Donald Trump

{{Short description|President of the United States (2017–2021; since 2025)}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| image = TrumpPortrait.jpg

| image_upright = 0.9

| caption = Official portrait, 2025

| alt = Head-and-shoulders portrait of Trump with a stern facial expression. He is wearing a dark blue suit, a white dress shirt, a light blue necktie, and an American flag lapel pin. The background is unlit and blurred, and part of an American flag is visible.

| order = 45th & 47th

| office = President of the United States

| vicepresident = JD Vance

| term_start = January 20, 2025

| term_end =

| predecessor = Joe Biden

| successor =

| vicepresident1 = Mike Pence

| term_start1 = January 20, 2017

| term_end1 = January 20, 2021

| predecessor1 = Barack Obama

| successor1 = Joe Biden

| birth_name = Donald John Trump

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1946|6|14}}

| birth_place = Queens, New York City, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| party = Republican (1987–1999, 2009–2011, 2012–present)

| otherparty = {{unbulleted list

| Reform (1999–2001)

| Democratic (2001–2009)

| Independent (2011–2012)

}}

| spouse = {{unbulleted list

| {{marriage|Ivana Zelníčková|April 9, 1977|December 11, 1990|end=divorced}}

| {{marriage|Marla Maples|December 20, 1993|June 8, 1999|end=divorced}}

| {{marriage|Melania Knauss|January 22, 2005}}

}}

| children = {{hlist

| Donald Jr.

| Ivanka

| Eric

| Tiffany

| Barron

}}

| parents = {{unbulleted list

| Fred Trump

| Mary Anne MacLeod

}}

| relatives = Trump family

| education = University of Pennsylvania (BS)

| occupation = {{hlist

| Politician

| businessman

| media personality

}}

| residence = White House

| signature = Trumpsignature2025.svg

| signature_alt = Donald J. Trump stylized autograph, in ink

| website = {{unbulleted list

| {{URL|whitehouse.gov|White House website}}

| First presidency:

| {{URL|trumplibrary.gov|Presidential library}}

| {{URL|trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov|White House archives}}

}}

| module = {{Listen voice

| filename = Donald Trump speaks on declaration of Covid-19 as a Global Pandemic by the World Health Organization.ogg

| description = Trump on the WHO's declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic

| recorded = March 11, 2020

}}

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.

Born into a wealthy family in the New York City borough of Queens, Trump graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in economics. He became the 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 fame as a billionaire. A political outsider, Trump won the 2016 presidential election against the Democratic Party's nominee, Hillary Clinton.

During his first presidency, Trump 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, signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and appointed three Supreme Court justices. In foreign policy, Trump withdrew the U.S. from agreements on climate, trade, and Iran's nuclear program, and initiated a trade war with China. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020, he downplayed its severity, contradicted health officials, and signed the CARES Act. After losing the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden, Trump attempted to overturn the result, culminating in the January 6 Capitol attack in 2021. Trump was impeached in 2019 for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, and in 2021 for incitement of insurrection; the Senate acquitted him both times. After his first term, scholars and historians ranked him as one of the worst presidents in American history.

Trump is the central figure of Trumpism, and his faction is dominant within the Republican Party. Many of his comments and actions have been characterized as racist or misogynistic, and he has made false and misleading statements and promoted conspiracy theories to a degree unprecedented in American politics. Trump's actions, especially in his second term, have been described as authoritarian and contributing to democratic backsliding. In 2023, Trump was found liable in civil cases for sexual abuse and defamation and for business fraud, and in 2024, he was found guilty of falsifying business records, making him the first U.S. president convicted of a felony. After winning the 2024 presidential election against Kamala Harris, Trump was sentenced to a penalty-free discharge, and two felony indictments against him were dismissed.

Trump began his second presidency by pardoning around 1,500 January 6 rioters and initiating mass layoffs of federal workers. He imposed tariffs on nearly all countries and began trade wars with Canada, Mexico, and China. Many of his administration's actions, including his unprecedented use of executive orders and deportations of immigrants, have drawn lawsuits challenging their legality.

Early life and education

File:Donald Trump NYMA.jpg, 1964]]

Donald John Trump was born on June 14, 1946, at Jamaica Hospital in the New York City borough of Queens, the fourth child of Fred Trump and Mary Anne MacLeod Trump.{{sfn|Kranish|Fisher|2017|pp=30, 37}} He is of German and Scottish descent.{{sfn|Kranish|Fisher|2017|p=v}} He grew up with his older siblings, Maryanne, Fred Jr., and Elizabeth, and his younger brother, Robert, in a mansion in the Jamaica Estates neighborhood of Queens.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/23/us/politics/donald-trumps-old-queens-neighborhood-now-a-melting-pot-was-seen-as-a-cloister.html |title=Donald Trump's Old Queens Neighborhood Contrasts With the Diverse Area Around It |first=Jason |last=Horowitz |newspaper=The New York Times |date=September 22, 2015 |access-date=November 7, 2018}} Fred Trump paid his children each about $20,000 a year, equivalent to $265,000 a year in 2024. Trump was a millionaire in inflation-adjusted dollars by age eight.{{sfn|Buettner|Craig|2024|pp=30–31}}{{efn|Beginning when Trump was three years old, his father gave each of his children $6,000 every year, the maximum allowed without incurring a gift tax. To avoid taxes, Fred made them landlords of two of his housing developments, paying each $13,928 in rent every year.}}

Trump attended the private Kew-Forest School through seventh grade. He was a difficult child and showed an early interest in his father's business. His father enrolled him in New York Military Academy, a private boarding school, to complete secondary school.{{sfn|Kranish|Fisher|2017|pp=33, 38, 45}} Trump considered a show business career but instead in 1964 enrolled at Fordham University.{{sfn|Kranish|Fisher|2017|pp=45–47}} Two years later, he transferred to the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in May 1968 with a Bachelor of Science in economics.{{sfn|Kranish|Fisher|2017|pp=47–50}}{{cite web |url=https://archives.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/commencement-program-1968.pdf |pages=19–21 |title=Two Hundred and Twelfth Commencement for the Conferring of Degrees |publisher=University of Pennsylvania |date=May 20, 1968 |access-date=March 31, 2023}} He was exempted from the draft during the Vietnam War due to a claim of bone spurs in his heels.{{sfn|Kranish|Fisher|2017|pp=48}}

Business career

{{Further|Business projects of Donald Trump in Russia|Tax returns of Donald Trump}}

=Real estate=

Starting in 1968, Trump was employed at his father's real estate company, Trump Management, which owned racially segregated middle-class rental housing in New York City's outer boroughs.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/28/us/politics/donald-trump-housing-race.html |title='No Vacancies' for Blacks: How Donald Trump Got His Start, and Was First Accused of Bias |work=The New York Times |date=August 27, 2016 |access-date=January 13, 2018 |last1=Mahler |first1=Jonathan |last2=Eder |first2=Steve}}{{cite magazine |first=Frank |last=Rich |author-link=Frank Rich |title=The Original Donald Trump |url=https://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/04/frank-rich-roy-cohn-the-original-donald-trump.html |magazine=New York |date=April 30, 2018 |access-date=May 8, 2018}} In 1971, his father made him president of the company and he began using the Trump Organization as an umbrella brand.{{sfn|Blair|2015|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=uJifCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA250 250]}} Roy Cohn was Trump's fixer, lawyer, and mentor{{sfn|Barrett|2016|p=126}} for 13 years in the 1970s and 1980s.{{cite news |last1=Mahler |first1=Jonathan |last2=Flegenheimer |first2=Matt |title=What Donald Trump Learned From Joseph McCarthy's Right-Hand Man |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/21/us/politics/donald-trump-roy-cohn.html |access-date=May 26, 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=June 20, 2016}} In 1973, Cohn helped Trump countersue the U.S. government for $100 million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|100|1973}} million in {{Inflation/year|US}}){{Inflation/fn|US}} over its charges that Trump's properties had racially discriminatory practices. Trump's counterclaims were dismissed, and the government's case was settled with the Trumps signing a consent decree agreeing to desegregate; four years later, Trumps again faced the courts when they were found in contempt of the decree.{{sfn|Barrett|2016|p=82–84}} Before age thirty, he showed his propensity for litigation, no matter the outcome and cost; even when he lost, he described the case as a win.{{sfn|Buettner|Craig|2024|p=126}} Helping Trump projects,{{sfn|Barrett|2016|pp=190–191}} Cohn was a consigliere whose Mafia connections controlled construction unions.{{sfn|Johnston|2016|pp=45–46}} Cohn introduced political consultant Roger Stone to Trump, who enlisted Stone's services to deal with the federal government.{{cite magazine |last=Brenner |first=Marie |author-link=Marie Brenner |title=How Donald Trump and Roy Cohn's Ruthless Symbiosis Changed America |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/06/donald-trump-roy-cohn-relationship |access-date=May 26, 2020 |magazine=Vanity Fair |date=June 28, 2017}} Between 1991 and 2009, he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for six of his businesses: the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, the casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and the Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts company.{{cite news |last=Qiu |first=Linda |url=https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2016/jun/21/hillary-clinton/yep-donald-trumps-companies-have-declared-bankrupt/ |title=Yep, Donald Trump's companies have declared bankruptcy...more than four times |work=PolitiFact |date=June 21, 2016 |access-date=May 25, 2023}}{{cite news |last=Winter |first=Tom |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-bankruptcy-math-doesn-t-add-n598376 |title=Trump Bankruptcy Math Doesn't Add Up |work=NBC News |date=June 24, 2016 |access-date=February 2, 2025}}

In 1992, Trump, his siblings Maryanne, Elizabeth, and Robert, and his cousin John W. Walter, each with a 20 percent share, formed All County Building Supply & Maintenance Corp. The company had no offices and is alleged to have been a shell company for paying the vendors providing services and supplies for Trump's rental units, then billing those services and supplies to Trump Management with markups of 20–50 percent and more. The owners shared the proceeds generated by the markups. The increased costs were used to get state approval for increasing the rents of his rent-stabilized units.{{cite news |last1=Barstow |first1=David |author-link1=David Barstow |last2=Craig |first2=Susanne |author-link2=Susanne Craig |last3=Buettner |first3=Russ |author-link3=Russ Buettner |date=October 2, 2018 |title=Trump Engaged in Suspect Tax Schemes as He Reaped Riches From His Father |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/02/us/politics/donald-trump-tax-schemes-fred-trump.html |access-date=October 2, 2018 |work=The New York Times}}

== Manhattan and Chicago developments ==

File:Donald Trump with model of Television City.jpg |date=April 1, 2019 |access-date=July 28, 2024}}]]

