% | 37% | 54% | 58% | 43% | -13% | 4% | -21% |
| Year 2 Jan. 20, 2018 - Jan. 19, 2019 |
42% | 44% | 39% | 53% | 56% | 52% | -11% | -8% | -17% |
| Year 3 Jan. 20, 2019 - Jan. 19, 2020 |
43% | 45% | 41% | 53% | 56% | 51% | -10% | -6% | -15% |
| Year 4 Jan. 20, 2020 - Jan, 20, 2021 |
44% | 47% | 39% | 53% | 58% | 50% | -9% | -4% | -19% |
| Overall | 43% | 47% | 37% | 53% | 58% | 43% | -11% | 4% | -21% |
Endorsements as president[edit]
During Trump's presidency from 2017 to 2021, Ballotpedia tracked 305 endorsements. After Trump left office, Ballotpedia tracked 89 additional endorsements for a total of 394 endorsements. Click here for a list of his endorsements.
Campaign donations[edit]
According to an NPR analysis of data from the Center for Responsive Politics, donations to national-level parties, candidates, and other committees made in Trump's name between 1989 and 2015 totaled an inflation-adjusted $1.4 million. Approximately two-thirds of these donations went to Republicans. From 1989 to 2009, more than half of Trump’s donations went to Democrats. From 2010 to 2015, 97 percent of his donations went to Republicans.[16]
Reform Party[edit]
In 1999, Trump filed to run as a Reform Party presidential candidate challenging Pat Buchanan. He withdrew from the race in February 2000, stating concerns about party discord. He remained on the Reform Party primary ballot in California and won the June 2000 election with 44% of the vote.[17][18]
Noteworthy events[edit]
Impeachment (2021)[edit]
- See also: Impeachment of Donald Trump, 2021
On February 13, 2021, former President Donald Trump (R) was acquitted of incitement of insurrection. Fifty-seven senators voted to convict and 43 voted to acquit. Conviction requires a two-thirds vote of senators present.[19]
On January 13, 2021, the House of Representatives voted to impeach Trump by a vote of 232-197 for incitement of insurrection. The resolution followed the January 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol, which disrupted a joint session of Congress convened to count the electoral votes from the 2020 presidential election. Ten Republicans supported the impeachment.[20][21]
The resolution alleged that Trump attempted to subvert and obstruct the certification of the election results and incited a crowd to breach the Capitol, leading to vandalism, threats to members of the government and congressional personnel, the death of law enforcement, and other seditious acts.[20] Click here to read the resolution.
On January 12, 2021, Trump called the impeachment resolution the "continuation of the greatest witch hunt in the history of politics." He added, "For Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer to continue on this path, I think it's causing tremendous danger to our country and it's causing tremendous anger."[22]
[edit]
|
|---|
| Coronavirus pandemic |
| Select a topic from the dropdown below to learn more.
|
On October 2, 2020, Trump announced on Twitter that he and First Lady Melania Trump had tested positive for coronavirus.[23] Trump was released from the hospital on October 5, 2020.[24]
Impeachment and acquittal (2019-2020)[edit]
- See also: Impeachment of Donald Trump, 2019-2020
On February 5, 2020, President Donald Trump (R) was acquitted of abuse of power by a vote of 52-48 and obstruction of Congress by a vote of 53-47.[6]
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) first announced the House would pursue an inquiry into Trump on September 24, 2019, following allegations that Trump requested the Ukrainian government investigate former Vice President Joe Biden (D) and his son, Hunter Biden, in exchange for aid.[25]
Trump denied the allegations and called the inquiry "the worst witch hunt in political history."[26][27]
Following weeks of public hearings, the House voted to impeach Trump on December 18, 2019, charging him with abuse of power by a vote of 230-197 and obstruction of Congress by a vote of 229-198.[28] For a breakdown of the U.S. House votes by representative and party, click here.[29]
Sexual misconduct allegations[edit]
During and after the 2016 presidential election, at least 25 women accused Trump of sexual misconduct in alleged incidents dating back to the 1970s. Allegations included ogling, groping, harassment, and rape.[30]
Most allegations were made public following the release of a 2005 segment from Access Hollywood where Trump spoke about grabbing women's genitals without their consent.[31] Trump apologized in a video statement on October 8, 2016, saying, "Anyone who knows me knows these words don't reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong and I apologize."[32]
During the second presidential debate, on October 9, 2016, moderator Anderson Cooper asked Trump whether his comments in 2005 described sexual assault. Trump responded, "No, I didn’t say that at all. I don’t think you understood what was — this was locker room talk. I’m not proud of it. I apologize to my family. I apologize to the American people. Certainly I’m not proud of it. But this is locker room talk."[33]
In December 2017, Trump again denied the allegations and said he was being politically targeted. He tweeted, "Despite thousands of hours wasted and many millions of dollars spent, the Democrats have been unable to show any collusion with Russia — so now they are moving on to the false accusations and fabricated stories of women who I don’t know and/or have never met. FAKE NEWS!"[34]
Personal[edit]
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
