Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021.
Early life and business career
Trump was born into a wealthy New York City family and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968 with a bachelor’s degree in economics. He became president of his family’s real estate business in 1971, renamed it the Trump Organization, and began acquiring and building skyscrapers, hotels, casinos, and golf courses. He launched side ventures, many licensing the Trump name, and filed for six business bankruptcies in the 1990s and 2000s. From 2004 to 2015, he hosted the reality television show The Apprentice, bolstering his reputation as a wealthy tycoon.
Political career
Presenting himself as a political outsider, Trump won the 2016 presidential election against Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton. During his first presidency, he imposed a travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries, expanded the Mexico–United States border wall, and enforced a family separation policy on the border. He rolled back environmental and business regulations and signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Trump ran a successful campaign for the 2016 U.S. presidential election, formally announcing his campaign on June 16, 2015, at Trump Tower in New York City. He became the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee on May 26, 2016, and was officially nominated on July 19 at the Republican National Convention. He chose Mike Pence, the sitting governor of Indiana, as his vice presidential running mate. On November 8, Trump and Pence were elected president and vice president of the United States.
Trump’s populist positions in opposition to illegal immigration and various trade agreements, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, earned him support especially among voters who were male, white, blue-collar, working class, and those without college degrees. Many voters in the Rust Belt, who gave Trump the electoral votes needed to win the presidency, switched from supporting Bernie Sanders to Trump after Hillary Clinton won the Democratic nomination.
As of October 2024, since the 1970s, at least 28 women have publicly accused Donald Trump of sexual misconduct. These accusations include rape, sexual assault, sex with minors, physical abuse, kissing and groping without consent, looking under women’s skirts, and walking in on naked pageant contestants. In 2023, a jury in a New York civil trial found Trump liable for the sexual abuse and defamation of writer E. Jean Carroll, awarding her $5 million in damages. The jury did not find him liable for rape but the presiding judge later said that the jury’s finding of sexual abuse met the common definition of rape. In a subsequent 2024 civil trial, Trump was again found liable for defamation of Carroll and ordered to pay her an additional $83.3 million.
Family
The Trump family is an American family active in business, entertainment, politics, and real estate. The Trumps are of German descent. Prominent members include Donald Trump’s father Fred Trump, and grandfather Frederick Trump. Donald Trump Jr. (born December 31, 1977), often nicknamed Don Jr., is an American businessman and political activist. He is the eldest child of Donald Trump and his first wife, Ivana Trump. Trump is a trustee and executive vice president of the Trump Organization, running the company alongside his younger brother Eric.