Trump attracted public attention in 1978 with the launch of his family's first Manhattan venture: the renovation of the derelict Commodore Hotel, adjacent to Grand Central Terminal.{{cite news |url=https://ny.curbed.com/2019/4/3/18290394/trump-grand-hyatt-nyc-commodore-hotel |work=Curbed |first=James |last=Nevius |date=April 3, 2019 |title=The winding history of Donald Trump's first major Manhattan real estate project}} The financing was facilitated by a $400 million city property tax abatement arranged for him by his father who also, jointly with Hyatt, guaranteed a $70 million bank construction loan.{{cite news |first=Glenn |last=Kessler |author-link=Glenn Kessler (journalist) |title=Trump's false claim he built his empire with a 'small loan' from his father |date=March 3, 2016 |access-date=September 29, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/03/03/trumps-false-claim-he-built-his-empire-with-a-small-loan-from-his-father}} The hotel reopened in 1980 as the Grand Hyatt Hotel,{{sfn|Kranish|Fisher|2017|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=x2jUDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA84 84]}} and that same year, he obtained rights to develop Trump Tower, a mixed-use skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan.{{cite news |title=The Expanding Empire of Donald Trump |date=April 8, 1984 |access-date=September 29, 2021 |first=William E. |last=Geist |author-link=Bill Geist |work=The New York Times Magazine |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/08/magazine/the-expanding-empire-of-donald-trump.html}} The building houses the headquarters of the Trump Corporation and Trump's PAC and was his primary residence until 2019.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/31/us/politics/trump-new-york-florida-primary-residence.html |title=Trump, Lifelong New Yorker, Declares Himself a Resident of Florida |work=The New York Times |last=Haberman |first=Maggie |author-link=Maggie Haberman |date=October 31, 2019 |access-date=January 24, 2020}} In 1988, Trump acquired the Plaza Hotel with a loan from a consortium of 16 banks.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/04/business/company-news-trump-revises-plaza-loan.html |title=Trump Revises Plaza Loan |work=The New York Times |date=November 4, 1992 |access-date=May 23, 2023}} The hotel filed for bankruptcy protection in 1992, and a reorganization plan was approved a month later, with the banks taking control of the property.{{cite news |title=Trump's Plaza Hotel Bankruptcy Plan Approved |work=The New York Times |date=December 12, 1992 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/12/business/company-news-trump-s-plaza-hotel-bankruptcy-plan-approved.html |agency=Reuters |access-date=May 24, 2023}}

In 1995, he defaulted on over $3 billion of bank loans, and the lenders seized the Plaza Hotel along with most of his other properties in a "vast and humiliating restructuring" that allowed him to avoid personal bankruptcy.{{cite news |last=Segal |first=David |author-link=David Segal (reporter) |title=What Donald Trump's Plaza Deal Reveals About His White House Bid |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/17/business/what-donald-trumps-plaza-deal-reveals-about-his-white-house-bid.html |work=The New York Times |date=January 16, 2016 |access-date=May 3, 2022}}{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/12/business/trump-is-selling-plaza-hotel-to-saudi-and-asian-investors.html |title=Trump Is Selling Plaza Hotel To Saudi and Asian Investors |work=The New York Times |first1=David |last1=Stout |author-link1=David Stout |first2=Kenneth N. |last2=Gilpin |date=April 12, 1995 |access-date=July 18, 2019}} The lead bank's attorney said of the banks' decision that they "all agreed that he'd be better alive than dead". In 1996, Trump acquired and renovated the mostly vacant 71-story skyscraper at 40 Wall Street, later rebranded as the Trump Building.{{sfn|Kranish|Fisher|2017|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Lqf0CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA298 298]}} In the early 1990s, he won the right to develop a {{convert|70|acre|ha|adj=on}} tract in the Lincoln Square neighborhood near the Hudson River. Struggling with debt from other ventures in 1994, he sold most of his interest in the project to Asian investors, who financed the project's completion, Riverside South.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/01/nyregion/trump-group-selling-west-side-parcel-for-18-billion.html |title=Trump Group Selling West Side Parcel for $1.8 billion |last=Bagli |first=Charles V. |work=The New York Times |date=June 1, 2005 |access-date=May 17, 2016}} Trump's last major construction project was the 92-story mixed-use Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago which opened in 2008. In 2024, The New York Times and ProPublica reported that the Internal Revenue Service was investigating whether he had twice written off losses incurred through construction cost overruns and lagging sales of residential units in the building he had declared to be worthless on his 2008 tax return.{{cite news |last1=Kiel |first1=Paul |last2=Buettner |first2=Russ |author-link2=Russ Buettner |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-irs-audit-chicago-hotel-taxes |title=IRS Audit of Trump Could Cost Former President More Than $100 Million |work=ProPublica |date=May 11, 2024 |access-date=August 26, 2024}}

== Atlantic City casinos ==

File:Trump Taj Mahal, 2007.jpg in Atlantic City]]

In 1984, Trump opened Harrah's at Trump Plaza, a hotel and casino, with financing and management help from the Holiday Corporation. It was unprofitable, and he paid Holiday $70 million in May 1986 to take sole control.{{sfn|Kranish|Fisher|2017|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=x2jUDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA128 128]}} In 1985, he bought the unopened Atlantic City Hilton Hotel and renamed it Trump Castle.{{cite news |last=Saxon |first=Wolfgang |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/04/28/nyregion/trump-buys-hilton-s-hotel-in-atlantic-city.html |title=Trump Buys Hilton's Hotel in Atlantic City |work=The New York Times |date=April 28, 1986 |access-date=May 25, 2023}} Both casinos filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1992.{{cite news |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/03/09/Trumps-Castle-and-Plaza-file-for-bankruptcy/3105700117200/ |title=Trump's Castle and Plaza file for bankruptcy |work=United Press International |date=March 9, 1992 |access-date=May 25, 2023}} Trump bought a third Atlantic City venue in 1988, the Trump Taj Mahal. It was financed with $675 million in junk bonds and completed for $1.1 billion, opening in April 1990. He filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1991. Under the provisions of the restructuring agreement, he gave up half his initial stake and personally guaranteed future performance.{{cite news |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/05/business/company-news-taj-mahal-is-out-of-bankruptcy.html |title=Company News; Taj Mahal is out of Bankruptcy |access-date=May 22, 2008 |date=October 5, 1991}} To reduce his $900 million of personal debt, he sold the Trump Shuttle airline; his megayacht, the Trump Princess, which had been leased to his casinos and kept docked; and other businesses.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2011/04/29/fourth-times-a-charm-how-donald-trump-made-bankruptcy-work-for-him/ |title=Fourth Time's A Charm: How Donald Trump Made Bankruptcy Work For Him |magazine=Forbes |date=May 29, 2011 |access-date=January 27, 2022 |last=O'Connor |first=Claire}} In 1995, Trump founded Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts (THCR), which assumed ownership of the Trump Plaza.{{cite news |title=Trump Plaza casino stock trades today on Big Board |work=The New York Times |first=Floyd |last=Norris |author-link=Floyd Norris |date=June 7, 1995 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/07/business/trump-plaza-casino-stock-trades-today-on-big-board.html |access-date=December 14, 2014}} THCR purchased the Taj Mahal and the Trump Castle in 1996 and went bankrupt in 2004 and 2009, leaving him with 10 percent ownership.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.phillymag.com/news/2015/08/16/donald-trump-atlantic-city-empire/ |title=The Truth About the Rise and Fall of Donald Trump's Atlantic City Empire |magazine=Philadelphia |date=August 16, 2015 |access-date=March 21, 2016 |first=Dan |last=McQuade}} He remained chairman until 2009.{{cite magazine |url=https://fortune.com/2016/03/10/trump-hotel-casinos-pay-failure/ |title=How Donald Trump Made Millions Off His Biggest Business Failure |last=Tully |first=Shawn |author-link=Shawn Tully |date=March 10, 2016 |magazine=Fortune |access-date=May 6, 2018}}

== Clubs ==

In 1985, Trump acquired the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.{{cite magazine |last=Peterson-Withorn |first=Chase |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewithorn/2018/04/23/donald-trump-has-gained-more-than-100-million-on-mar-a-lago/ |title=Donald Trump Has Gained More Than $100 Million On Mar-a-Lago |magazine=Forbes |date=April 23, 2018 |access-date=July 4, 2018}} In 1995, he converted the estate into a private club with an initiation fee and annual dues. He continued to use a wing of the house as a private residence.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.townandcountrymag.com/style/home-decor/a7144/mar-a-lago-history/ |title=A History of Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump's American Castle |last1=Dangremond |first1=Sam |last2=Kim |first2=Leena |date=December 22, 2017 |magazine=Town & Country |access-date=July 3, 2018}} He declared the club his primary residence in 2019. He began building and buying golf courses in 1999, owning 17 golf courses by 2016.{{cite news |last=Garcia |first=Ahiza |date=December 29, 2016 |title=Trump's 17 golf courses teed up: Everything you need to know |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2016/12/29/news/donald-trump-golf-courses/index.html |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=CNN Money}}

= Licensing the Trump name =

The Trump Organization often licensed the Trump name for consumer products and services, including foodstuffs, apparel, learning courses, and home furnishings.{{cite news |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=April 13, 2018 |access-date=September 29, 2021 |first1=Zane |last1=Anthony |first2=Kathryn |last2=Sanders |first3=David A. |last3=Fahrenthold |author-link3=David Fahrenthold |title=Whatever happened to Trump neckties? They're over. So is most of Trump's merchandising empire. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/whatever-happened-to-trump-ties-theyre-over-so-is-most-of-trumps-merchandising-empire/2018/04/13/2c32378a-369c-11e8-acd5-35eac230e514_story.html}} Over 50 licensing or management deals involved Trump's name, generating at least $59 million for his companies.{{cite news |first1=Aaron |last1=Williams |first2=Anu |last2=Narayanswamy |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/world/trump-worldwide-licensing/ |title=How Trump has made millions by selling his name |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=January 25, 2017 |access-date=December 12, 2017}} By 2018, only two consumer goods companies continued to license his name. During the 2000s, Trump licensed his name to residential property developments worldwide, 40 of which were never built.{{sfn|Buettner|Craig|2024|p=410}}

= Side ventures =

File:Donald Trump and Doug Flutie at a press conference in the Trump Tower.jpg at a 1985 press conference in Trump Tower|alt=Trump, Doug Flutie, and an unnamed official standing behind a lectern with big, round New Jersey Generals sign, with members of the press seated in the background]]