As of August 2020, Trump had five children and ten grandchildren.[35] Trump married his first wife, Ivana, a former model and Olympic skier from Czechoslovakia, in 1977. The couple had three children: Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric. Ivana Trump was vice president of interior design for the Trump Organization and responsible for the interior design of the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Trump Tower, and the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. The couple separated in 1990 and divorced in 1992.[36]
Tiffany Trump is the daughter of Donald Trump and Marla Maples. Trump and Maples, then an aspiring actress, married in 1993 and divorced in 1999.[37]
Trump married his third wife, Melania, a Slovenian-born model, in 2005. The couple has one son, Barron Trump.[38] They resided in Trump Tower in Manhattan before moving to the White House in 2017.[39] Trump also has numerous apartments in Manhattan and estates in Palm Beach, Florida; Bedford, New York; Beverly Hills, California; and rural Virginia.[40]
Recent news[edit]
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Donald Trump. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also[edit]
- Donald Trump presidential Cabinet
- Policy issues under the Trump administration
- Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2020
- Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016
- Presidential election, 2020
- Presidential election, 2016
Footnotes[edit]
- ↑ Newsday, "Trump's top 10 successes of 2018," January 2, 2019
- ↑ Business Insider, "Trump's biggest accomplishments and failures as president as he heads into a reelection year after impeachment," December 31, 2019
- ↑ CNN, "President Trump has been impeached," December 18, 2019
- ↑ CNN, "Trump acquitted at impeachment trial," February 5, 2020
- ↑ Donald J.Trump for President, "About Donald J. Trump," archived June 11, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 CNN.com, "Donald Trump Fast Facts," July 17, 2019 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "CNN" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Business Insider, "What Donald Trump and 24 other successful people were doing right out of college," November 15, 2016
- ↑ Time, “Donald Trump’s 16 Biggest Business Failures and Successes,” August 7, 2015
- ↑ NBCNews.com, "NBC Cuts Business Ties with Donald Trump Over Immigration Remarks," June 30, 2015
- ↑ NPR.org, "5 Things You Should Know About Donald Trump," June 16, 2015
- ↑ Washington Times, "Donald Trump changed political parties at least five times: report," June 16, 2015
- ↑ Biography.com, "Donald Trump," accessed August 13, 2020
- ↑ Rolling Stone, "Donald Trump’s Life and Career: A Timeline," September 9, 2015
- ↑ Britannica, "Donald Trump," accessed August 13, 2020
- ↑ Refers to the difference between average approval and average disapproval. A positive spread means average approval was higher than average disapproval and a negative spread means average disapproval was higher.
- ↑ NPR, “Most of Donald Trump's Political Money Went To Democrats — Until 5 Years Ago,” July 28, 2015
- ↑ CNN.com, "Donald Trump Fast Facts," July 17, 2019
- ↑ NPR.org, "5 Things You Should Know About Donald Trump," June 16, 2015
- ↑ The New York Times, "Live Senate Vote Results: Impeachment Charge Against Trump," February 13, 2021
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Associated Press, "Republicans block measure calling for quick removal of Trump," January 11, 2021
- ↑ CNN, "House Democrats introduce impeachment resolution, charging Trump with 'incitement of insurrection,'" January 11, 2021
- ↑ NBC New York, "Latest Updates: Trump Calls Impeachment Push ‘Continuation of Greatest Witch Hunt,'" January 12, 2021
- ↑ Associated Press, "President Trump and first lady test positive for COVID-19," October 2, 2020
- ↑ The New York Times, "Covid-19 Live Updates: Trump Returns Home After Downplaying Disease, but Doctor Says He Isn’t ‘Out of the Woods,'" October 5, 2020
- ↑ CBS News, "Pelosi launches formal Trump impeachment inquiry," September 25, 2019
- ↑ White House, "Remarks by President Trump and President Salih of Iraq Before Bilateral Meeting," September 24, 2019
- ↑ Associated Press, "The Latest: Democrats say Trump allegations are impeachable," September 24, 2019
- ↑ NBC News, "Trump impeached by the House for abuse of power, obstruction of Congress," December 18, 2019
- ↑ NBC News, "House Judiciary Committee votes to impeach Trump, capping damaging testimony," December 13, 2019
- ↑ Business Insider, "The 25 women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct," May 1, 2020
- ↑ ABC News, "List of Trump's accusers and their allegations of sexual misconduct," June 25, 2019
- ↑ ABC News, "What Trump previously said about the 2005 'Access Hollywood' tape that he's now questioning," November 27, 2017
- ↑ TIME, "Transcript of the Second Presidential Debate," October 10, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Trump seeks to dismiss sexual harassment allegations as ‘fake news,'" December 12, 2017
- ↑ Donald J. Trump for President, “About,” accessed January 13, 2016
- ↑ CMG Worldwide, "Ivana Trump: Biography," accessed January 13, 2016
- ↑ New York Post, “What’s the deal with Donald Trump’s mystery daughter?” November 21, 2015
- ↑ White House, "Melania Trump," accessed June 11, 2021
- ↑ iDesignArch.com, “Inside Donald and Melania Trump’s Manhattan Apartment Mansion,” accessed January 13, 2016
- ↑ New York Daily News, "Take a peek inside Donald Trump’s vast portfolio of private homes,” July 27, 2015
| ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
EncycloReader
is supported by the 
KSF