In 1970, Trump invested $70,000 to receive billing as coproducer of a Broadway comedy.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/07/theater/for-a-young-donald-j-trump-broadway-held-sway.html |title=For a Young Donald J. Trump, Broadway Held Sway |date=March 6, 2016 |access-date=March 7, 2016 |first=Michael |last=Paulson |author-link=Michael Paulson |work=The New York Times}} In September 1983, he purchased the New Jersey Generals, a team in the United States Football League. After the 1985 season, the league folded, largely due to his attempt to move to a fall schedule (when it would have competed with the National Football League [NFL] for audience) and trying to force a merger with the NFL by bringing an antitrust suit.{{cite news |first=Arash |last=Markazi |author-link=Arash Markazi |title=5 things to know about Donald Trump's foray into doomed USFL |date=July 14, 2015 |access-date=September 30, 2021 |publisher=ESPN |url=https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/13255737/five-things-know-donald-trump-usfl-experience}} Trump and his Plaza Hotel hosted several boxing matches at the Atlantic City Convention Hall.{{sfn|O'Donnell|Rutherford|1991|p=137–143}} In 1989 and 1990, he lent his name to the Tour de Trump cycling stage race, an attempt to create an American equivalent of European races such as the Tour de France or the Giro d'Italia.{{cite news |url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/04/donald-trump-2016-tour-de-trump-bike-race-213801 |title=The Strange Tale of Donald Trump's 1989 Biking Extravaganza |first=Kevin |last=Hogan |work=Politico Magazine |date=April 10, 2016 |access-date=April 12, 2016}} From 1986 to 1988, he purchased significant blocks of shares in various public companies while suggesting that he intended to take over the company and then sold his shares for a profit,{{cite news |last1=Buettner |first1=Russ |author-link1=Russ Buettner |last2=Craig |first2=Susanne |author-link2=Susanne Craig |date=May 7, 2019 |title=Decade in the Red: Trump Tax Figures Show Over $1 Billion in Business Losses |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/05/07/us/politics/donald-trump-taxes.html |access-date=May 8, 2019 |work=The New York Times}} leading some observers to think he was engaged in greenmail.{{cite news |last1=Mattingly |first1=Phil |author-link1=Phil Mattingly |last2=Jorgensen |first2=Sarah |url=https://cnn.com/2016/08/22/politics/donald-trump-activist-investor/ |title=The Gordon Gekko era: Donald Trump's lucrative and controversial time as an activist investor |work=CNN |date=August 23, 2016 |access-date=September 14, 2022}} The New York Times found that he initially made millions of dollars in such stock transactions, but "lost most, if not all, of those gains after investors stopped taking his takeover talk seriously".

File:Donald Trump star Hollywood Walk of Fame.JPG

In 1988, Trump purchased the Eastern Air Lines Shuttle, financing the purchase with $380 million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|380|1988}} million in {{Inflation/year|US}}){{Inflation/fn|US}} in loans from a syndicate of 22 banks. He renamed the airline Trump Shuttle and operated it until 1992.{{cite news |work=The Daily Beast |title=The Crash of Trump Air |first=Barbara |last=Peterson |date=April 13, 2017 |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-crash-of-trump-air |access-date=May 17, 2023}} He defaulted on his loans in 1991, and ownership passed to the banks.{{cite magazine |url=https://time.com/4343030/donald-trump-failures/ |title=10 Donald Trump Business Failures |magazine=Time |date=October 11, 2016 |access-date=May 17, 2023}} In 1996, he purchased the Miss Universe pageants, including Miss USA and Miss Teen USA.{{sfn|Haberman|2022|pp=129–130}} Due to disagreements with CBS about scheduling, he took both pageants to NBC in 2002.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/22/business/three-beauty-pageants-leaving-cbs-for-nbc.html |title=Three Beauty Pageants Leaving CBS for NBC |date=June 22, 2002 |first=Jim |last=Rutenberg |author-link=Jim Rutenberg |access-date=August 14, 2016 |work=The New York Times}}{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2002/06/22/there-she-goes-pageants-move-to-nbc/2ba81b9a-bf67-4f3e-b8d6-1c2cc881ed19/ |title=There She Goes: Pageants Move to NBC |date=June 22, 2002 |first=Lisa |last=de Moraes |author-link=Lisa de Moraes |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=August 14, 2016}} In 2007, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work as producer of Miss Universe.{{cite news |last=Zara |first=Christopher |author-link=Christopher Zara |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/4023036/why-the-heck-does-donald-trump-have-a-walk-of-fame-star-anyway-its-not-the-reason-you-think |title=Why the heck does Donald Trump have a Walk of Fame star, anyway? It's not the reason you think |work=Fast Company |date=October 26, 2016 |access-date=June 16, 2018}} NBC and Univision dropped the pageants in June 2015 in reaction to his comments about Mexican immigrants.{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2015/06/29/nbc-dumps-trump/29471971/ |title=NBC to Donald Trump: You're fired |work=USA Today |first=Maria |last=Puente |date=June 29, 2015 |access-date=July 28, 2015}}

In 2005, Trump cofounded Trump University, a company that sold real estate seminars for up to $35,000. After New York State authorities notified the company that its use of "university" violated state law (as it was not an academic institution), its name was changed to the Trump Entrepreneur Initiative in 2010.{{sfn|D'Antonio|2015|pp=281–282}} In 2013, the State of New York filed a $40 million civil suit against Trump University, alleging that the company made false statements and defrauded consumers. Additionally, two class actions were filed in federal court against Trump and his companies. Internal documents revealed that employees were instructed to use a hard-sell approach, and former employees testified that Trump University had defrauded or lied to its students.{{sfn|D'Antonio|2015|pp=282–283}} Shortly after he won the 2016 presidential election, he agreed to pay a total of $25 million to settle the three cases.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/19/us/politics/trump-university.html |title=Donald Trump Agrees to Pay $25 Million in Trump University Settlement |last=Eder |first=Steve |date=November 18, 2016 |work=The New York Times |access-date=November 18, 2016}}

= Foundation =

The Donald J. Trump Foundation was a private foundation established in 1988.{{cite news |url=https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133404773 |title=Nonprofit Explorer |work=ProPublica |first1=Mike |last1=Tigas |first2=Sisi |last2=Wei |date=May 9, 2013 |access-date=September 9, 2016}} From 1987 to 2006, Trump gave his foundation $5.4 million which had been spent by the end of 2006. After donating a total of $65,000 in 2007–2008, he stopped donating any personal funds to the charity,{{cite news |first=David A. |last=Fahrenthold |author-link=David Fahrenthold |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-donald-trump-retooled-his-charity-to-spend-other-peoples-money/2016/09/10/da8cce64-75df-11e6-8149-b8d05321db62_story.html |title=How Donald Trump retooled his charity to spend other people's money |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=September 10, 2016 |access-date=March 19, 2024}} which received millions from other donors, including $5 million from Vince McMahon.{{cite news |last=Pallotta |first=Frank |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2022/08/18/media/vince-mcmahon-donald-trump-payments/index.html |title=Investigation into Vince McMahon's hush money payments reportedly turns up Trump charity donations |work=CNN |date=August 18, 2022 |access-date=March 19, 2024}} The foundation gave to health- and sports-related charities, conservative groups,{{cite news |work=Long Island Business News |date=September 15, 2016 |access-date=September 30, 2021 |first=Claude |last=Solnik |title=Taking a peek at Trump's (foundation) tax returns |url=https://libn.com/2016/09/15/taking-a-peek-at-trumps-foundation-tax-returns/}} and charities that held events at Trump properties. In 2016, The Washington Post reported that the charity had committed several potential legal and ethical violations, including self-dealing and tax evasion.{{cite news |first1=Chris |last1=Cillizza |author-link1=Chris Cillizza |first2=David A. |last2=Fahrenthold |author-link2=David Fahrenthold |title=Meet the reporter who's giving Donald Trump fits |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/09/15/how-the-reporter-behind-the-trump-foundation-stories-does-it/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=September 15, 2016 |access-date=June 26, 2021}} Also in 2016, the New York attorney general stated the foundation had violated state law by soliciting donations without submitting to required annual external audits and ordered it to cease its fundraising activities in New York immediately.{{cite news |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 3, 2016 |access-date=May 17, 2023 |first=David A. |last=Fahrenthold |author-link=David Fahrenthold |title=Trump Foundation ordered to stop fundraising by N.Y. attorney general's office |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-foundation-ordered-to-stop-fundraising-by-ny-attorney-generals-office/2016/10/03/1d4d295a-8987-11e6-bff0-d53f592f176e_story.html}} Trump's team announced in December 2016 that the foundation would be dissolved.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/24/trump-university-shut-down-conflict-of-interest |title=Donald Trump to dissolve his charitable foundation after mounting complaints |last=Jacobs |first=Ben |author-link=Ben Jacobs (journalist) |date=December 24, 2016 |work=The Guardian |access-date=December 25, 2016}} In June 2018, the New York attorney general's office filed a civil suit against the foundation, Trump, and his adult children, seeking $2.8 million in restitution and additional penalties.{{cite news |url=https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/392392-five-things-to-know-about-the-lawsuit-against-the-trump-foundation |title=Five things to know about the lawsuit against the Trump Foundation |last=Thomsen |first=Jacqueline |date=June 14, 2018 |work=The Hill |access-date=June 15, 2018}} In December 2018, the foundation ceased operation and disbursed its assets to other charities.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/18/nyregion/ny-ag-underwood-trump-foundation.html |title=Trump Foundation Will Dissolve, Accused of 'Shocking Pattern of Illegality' |work=The New York Times |date=December 18, 2018 |access-date=May 9, 2019 |first=Shane |last=Goldmacher}} In November 2019, a New York state judge ordered Trump to pay $2 million to a group of charities for misusing the foundation's funds, in part to finance his presidential campaign.{{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-foundation-ordered-pay-2m-collection-nonprofits-part/story?id=66827235 |title=President Donald Trump ordered to pay $2M to collection of nonprofits as part of civil lawsuit |work=ABC News |date=November 7, 2019 |access-date=November 7, 2019 |first=Aaron |last=Katersky |author-link=Aaron Katersky}}

= Legal affairs and bankruptcies =

According to a review of state and federal court files conducted by USA Today in 2018, Trump and his businesses had been involved in more than 4,000 state and federal legal actions.{{cite news |title=Donald Trump: Three decades, 4,095 lawsuits |work=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/pages/interactives/trump-lawsuits/ |access-date=April 17, 2018}} While he has not filed for personal bankruptcy, his over-leveraged hotel and casino businesses in Atlantic City and New York filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection six times between 1991 and 2009.{{cite news |last=Winter |first=Tom |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-bankruptcy-math-doesn-t-add-n598376 |title=Trump Bankruptcy Math Doesn't Add Up |work=NBC News |date=June 24, 2016 |access-date=February 26, 2020}} They continued to operate while the banks restructured debt and reduced his shares in the properties. During the 1980s, more than 70 banks had lent Trump $4 billion.{{cite news |work=Reuters |date=July 17, 2016 |first=Emily |last=Flitter |title=Art of the spin: Trump bankers question his portrayal of financial comeback |access-date=October 14, 2018 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-bankruptcies-insig/art-of-the-spin-trump-bankers-question-his-portrayal-of-financial-comeback-idUSKCN0ZX0GP}} After his corporate bankruptcies of the early 1990s, most major banks, with the exception of Deutsche Bank, declined to lend to him.{{cite news |work=Business Insider |date=December 8, 2017 |first=Allan |last=Smith |title=Trump's long and winding history with Deutsche Bank could now be at the center of Robert Mueller's investigation |access-date=October 14, 2018 |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-deutsche-bank-mueller-2017-12}} After the January 6 Capitol attack, the bank decided not to do business with him or his affiliated company in the future.{{cite news |last1=Riley |first1=Charles |last2=Egan |first2=Matt |title=Deutsche Bank won't do any more business with Trump |url=https://cnn.com/2021/01/12/investing/deutsche-bank-trump/ |access-date=September 14, 2022 |work=CNN |date=January 12, 2021}}

= Wealth =

File:Ivana Trump shakes hands with Fahd of Saudi Arabia.jpg with President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan|alt=Ivana Trump and King Fahd shake hands, with Ronald Reagan standing next to them smiling]]

Trump has said he began his career with "a small loan of a million dollars" from his father and that he had to pay it back with interest.{{cite news |last=Stump |first=Scott |date=October 26, 2015 |title=Donald Trump: My dad gave me 'a small loan' of $1 million to get started |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/26/donald-trump-my-dad-gave-me-a-small-loan-of-1-million-to-get-started.html |access-date=November 13, 2016 |work=CNBC}} He borrowed at least $60 million from his father, largely did not repay the loans, and received another $413 million (2018 equivalent, adjusted for inflation) from his father's company.{{cite news |last1=Barstow |first1=David |author-link1=David Barstow |last2=Craig |first2=Susanne |author-link2=Susanne Craig |last3=Buettner |first3=Russ |author-link3=Russ Buettner |date=October 2, 2018 |title=11 Takeaways From The Times's Investigation into Trump's Wealth |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/02/us/politics/donald-trump-wealth-fred-trump.html |access-date=October 3, 2018 |work=The New York Times}} Posing as a Trump Organization official named "John Barron", Trump called journalist Jonathan Greenberg in 1984, trying to get a higher ranking on the Forbes 400 list of wealthy Americans.{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/20/politics/trump-forbes-400-list-cnntv/index.html |title=Ex-Forbes reporter says Trump posed as executive, lied to him to crack Forbes 400 list |last=Stracqualursi |first=Veronica |date=April 20, 2018 |access-date=December 25, 2024 |work=CNN}} Trump self-reported his net worth over a wide range: from minus $900 million in 1990,{{efn|Trump acknowledged a net worth in 1990 of minus $900 million in his book The Art of the Comeback.{{cite news |title=Donald Trump revealed $900 million business loss in '97 book |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/oct/3/trump-revealed-900-million-business-loss-97-book/ |last=Boyer |first=Dave |date=October 3, 2016 |access-date=December 18, 2024 |work=The Washington Times}} Timothy L. O'Brien explains in his book TrumpNation that Forbes dropped Trump from its list of wealthiest Americans from 1990 to 1995. Not until 1997 did Forbes acknowledge Trump's 1990 net worth of minus $900 million,{{sfn|O'Brien|2005|p=150–151}}}} to $10 billion in 2015.{{sfn|Johnston|2021|p=20}} In 2015, Forbes estimated his net worth at $4.5 billion, based on interviews with more than 80 sources.{{cite magazine |last=Lane |first=Randall |date=September 29, 2015 |title=Inside The Epic Fantasy That's Driven Donald Trump For 33 Years |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/randalllane/2015/09/29/inside-the-epic-fantasy-thats-driven-donald-trump-for-33-years/ |magazine=Forbes |access-date=April 3, 2025}} In 2025, the magazine estimated his net worth at $5.1 billion and ranked him the 700th wealthiest person in the world.{{cite magazine |last1=Peterson-Withorn |first1=Chase |last2=Chung |first2=Grace |last3=Durot |first3=Matt |year=2025 |title=Forbes World's Billionaires List - The Richest in 2025 |url=https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/ |magazine=Forbes |access-date=April 2, 2025}} - Enter "trump" in the search box.

== Media career ==

Trump has published 19 books under his name, most written or cowritten by ghostwriters.{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-books-tweet-ghostwriter-tim-o-brien-tony-schwartz-writer-response-a8431271.html |title=Trump boasted about writing many books – his ghostwriter says otherwise |newspaper=The Independent |first=Andrew |last=Buncombe |date=July 4, 2018 |access-date=October 11, 2020}} His first book, The Art of the Deal (1987), was a New York Times Best Seller, and was credited by The New Yorker with making Trump famous as an "emblem of the successful tycoon".{{cite magazine |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/07/25/donald-trumps-ghostwriter-tells-all |title=Donald Trump's Ghostwriter Tells All |magazine=The New Yorker |first=Jane |last=Mayer |author-link=Jane Mayer |date=July 18, 2016 |access-date=June 19, 2017}} The book was ghostwritten by Tony Schwartz, who is credited as a coauthor. Trump had cameos in many films and television shows from 1985 to 2001.{{cite magazine |first=Adrienne |last=LaFrance |author-link=Adrienne LaFrance |title=Three Decades of Donald Trump Film and TV Cameos |date=December 21, 2015 |magazine=The Atlantic |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/12/three-decades-of-donald-trump-film-and-tv-cameos/421257/}} Trump acquired his style of politics from professional wrestling—with its staged fights and name-calling.{{sfn|Klein|2017|pp=51–52|loc=Excerpt reprinted in [https://harpers.org/archive/2017/09/w-w-e-the-people/ Harper's]}} He sporadically appeared for the professional wrestling company WWE from the late 1980s including Wrestlemania 23 in 2007.{{sfn|Gaufman|Ganesh|2024|pp=69–70}}{{sfn|O'Brien|2020}} Starting in the 1990s, Trump appeared 24 times as a guest on the nationally syndicated Howard Stern Show.{{sfn|Kranish|Fisher|2017|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=x2jUDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA166 166]}} He had his own short-form talk radio program, Trumped!, from 2004 to 2008.{{cite web |last1=Massie |first1=Christopher |last2=Kaczynski |first2=Andrew |author-link2=Andrew Kaczynski |title=There Are Hours Of Audio Of Donald Trump's Nationally Syndicated Radio Show In The 2000s |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/christophermassie/theres-hours-of-audio-of-donald-trumps-nationally-syndicated |work=BuzzFeed |access-date=December 6, 2024 |date=March 16, 2016}} From 2011 until 2015, he was a guest commentator on Fox & Friends.{{cite news |last1=Grossmann |first1=Matt |last2=Hopkins |first2=David A. |title=How the conservative media is taking over the Republican Party |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/09/09/how-the-conservative-media-is-taking-over-the-republican-party/ |access-date=October 19, 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=September 9, 2016}} In 2021, Trump, who had been a member since 1989, resigned from SAG-AFTRA to avoid a disciplinary hearing regarding the January 6 attack.{{cite news |last=Rao |first=Sonia |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2021/02/04/trump-resigns-screen-actors-guild/ |title=Facing expulsion, Trump resigns from the Screen Actors Guild: 'You have done nothing for me' |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=February 4, 2021 |access-date=February 5, 2021}} Two days later, the union permanently barred him.{{cite magazine |last=Harmata |first=Claudia |url=https://people.com/tv/sag-aftra-bans-donald-trump-future-readmission/ |title=Donald Trump Banned from Future Re-Admission to SAG-AFTRA: It's 'More Than a Symbolic Step' |magazine=People |date=February 7, 2021 |access-date=February 8, 2021}}

= ''The Apprentice'' and ''The Celebrity Apprentice'' =

{{Main|The Apprentice (American TV series)|The Celebrity Apprentice}}

Producer Mark Burnett made Trump a television star{{sfn|Buettner|Craig|2024|p=7|loc="Mark Burnett, the television producer who made Trump a star, did not just hand him a fortune."}} when he created The Apprentice, which Trump hosted from 2004 to 2015 (including variant The Celebrity Apprentice). On the shows, he was a superrich chief executive who eliminated contestants with the catchphrase "you're fired". The New York Times called his portrayal "a highly flattering, highly fictionalized version" of himself.{{cite news |last1=Grynbaum |first1=Michael M. |last2=Parker |first2=Ashley |author-link2=Ashley Parker |date=July 16, 2016 |title=Donald Trump the Political Showman, Born on 'The Apprentice' |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/17/business/media/donald-trump-apprentice.html |access-date=July 8, 2018}} The shows remade Trump's image for millions of viewers nationwide.{{cite magazine |last=Nussbaum |first=Emily |author-link=Emily Nussbaum |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/07/31/the-tv-that-created-donald-trump |title=The TV That Created Donald Trump |magazine=The New Yorker |date=July 24, 2017 |access-date=October 18, 2023}} With the related licensing agreements, they earned him more than $400 million.{{cite news |last=Poniewozik |first=James |author-link=James Poniewozik |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/28/arts/television/trump-taxes-apprentice.html |title=Donald Trump Was the Real Winner of 'The Apprentice' |work=The New York Times |date=September 28, 2020 |access-date=October 18, 2023}}

Early political aspirations

Trump registered as a Republican in 1987; a member of the Independence Party, the New York state affiliate of the Reform Party, in 1999; a Democrat in 2001; a Republican in 2009; unaffiliated in 2011; and a Republican in 2012.{{cite news |last=Hall |first=Amy |title=Donald Trump was once a registered Democrat and party donor. So why did he jump ship? |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/donald-trump-was-once-a-registered-democrat-and-party-donor-why-did-he-jump-ship/wj85mj5yq |website=SBS News |access-date=March 29, 2025 |date=July 25, 2024}}

File:Donald Trump speaking at CPAC 2011 by Mark Taylor.jpg, 2011|alt=Trump, leaning heavily onto a lectern, with his mouth open mid-speech and a woman clapping politely next to him]]

In 1987, Trump placed full-page advertisements in major newspapers{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/02/nyregion/trump-gives-a-vague-hint-of-candidacy.html |title=Trump Gives a Vague Hint of Candidacy |work=The New York Times |first=Michael |last=Oreskes |author-link=Michael Oreskes |date=September 2, 1987 |access-date=February 17, 2016}} expressing his views on foreign policy and how to eliminate the federal budget deficit.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/18/us/trump-urged-to-head-gala-of-democrats.html |title=Trump Urged To Head Gala Of Democrats |work=The New York Times |date=November 18, 1987 |access-date=October 1, 2021 |first=Fox |last=Butterfield |author-link=Fox Butterfield}} In 1988, he approached Lee Atwater, asking to be put into consideration to be Republican nominee George H. W. Bush's running mate. Bush found the request "strange and unbelievable".{{sfn|Meacham|2016|p=326}}{{cite news |title=George W. Bush 'surprised' by dad's criticism, author says |last=Gass |first=Nick |date=November 6, 2015 |access-date=December 20, 2024 |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/george-w-bush-father-book-215588 |work=Politico}} Trump was a candidate in the 2000 Reform Party presidential primaries for three months before he withdrew in February 2000.{{cite news |first=Richard |last=Winger |author-link=Richard Winger |title=Donald Trump Ran For President in 2000 in Several Reform Party Presidential Primaries |date=December 25, 2011 |access-date=October 1, 2021 |website=Ballot Access News |url=https://ballot-access.org/2011/12/25/donald-trump-ran-for-president-in-2000-in-several-reform-party-presidential-primaries/}}{{cite news |last=Clift |first=Eleanor |author-link=Eleanor Clift |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-last-time-trump-wrecked-a-party |title=The Last Time Trump Wrecked a Party |work=The Daily Beast |date=July 18, 2016 |access-date=October 14, 2021}}{{cite news |last=Nagourney |first=Adam |author-link=Adam Nagourney |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/politics/camp/021400wh-ref-trump.html |title=Reform Bid Said to Be a No-Go for Trump |work=The New York Times |date=February 14, 2000 |access-date=December 26, 2020}} In 2011, Trump considered challenging President Barack Obama in the 2012 election. He spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February and gave speeches in states with early primaries.{{cite news |last=MacAskill |first=Ewen |author-link=Ewen MacAskill |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/16/donald-trump-us-presidential-race |title=Donald Trump bows out of 2012 US presidential election race |work=The Guardian |date=May 16, 2011 |access-date=February 28, 2020}}{{cite news |last1=Bobic |first1=Igor |last2=Stein |first2=Sam |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-cpac_n_58adc0f4e4b03d80af7141cf |title=How CPAC Helped Launch Donald Trump's Political Career |work=HuffPost |date=February 22, 2017 |access-date=February 28, 2020}} In May 2011, he announced that he would not run.

2016 presidential election

{{further|2016 Republican Party presidential primaries|2016 United States presidential election|First presidential transition of Donald Trump}}

Trump announced his candidacy for the 2016 election in June 2015.{{cite news |last=Lerner |first=Adam B. |author-link=Adam B. Lerner |date=June 16, 2015 |title=The 10 best lines from Donald Trump's announcement speech |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/donald-trump-2016-announcement-10-best-lines-119066 |access-date=June 7, 2018 |work=Politico}}{{cite news |last=Graham |first=David A. |date=May 13, 2016 |title=The Lie of Trump's 'Self-Funding' Campaign |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/05/trumps-self-funding-lie/482691/ |access-date=June 7, 2018 |work=The Atlantic}} He became the Republican front-runner in March 2016{{cite news |last=Bump |first=Philip |date=March 23, 2016 |title=Why Donald Trump is poised to win the nomination and lose the general election, in one poll |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/03/23/why-donald-trump-is-poised-to-win-the-nomination-and-lose-the-general-election-in-one-poll/ |access-date=October 1, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} and was declared the presumptive Republican nominee in May.{{cite news |last=Ohlemacher |first=Stephen |url=https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-north-dakota-campaign-2016-events-united-states-presidential-election-a382673514394788b45cfc109d0febe4 |title=Mister 1,237: North Dakota delegate puts Trump over the top |work=AP News |date=May 26, 2016 |access-date=January 28, 2025}} His campaign statements were often opaque and suggestive,{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/2016/08/10/489476187/trump-s-second-amendment-comment-fit-a-pattern-of-ambiguous-speech |last=McCammon |first=Sarah |author-link=Sarah McCammon |title=Donald Trump's controversial speech often walks the line |work=NPR News |date=August 10, 2016 |access-date=October 1, 2021}} and a record number were false.{{cite news |title=The 'King of Whoppers': Donald Trump |url=https://www.factcheck.org/2015/12/the-king-of-whoppers-donald-trump/ |work=FactCheck.org |access-date=March 4, 2019 |date=December 21, 2015}}{{cite news |url=https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2015/dec/21/2015-lie-year-donald-trump-campaign-misstatements/ |title=2015 Lie of the Year: the campaign misstatements of Donald Trump |work=PolitiFact |date=December 21, 2015 |access-date=October 1, 2021 |first1=Angie Drobnic |last1=Holan |author-link1=Angie Drobnic Holan |first2=Linda |last2=Qiu}}{{cite news |first=Paul |last=Farhi |title=Think Trump's wrong? Fact checkers can tell you how often. (Hint: A lot.) |date=February 26, 2016 |access-date=October 1, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-existential-crisis-of-professional-factcheckers-in-the-year-of-trump/2016/02/25/e994f210-db3e-11e5-81ae-7491b9b9e7df_story.html}} He was highly critical of media coverage and frequently made claims of media bias.{{cite news |first=Kenneth T. |last=Walsh |author-link=Kenneth T. Walsh |title=Trump: Media Is 'Dishonest and Corrupt' |date=August 15, 2016 |access-date=October 1, 2021 |work=U.S. News & World Report |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-08-15/trump-media-is-dishonest-and-corrupt}}{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/07/06/donald-trumps-failing-war-on-political-correctness/ |title=Donald Trump is waging war on political correctness. And he's losing. |first=Aaron |last=Blake |date=July 6, 2016 |access-date=October 1, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} Hillary Clinton led Trump in national polling averages throughout the campaign, but her lead narrowed in early July.{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/data-points/poll-clinton-trump-now-tied-gop-convention-kicks-n611936 |title=Poll: Clinton and Trump Now Tied as GOP Convention Kicks Off |last1=Hartig |first1=Hannah |last2=Lapinski |first2=John |author-link2=John Lapinski |last3=Psyllos |first3=Stephanie |date=July 19, 2016 |access-date=October 1, 2021 |work=NBC News}} In mid-July, he selected Indiana governor Mike Pence as his running mate,{{cite news |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/15/donald-trump-officially-names-mike-pence-as-his-vp.html |title=Donald Trump officially names Mike Pence for VP |last=Levingston |first=Ivan |author-link=Ivan Levingston |date=July 15, 2016 |access-date=October 1, 2021 |work=CNBC}} and the two were officially nominated at the 2016 Republican National Convention.{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-closes-the-deal-becomes-republican-nominee-for-president |title=Trump closes the deal, becomes Republican nominee for president |date=July 19, 2016 |access-date=October 1, 2021 |work=Fox News}} Trump and Clinton participated in three presidential debates in September and October 2016. He twice refused to say whether he would accept the result of the election.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-us-2016-37706499 |title=US presidential debate: Trump won't commit to accept election result |date=October 20, 2016 |access-date=October 27, 2016 |work=BBC News}}

File:Donald Trump by Gage Skidmore 5.jpg

Trump described NATO as "obsolete"{{cite news |first=Jenna |last=Johnson |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/04/12/trump-on-nato-i-said-it-was-obsolete-its-no-longer-obsolete/ |title=Trump on NATO: 'I said it was obsolete. It's no longer obsolete.' |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=April 12, 2017 |access-date=November 26, 2019}}{{sfn|Edwards|2018|loc="On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly called North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) 'obsolete'"}} and espoused views that were described as noninterventionist and protectionist.{{cite news |last1=Rucker |first1=Philip |author-link1=Philip Rucker |last2=Costa |first2=Robert |author-link2=Robert Costa (journalist) |date=March 21, 2016 |access-date=August 24, 2021 |title=Trump questions need for NATO, outlines noninterventionist foreign policy |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/03/21/donald-trump-reveals-foreign-policy-team-in-meeting-with-the-washington-post/}} His campaign platform emphasized renegotiating U.S.–China relations and free trade agreements such as NAFTA and strongly enforcing immigration laws. Other campaign positions included pursuing energy independence while opposing climate change regulations, modernizing services for veterans, repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, abolishing Common Core education standards, investing in infrastructure, simplifying the tax code while reducing taxes, and imposing tariffs on imports by companies that offshore jobs. He advocated increasing military spending and extreme vetting or banning of immigrants from Muslim-majority countries.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37982000 |title=Trump's promises before and after the election |date=September 19, 2017 |access-date=October 1, 2021 |work=BBC News}} Trump's proposed immigration policies were a topic of bitter debate during the 2016 campaign. He promised to build a wall on the Mexico–U.S. border to restrict illegal movement and vowed that Mexico would pay for it.{{cite news |date=February 6, 2017 |title=Donald Trump's Mexico wall: Who is going to pay for it? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37243269 |access-date=December 9, 2017 |work=BBC News}} He pledged to deport millions of illegal immigrants residing in the U.S.,{{cite news |date=August 19, 2015 |title=Donald Trump emphasizes plans to build 'real' wall at Mexico border |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/donald-trump-emphasizes-plans-to-build-real-wall-at-mexico-border-1.3196807 |access-date=September 29, 2015 |work=CBC News}} and criticized birthright citizenship for incentivizing "anchor babies".{{cite magazine |last=Oh |first=Inae |date=August 19, 2015 |title=Donald Trump: The 14th Amendment is Unconstitutional |url=https://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2015/08/donald-trump-has-some-thoughts-about-the-constitution |access-date=November 22, 2015 |magazine=Mother Jones}} According to an analysis in Political Science Quarterly, Trump made "explicitly racist and sexist appeals to win over white voters" during his 2016 presidential campaign.{{sfn|Schaffner|Macwilliams|Nteta|2018|p=31}} In particular, his campaign launch speech drew criticism for claiming Mexican immigrants were "bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists";{{cite news |last=Wolf |first=Z. Byron |date=April 6, 2018 |title=Trump basically called Mexicans rapists again |url=https://cnn.com/2018/04/06/politics/trump-mexico-rapists/ |access-date=June 28, 2022 |work=CNN}} in response, NBC fired him from Celebrity Apprentice.{{cite news |date=August 13, 2015 |title=NBC Officially Fires Trump From 'Celebrity Apprentice' |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/tv/nbc-officially-fires-trump-celebrity-apprentice-n409381 |access-date=November 9, 2024 |work=NBC News |agency=Associated Press}}

Trump's FEC-required reports listed assets above $1.4 billion and outstanding debts of at least $315 million.{{cite news |last1=Diamond |first1=Jeremy |author-link1=Jeremy Diamond |last2=Frates |first2=Chris |date=July 22, 2015 |title=Donald Trump's 92-page financial disclosure released |url=https://cnn.com/2015/07/22/politics/donald-trump-personal-financial-disclosure/ |access-date=September 14, 2022 |work=CNN}}{{cite report |publisher=United States Office of Government Ethics |via=Bloomberg Businessweek |date=July 15, 2015 |title=Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report (U.S. OGE Form 278e) |url=https://images.businessweek.com/cms/2015-07-22/7-22-15-Report.pdf |archive-date=July 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723053945/https://images.businessweek.com/cms/2015-07-22/7-22-15-Report.pdf |access-date=December 21, 2023}} He did not release his tax returns, contrary to the practice of every major candidate since 1976 and his promises in 2014 and 2015 to do so if he ran for office.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/05/11/donald-trump-breaks-with-recent-history-by-not-releasing-tax-returns/ |title=Donald Trump Breaks With Recent History by Not Releasing Tax Returns |last=Rappeport |first=Alan |author-link=Alan Rappeport |date=May 11, 2016 |work=The New York Times |access-date=July 19, 2016}}{{cite news |last=Qiu |first=Linda |title=Pence's False claim that Trump 'hasn't broken' tax return promise |url=https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/oct/05/mike-pence/pences-false-claim-trump-hasnt-broken-tax-return-p/ |work=PolitiFact |date=October 5, 2016 |access-date=April 29, 2020}} He said his tax returns were being audited, and that his lawyers had advised him against releasing them.{{cite news |url=https://money.cnn.com/2016/02/26/pf/taxes/trump-tax-returns-audit/ |title=Trump says he can't release tax returns because of audits |last1=Isidore |first1=Chris |last2=Sahadi |first2=Jeanne |date=February 26, 2016 |access-date=March 1, 2023 |work=CNN}} After a lengthy court battle to block release of his tax returns and other records to the Manhattan district attorney for a criminal investigation, including two appeals by Trump to the U.S. Supreme Court, in February 2021 the high court allowed the records to be released to the prosecutor for review by a grand jury.{{cite news |url=https://cnn.com/2021/02/22/politics/supreme-court-trump-taxes-vance/ |title=Supreme Court allows release of Trump tax returns to NY prosecutor |first=Ariane |last=de Vogue |date=February 22, 2021 |access-date=September 14, 2022 |work=CNN}}{{cite news |first=Jessica |last=Gresko |url=https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-donald-trump-tax-rercords-3aee14146906351ee9dd34aa7b6f4386 |title=Supreme Court won't halt turnover of Trump's tax records |date=February 22, 2021 |access-date=October 2, 2021 |work=AP News}} In October 2016, portions of Trump's state filings for 1995 were leaked to a reporter from The New York Times. They show that he had declared a loss of $916 million that year, which could have let him avoid taxes for up to 18 years.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/10/us/politics/donald-trump-taxes.html |title=Donald Trump Acknowledges Not Paying Federal Income Taxes for Years |last1=Eder |first1=Steve |last2=Twohey |first2=Megan |author-link2=Megan Twohey |date=October 10, 2016 |access-date=October 2, 2021 |work=The New York Times}}

On November 8, 2016, Trump received 306 pledged electoral votes versus 232 for Clinton. After elector defections on both sides, the official count was 304 to 227.{{cite news |first1=Kiersten |last1=Schmidt |first2=Wilson |last2=Andrews |title=A Historic Number of Electors Defected, and Most Were Supposed to Vote for Clinton |date=December 19, 2016 |access-date=January 31, 2017 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/12/19/us/elections/electoral-college-results.html}} The fifth person to be elected president despite losing the popular vote,{{efn|name=electoral-college|Presidential elections in the U.S. are decided by the Electoral College. Each state names a number of electors equal to its representation in Congress and (in most states) all electors vote for the winner of their state's popular vote.}} he received nearly 2.9 million fewer votes than Clinton, 46.3% to her 48.25%.{{cite news |last=Desilver |first=Drew |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/12/20/why-electoral-college-landslides-are-easier-to-win-than-popular-vote-ones/ |title=Trump's victory another example of how Electoral College wins are bigger than popular vote ones |website=Pew Research Center |date=December 20, 2016 |access-date=October 2, 2021}} He was the only president who neither served in the military nor held any government office prior to becoming president.{{cite news |url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/11/13587532/donald-trump-no-experience |title=Donald Trump will be the only US president ever with no political or military experience |last=Crockett |first=Zachary |date=November 11, 2016 |work=Vox |access-date=January 3, 2017}} His victory marked the return of an undivided Republican government—a Republican president combined with Republican control of both chambers of Congress.{{cite news |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 9, 2016 |access-date=October 2, 2021 |first=Amber |last=Phillips |title=Republicans are poised to grasp the holy grail of governance |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/11/09/republicans-are-about-to-reach-the-holy-grail-of-governance/}} Trump's victory sparked protests in major U.S. cities.{{cite news |last1=Blau |first1=Max |last2=McKirdy |first2=Euan |last3=Yan |first3=Holly |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2016/11/10/politics/election-results-reaction-streets/index.html |title=Protesters target Trump buildings in massive street rallies |date=November 11, 2016 |work=CNN |access-date=January 21, 2025}}{{cite news |last1=Mele |first1=Christopher |last2=Correal |first2=Annie |title='Not Our President': Protests Spread After Donald Trump's Election |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/10/us/trump-election-protests.html |work=The New York Times |date=November 9, 2016 |access-date=May 10, 2024}}

First presidency (2017–2021)

File:Donald Trump swearing in ceremony.jpg, administered by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., on January 20, 2017]]

File:Donald Trump official portrait.jpg

=Early actions=

{{see also|First presidential transition of Donald Trump|First 100 days of the first Donald Trump presidency}}

Trump was inaugurated on January 20, 2017. The day after his inauguration, an estimated 2.6 million people worldwide, including 500,000 in Washington, D.C., protested against him in the Women's Marches.{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/21/womens-march-aims-start-movement-trump-inauguration/96864158/ |title=At 2.6 million strong, Women's Marches crush expectations |last1=Przybyla |first1=Heidi M. |last2=Schouten |first2=Fredreka |date=January 21, 2017 |newspaper=USA Today |access-date=January 22, 2017}} During his first week in office, Trump signed six executive orders, including authorizing procedures for repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare"), withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, advancement of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipeline projects, and planning for a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.{{cite news |last=Quigley |first=Aidan |title=All of Trump's executive actions so far |url=https://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2017/01/all-trump-executive-actions-000288 |access-date=January 28, 2017 |work=Politico |date=January 25, 2017}}

= Conflicts of interest =

Before being inaugurated, Trump moved his businesses into a revocable trust,{{cite news |first=Marilyn |last=Geewax |title=Trump Has Revealed Assumptions About Handling Presidential Wealth, Businesses |url=https://www.npr.org/2018/01/20/576871315/trump-has-revealed-assumptions-about-handling-presidential-wealth-businesses |work=NPR News |date=January 20, 2018 |access-date=October 2, 2021}}{{cite news |title=Donald Trump: A list of potential conflicts of interest |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38069298 |work=BBC News |date=April 18, 2017 |access-date=October 2, 2021}} rather than a blind trust or equivalent arrangement "to cleanly sever himself from his business interests".{{cite news |first1=Karen |last1=Yourish |first2=Larry |last2=Buchanan |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/12/us/politics/ethics-experts-trumps-conflicts-of-interest.html |access-date=September 3, 2024 |title=It 'Falls Short in Every Respect': Ethics Experts Pan Trump's Conflicts Plan |work=The New York Times |date=January 12, 2017}} He continued to profit from his businesses and knew how his administration's policies affected them.{{cite news |last=Venook |first=Jeremy |title=Trump's Interests vs. America's, Dubai Edition |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/08/donald-trump-conflicts-of-interests/508382/ |work=The Atlantic |date=August 9, 2017 |access-date=October 2, 2021}} Although he said he would eschew "new foreign deals", the Trump Organization pursued operational expansions in Scotland, Dubai, and the Dominican Republic. Lobbyists, foreign government officials, and Trump donors and allies generated hundreds of millions of dollars for his resorts and hotels.{{cite news |last=Stone |first=Peter |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/19/donald-trump-businesses-hotels-conflict-of-interest |title=How Trump's businesses are booming with lobbyists, donors and governments |work=The Guardian |date=July 19, 2019 |access-date=November 20, 2024}} Trump was sued for violating the Domestic and Foreign Emoluments Clauses of the U.S. Constitution, the first time that the clauses had been substantively litigated.{{cite report |title=In Focus: The Emoluments Clauses of the U.S. Constitution |url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/IF11086.pdf |date=August 19, 2020 |access-date=October 2, 2021 |publisher=Congressional Research Service}} One case was dismissed in lower court.{{cite news |last=LaFraniere |first=Sharon |author-link=Sharon LaFraniere |title=Lawsuit on Trump Emoluments Violations Gains Traction in Court |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/25/us/politics/trump-emoluments-lawsuit.html |date=January 25, 2018 |work=The New York Times |access-date=January 25, 2018}} Two were dismissed by the U.S. Supreme Court as moot after his term.{{cite news |url=https://cnn.com/2021/01/25/politics/emoluments-supreme-court-donald-trump-case/ |title=Supreme Court dismisses emoluments cases against Trump |first1=Ariane |last1=de Vogue |first2=Devan |last2=Cole |work=CNN |date=January 25, 2021 |access-date=September 14, 2022}}

= Domestic policy =

{{Main|Economic policy of the first Donald Trump administration|Environmental policy of the first Donald Trump administration|Social policy of the first Donald Trump administration}}

Trump took office at the height of the longest economic expansion in American history,{{cite news |first=Andrew |last=Van Dam |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/01/08/trump-jobs-record/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |title=Trump will have the worst jobs record in modern U.S. history. It's not just the pandemic. |date=January 8, 2021 |access-date=October 2, 2021}} which began in 2009 and continued until February 2020, when the COVID-19 recession began.{{cite news |last=Smialek |first=Jeanna |date=June 8, 2020 |title=The U.S. Entered a Recession in February |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/08/business/economy/us-economy-recession-2020.html |access-date=June 10, 2020}} In December 2017, he signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. It reduced tax rates for businesses and individuals and eliminated the penalty associated with the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate.{{cite news |last=Long |first=Heather |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/12/15/the-final-gop-tax-bill-is-complete-heres-what-is-in-it/ |title=The final GOP tax bill is complete. Here's what is in it. |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=December 15, 2017 |access-date=July 31, 2021}}{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/12/15/us/politics/final-republican-tax-bill-cuts.html |title=What's in the Final Republican Tax Bill |work=The New York Times |first1=Wilson |last1=Andrews |first2=Alicia |last2=Parlapiano |date=December 15, 2017 |access-date=December 22, 2017}} The Trump administration claimed that the act would not decrease government revenue, but 2018 revenues were 7.6 percent lower than projected.{{cite news |last=Gale |first=William G. |author-link=William G. Gale |url=https://www.brookings.edu/policy2020/votervital/did-the-2017-tax-cut-the-tax-cuts-and-jobs-act-pay-for-itself/ |title=Did the 2017 tax cut—the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act—pay for itself? |work=Brookings Institution |date=February 14, 2020 |access-date=July 31, 2021}} Under Trump, the federal budget deficit increased by almost 50 percent, to nearly $1 trillion in 2019.{{cite news |last1=Long |first1=Heather |last2=Stein |first2=Jeff |author-link2=Jeff Stein (author) |title=The U.S. deficit hit $984 billion in 2019, soaring during Trump era |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/10/25/us-deficit-hit-billion-marking-nearly-percent-increase-during-trump-era/ |access-date=June 10, 2020 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 25, 2019}} By the end of his term, the U.S. national debt increased by 39 percent, reaching $27.75 trillion, and the U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio hit a post-World War II high.{{cite news |first1=Allan |last1=Sloan |first2=Cezary |last2=Podkul |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/national-debt-trump |work=ProPublica |title=Donald Trump Built a National Debt So Big (Even Before the Pandemic) That It'll Weigh Down the Economy for Years |date=January 14, 2021 |access-date=October 3, 2021}} Trump also failed to deliver the $1 trillion infrastructure spending plan on which he had campaigned.{{cite news |last=Bliss |first=Laura |author-link=Laura Bliss |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-16/what-did-all-those-infrastructure-weeks-add-up-to |title=How Trump's $1 Trillion Infrastructure Pledge Added Up |work=Bloomberg News |date=November 16, 2020 |access-date=December 29, 2021}}

Trump is the only modern U.S. president to leave office with a smaller workforce than when he took office, by three million people.{{cite news |last=Burns |first=Dan |date=January 8, 2021 |title=Trump ends his term like a growing number of Americans: out of a job |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN29D31G/ |access-date=May 10, 2024 |work=Reuters}} He rejects the scientific consensus on climate change.{{cite news |first1=Ashley |last1=Parker |author-link1=Ashley Parker |first2=Coral |last2=Davenport |title=Donald Trump's Energy Plan: More Fossil Fuels and Fewer Rules |date=May 26, 2016 |access-date=October 3, 2021 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/27/us/politics/donald-trump-global-warming-energy-policy.html}}{{cite news |first=Jason |last=Samenow |author-link=Jason Samenow |title=Donald Trump's unsettling nonsense on weather and climate |date=March 22, 2016 |access-date=October 3, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2016/03/22/donald-trumps-unsettling-nonsense-on-weather-and-climate}}{{cite news |last1=Lemire |first1=Jonathan |author-link1=Jonathan Lemire |last2=Madhani |first2=Aamer |last3=Weissert |first3=Will |last4=Knickmeyer |first4=Ellen |date=September 15, 2020 |title=Trump spurns science on climate: 'Don't think science knows' |url=https://apnews.com/article/climate-climate-change-elections-joe-biden-campaigns-bd152cd786b58e45c61bebf2457f9930 |access-date=May 11, 2024 |work=AP News}}{{cite news |last1=Plumer |first1=Brad |last2=Davenport |first2=Coral |date=December 28, 2019 |title=Science Under Attack: How Trump Is Sidelining Researchers and Their Work |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/28/climate/trump-administration-war-on-science.html |access-date=May 11, 2024 |work=The New York Times}} He reduced the budget for renewable energy research by 40 percent and reversed Obama-era policies directed at curbing climate change.{{cite news |title=Trump proposes cuts to climate and clean-energy programs |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/how-trump-is-changing-science-environment |date=May 3, 2019 |work=National Geographic Society |access-date=November 24, 2023}} He withdrew from the Paris Agreement, making the U.S. the only nation to not ratify it.{{cite news |last=Dennis |first=Brady |title=As Syria embraces Paris climate deal, it's the United States against the world |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/11/07/as-syria-embraces-paris-climate-deal-its-the-united-states-against-the-world |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 7, 2017 |access-date=May 28, 2018}} He aimed to boost the production and exports of fossil fuels.{{cite news |last=Gardner |first=Timothy |title=Senate confirms Brouillette, former Ford lobbyist, as energy secretary |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-energy-brouillette/senate-confirms-brouillette-former-ford-lobbyist-as-energy-secretary-idUSKBN1Y62E6 |access-date=December 15, 2019 |work=Reuters |date=December 3, 2019}}{{cite news |url=https://apnews.com/article/mt-state-wire-climate-ap-top-news-climate-change-ca-state-wire-2b44ced0e892d7e988e40a486d875b5d |work=AP News |title=Trump's fossil fuel agenda gets pushback from federal judges |first=Matthew |last=Brown |date=September 15, 2020 |access-date=October 3, 2021}} Natural gas expanded under Trump, but coal continued to decline.{{cite news |last=Lipton |first=Eric |author-link=Eric Lipton |date=October 5, 2020 |title='The Coal Industry Is Back,' Trump Proclaimed. It Wasn't. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/05/us/politics/trump-coal-industry.html |access-date=October 3, 2021 |work=The New York Times}}{{cite news |first=Tara |last=Subramaniam |url=https://cnn.com/2021/01/30/politics/trump-broken-promises/ |title=From building the wall to bringing back coal: Some of Trump's more notable broken promises |work=CNN |date=January 30, 2021 |access-date=October 3, 2021}} He rolled back more than 100 federal environmental regulations, including those that curbed greenhouse gas emissions, air and water pollution, and the use of toxic substances. He weakened protections for animals and environmental standards for federal infrastructure projects, and expanded permitted areas for drilling and resource extraction, such as allowing drilling in the Arctic Refuge.{{cite news |last1=Popovich |first1=Nadja |last2=Albeck-Ripka |first2=Livia |last3=Pierre-Louis |first3=Kendra |author-link3=Kendra Pierre-Louis |title=The Trump Administration Rolled Back More Than 100 Environmental Rules. Here's the Full List. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/climate/trump-environment-rollbacks-list.html |work=The New York Times |date=January 20, 2021 |access-date=December 21, 2023}}

Trump dismantled federal regulations on health,{{cite news |last=Thompson |first=Frank W. |url=https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2020/10/09/six-ways-trump-has-sabotaged-the-affordable-care-act/ |title=Six ways Trump has sabotaged the Affordable Care Act |work=Brookings Institution |date=October 9, 2020 |access-date=January 3, 2022}}{{cite news |last1=Arnsdorf |first1=Isaac |last2=DePillis |first2=Lydia |last3=Lind |first3=Dara |last4=Song |first4=Lisa |last5=Syed |first5=Moiz |last6=Osei |first6=Zipporah |url=https://projects.propublica.org/trump-midnight-regulations/ |title=Tracking the Trump Administration's "Midnight Regulations" |work=ProPublica |date=November 25, 2020 |access-date=January 3, 2022}} labor, the environment,{{cite news |last=Baker |first=Cayli |url=https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/12/15/the-trump-administrations-major-environmental-deregulations/ |date=December 15, 2020 |access-date=January 29, 2022 |title=The Trump administration's major environmental deregulations |work=Brookings Institution}} and other areas, including a bill that made it easier for severely mentally ill persons to buy guns.{{cite magazine |last=Grunwald |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Grunwald |title=Trump's Secret Weapon Against Obama's Legacy |url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/04/donald-trump-obama-legacy-215009/ |magazine=Politico Magazine |date=April 10, 2017 |access-date=January 29, 2022}} During his first six weeks in office, he delayed, suspended, or reversed ninety federal regulations,{{cite news |last1=Lipton |first1=Eric |author-link1=Eric Lipton |last2=Appelbaum |first2=Binyamin |author-link2=Binyamin Appelbaum |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/05/us/politics/trump-deregulation-guns-wall-st-climate.html |title=Leashes Come Off Wall Street, Gun Sellers, Polluters and More |work=The New York Times |date=March 5, 2017 |access-date=January 29, 2022}} often "after requests by the regulated industries".{{cite news |title=Trump-Era Trend: Industries Protest. Regulations Rolled Back. A Dozen Examples |url=https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3480299-10-Examples-Industries-Push-Followed-by-Trump.html#document/p60/a341284 |work=The New York Times |via=DocumentCloud |access-date=January 29, 2022 |date=March 5, 2017}} The Institute for Policy Integrity found that 78 percent of his proposals were blocked by courts or did not prevail over litigation.{{cite report |title=Roundup: Trump-Era Agency Policy in the Courts |url=https://policyintegrity.org/trump-court-roundup |publisher=Institute for Policy Integrity |date=April 25, 2022 |access-date=January 8, 2022}} During his campaign, Trump vowed to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.{{cite news |last=Kodjak |first=Alison |author-link=Alison Kodjak |title=Trump Can Kill Obamacare With Or Without Help From Congress |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/11/09/501203831/trump-can-kill-obamacare-with-or-without-help-from-congress |access-date=January 12, 2017 |work=NPR News |date=November 9, 2016}} In office, he scaled back the Act's implementation through executive orders.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/20/us/politics/trump-executive-order-obamacare.html |title=Trump Issues Executive Order Scaling Back Parts of Obamacare |last1=Davis |first1=Julie Hirschfeld |author-link1=Julie Hirschfeld Davis |last2=Pear |first2=Robert |author-link2=Robert Pear |date=January 20, 2017 |work=The New York Times |access-date=January 23, 2017}}{{cite news |url=https://money.cnn.com/2017/10/12/news/economy/trump-health-care-executive-order/index.html |title=What's in Trump's health care executive order? |first=Tami |last=Luhby |work=CNN |date=October 13, 2017 |access-date=October 14, 2017}} He expressed a desire to "let Obamacare fail"; his administration halved the enrollment period and drastically reduced funding for enrollment promotion.{{cite news |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/18/trump-tweet-obamacare-repeal-failure-240664 |title=Trump says he plans to 'let Obamacare fail' |last=Nelson |first=Louis |date=July 18, 2017 |work=Politico |access-date=September 29, 2017}}{{cite news |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/trump-obamacare-sabotage-enrollment-cuts_us_59a87bffe4b0b5e530fd5751 |title=Trump Ramps Up Obamacare Sabotage With Huge Cuts To Enrollment Programs |last=Young |first=Jeffrey |date=August 31, 2017 |work=HuffPost |access-date=September 29, 2017}} In June 2018, the Trump administration joined 18 Republican-led states in arguing before the Supreme Court that the elimination of the financial penalties associated with the individual mandate had rendered the Act unconstitutional.{{cite news |first=Sheryl Gay |last=Stolberg |author-link=Sheryl Gay Stolberg |title=Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Strike Down Affordable Care Act |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/26/us/politics/obamacare-trump-administration-supreme-court.html |work=The New York Times |date=June 26, 2020 |access-date=October 3, 2021}}{{cite news |title=Obamacare Must 'Fall,' Trump Administration Tells Supreme Court |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/06/26/883819835/obamacare-must-fall-trump-administration-tells-supreme-court |work=NPR News |first=Mark |last=Katkov |date=June 26, 2020 |access-date=September 29, 2021}} Their pleading would have eliminated health insurance coverage for up to 23 million Americans, but was unsuccessful. During the 2016 campaign, Trump promised to protect funding for Medicare and other social safety-net programs. In January 2020, he expressed willingness to consider cuts to them.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/22/us/politics/medicare-trump.html |title=Trump Opens Door to Cuts to Medicare and Other Entitlement Programs |first1=Alan |last1=Rappeport |author-link1=Alan Rappeport |first2=Maggie |last2=Haberman |author-link2=Maggie Haberman |date=January 22, 2020 |access-date=January 24, 2020 |work=The New York Times}}

In response to the opioid epidemic, Trump signed legislation in 2018 to increase funding for drug treatments, but was widely criticized for failing to make a concrete strategy.{{cite news |last=Mann |first=Brian |date=October 29, 2020 |title=Opioid Crisis: Critics Say Trump Fumbled Response To Another Deadly Epidemic |work=NPR News |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/10/29/927859091/opioid-crisis-critics-say-trump-fumbled-response-to-another-deadly-epidemic |access-date=December 13, 2020}} He barred organizations that provide abortions or abortion referrals from receiving federal funds.{{cite news |title=Abortion: How do Trump and Biden's policies compare? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54003808 |work=BBC News |access-date=July 17, 2023 |date=September 9, 2020}} He said he supported "traditional marriage", but considered the nationwide legality of same-sex marriage "settled".{{cite news |url=https://cnn.com/2016/11/14/politics/trump-gay-marriage-abortion-supreme-court/ |title=Trump: Same-sex marriage is 'settled', but Roe v Wade can be changed |work=CNN |first=Ariane |last=de Vogue |date=November 15, 2016 |access-date=November 30, 2016}} His administration rolled back key components of the Obama administration's workplace protections against discrimination of LGBTQ people.{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/lgbtq-advocates-say-trump-s-news-executive-order-makes-them-n740301 |title=LGBTQ Advocates Say Trump's New Executive Order Makes Them Vulnerable to Discrimination |work=NBC News |first=Mary Emily |last=O'Hara |date=March 30, 2017 |access-date=July 30, 2017}} His attempted rollback of anti-discrimination protections for transgender patients in August 2020 was halted by a federal judge after a Supreme Court ruling extended employees' civil rights protections to gender identity and sexual orientation.{{cite news |last=Luthi |first=Susannah |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/17/judge-trump-rollback-transgender-health-397332 |title=Judge halts Trump's rollback of transgender health protections |work=Politico |date=August 17, 2020 |access-date=November 8, 2023}} Trump has said he is opposed to gun control, although his views have shifted over time.{{cite news |url=https://cnn.com/2016/06/20/politics/donald-trump-gun-positions-nra-orlando/ |title=The times Trump changed his positions on guns |work=CNN |date=June 20, 2016 |access-date=October 3, 2021 |first=Gregory |last=Krieg}} His administration took an anti-marijuana position, revoking Obama-era policies that provided protections for states that legalized marijuana.{{cite news |last=Bures |first=Brendan |date=February 21, 2020 |access-date=October 3, 2021 |title=Trump administration doubles down on anti-marijuana position |work=Chicago Tribune |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/marijuana/sns-tft-trump-anti-marijuana-stance-20200221-jfdx4urbb5bhrf6ldtfpxleopi-story.html}} He is a long-time advocate of capital punishment,{{cite news |last=Wolf |first=Zachary B. |title=Trump returns to the death penalty as Democrats turn against it |url=https://cnn.com/2019/07/27/politics/death-penalty-trump-democrats/ |work=CNN |access-date=September 18, 2022 |date=July 27, 2019}}{{cite news |last=Honderich |first=Holly |title=In Trump's final days, a rush of federal executions |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55236260 |work=BBC News |date=January 16, 2021 |access-date=September 18, 2022}} and his administration oversaw the federal government execute 13 prisoners, more than in the previous 56 years combined, ending a 17-year moratorium.{{cite news |first1=Michael |last1=Tarm |first2=Michael |last2=Kunzelman |title=Trump administration carries out 13th and final execution |url=https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-wildlife-coronavirus-pandemic-crime-terre-haute-28e44cc5c026dc16472751bbde0ead50 |work=AP News |date=January 15, 2021 |access-date=January 30, 2022}} In 2016, he said he supported the use of interrogation torture methods such as waterboarding.{{cite news |last=McCarthy |first=Tom |title=Donald Trump: I'd bring back 'a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/06/donald-trump-waterboarding-republican-debate-torture |work=The Guardian |date=February 7, 2016 |access-date=February 8, 2016}}{{cite news |title=Ted Cruz, Donald Trump Advocate Bringing Back Waterboarding |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/ted-cruz-donald-trump-advocate-bringing-back-waterboarding-36764410 |work=ABC News |date=February 6, 2016 |access-date=February 9, 2016}}

= Race relations =

File:President Trump Gives a Statement on the Infrastructure Discussion.webm

Trump's comments on the 2017 Unite the Right rally, condemning "this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides" and stating that there were "very fine people on both sides", were criticized as implying a moral equivalence between the white supremacist demonstrators and the counter-protesters.{{cite news |last=Kessler |first=Glenn |author-link=Glenn Kessler (journalist) |date=May 8, 2020 |title=The 'very fine people' at Charlottesville: Who were they? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/05/08/very-fine-people-charlottesville-who-were-they-2/ |access-date=October 23, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} In a January 2018 discussion of immigration legislation, he reportedly referred to El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, and African nations as "shithole countries".{{cite news |last=Beauchamp |first=Zack |date=January 11, 2018 |title=Trump's "shithole countries" comment exposes the core of Trumpism |url=https://www.vox.com/2018/1/11/16880804/trump-shithole-countries-racism |access-date=January 11, 2018 |work=Vox}} His remarks were condemned as racist.{{cite news |last1=Wintour |first1=Patrick |author-link1=Patrick Wintour |last2=Burke |first2=Jason |author-link2=Jason Burke |last3=Livsey |first3=Anna |date=January 13, 2018 |title='There's no other word but racist': Trump's global rebuke for 'shithole' remark |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/12/unkind-divisive-elitist-international-outcry-over-trumps-shithole-countries-remark |access-date=January 13, 2018 |work=The Guardian}}

File:President Trump Visits St. John's Episcopal Church (49964153176).jpg]]

In July 2019, Trump tweeted that four Democratic congresswomen—all minorities, three of whom are native-born Americans—should "go back" to the countries they "came from".{{cite news |last1=Rogers |first1=Katie |last2=Fandos |first2=Nicholas |author-link2=Nicholas Fandos |date=July 14, 2019 |title=Trump Tells Congresswomen to 'Go Back' to the Countries They Came From |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/14/us/politics/trump-twitter-squad-congress.html |access-date=September 30, 2021 |work=The New York Times}} Two days later the House of Representatives voted 240–187, mostly along party lines, to condemn his "racist comments".{{cite news |last=Mak |first=Tim |author-link=Tim Mak |date=July 16, 2019 |title=House Votes To Condemn Trump's 'Racist Comments' |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/07/16/742236610/condemnation-of-president-delayed-by-debate-can-lawmakers-call-trump-tweets-raci |access-date=July 17, 2019 |work=NPR News}} White nationalist publications and social media praised his remarks, which continued over the following days.{{cite news |last1=Simon |first1=Mallory |last2=Sidner |first2=Sara |author-link2=Sara Sidner |date=July 16, 2019 |title=Trump said 'many people agree' with his racist tweets. These white supremacists certainly do. |url=https://cnn.com/2019/07/16/politics/white-supremacists-cheer-trump-racist-tweets-soh/ |access-date=July 20, 2019 |work=CNN}} He continued to make similar remarks during his 2020 campaign.{{cite news |last=Choi |first=Matthew |date=September 22, 2020 |title='She's telling us how to run our country': Trump again goes after Ilhan Omar's Somali roots |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/22/trump-attacks-ilhan-omar-420267 |access-date=October 12, 2021 |work=Politico}} In June 2020, during the George Floyd protests, federal law-enforcement officials controversially removed a largely peaceful crowd of lawful protesters from Lafayette Square, outside the White House.{{cite news |last1=Leonnig |first1=Carol D. |author-link1=Carol D. Leonnig |last2=Zapotosky |first2=Matt |last3=Dawsey |first3=Josh |author-link3=Josh Dawsey |last4=Tan |first4=Rebecca |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/barr-personally-ordered-removal-of-protesters-near-white-house-leading-to-use-of-force-against-largely-peaceful-crowd/2020/06/02/0ca2417c-a4d5-11ea-b473-04905b1af82b_story.html |title=Barr personally ordered removal of protesters near White House, leading to use of force against largely peaceful crowd |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=June 2, 2020 |access-date=June 3, 2020}}{{cite news |last=Bump |first=Philip |date=June 2, 2020 |title=Timeline: The clearing of Lafayette Square |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/06/02/timeline-clearing-lafayette-square/ |access-date=June 6, 2020}} Trump then posed with a Bible for a photo-op at the nearby St. John's Episcopal Church,{{cite news |last1=Gittleson |first1=Ben |last2=Phelps |first2=Jordyn |title=Police use munitions to forcibly push back peaceful protesters for Trump church visit |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/national-guard-troops-deployed-white-house-trump-calls/story?id=71004151 |access-date=June 29, 2021 |work=ABC News |date=June 3, 2020}}{{cite news |last=O'Neil |first=Luke |date=June 2, 2020 |title=What do we know about Trump's love for the Bible? |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/02/what-do-we-know-about-trumps-love-for-the-bible |access-date=June 11, 2020}} with religious leaders condemning both the treatment of protesters and the photo opportunity itself.{{cite news |last1=Stableford |first1=Dylan |last2=Wilson |first2=Christopher |title=Religious leaders condemn teargassing protesters to clear street for Trump |url=https://news.yahoo.com/religious-leaders-condemn-gassing-protesters-to-clear-street-for-trump-192800782.html |access-date=June 8, 2020 |work=Yahoo! News |date=June 3, 2020}} Many retired military leaders and defense officials condemned his proposal to use the U.S. military against anti-police-brutality protesters.{{cite news |title=Scores of retired military leaders publicly denounce Trump |url=https://apnews.com/article/252914f8a989a740544be6d4992d044c |access-date=June 8, 2020 |work=AP News |date=June 6, 2020}}

= Pardons and commutations =

{{Further|List of people granted executive clemency by Donald Trump}}

During his first term, Trump granted 237 requests for clemency, fewer than all presidents since 1900 with the exception of George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush.{{cite news |last=Gramlich |first=John |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/01/22/trump-used-his-clemency-power-sparingly-despite-a-raft-of-late-pardons-and-commutations/ |title=Trump used his clemency power sparingly despite a raft of late pardons and commutations |publisher=Pew Research Center |date=January 22, 2021 |access-date=July 23, 2023}} Only 25 of them had been vetted by the Justice Department's Office of the Pardon Attorney; the others were granted to people with personal or political connections to him, his family, and his allies, or recommended by celebrities.{{cite news |last=Vogel |first=Kenneth P. |author-link=Kenneth P. Vogel |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/27/us/politics/trump-pardons.html |title=The Road to Clemency From Trump Was Closed to Most Who Sought It |work=The New York Times |date=March 21, 2021 |access-date=July 23, 2023}}{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-pardon-power-russia-probe-mueller/2020/12/24/c55000c8-45fd-11eb-b0e4-0f182923a025_story.html |date=December 24, 2020 |access-date=October 3, 2021 |title=Trump wields pardon power as political weapon, rewarding loyalists and undermining prosecutors |newspaper=The Washington Post |first1=Toluse |last1=Olorunnipa |author-link1=Toluse Olorunnipa |first2=Josh |last2=Dawsey |author-link2=Josh Dawsey}} In his last full day in office, he granted 73 pardons and commuted 70 sentences.{{cite news |first1=Kevin |last1=Johnson |first2=David |last2=Jackson |first3=Dennis |last3=Wagner |url=https://usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/01/19/donald-trump-pardons-steve-bannon-white-house/4209763001/ |title=Donald Trump grants clemency to 144 people (not himself or family members) in final hours |date=January 19, 2021 |work=USA Today |access-date=July 23, 2023}} Several Trump allies were not eligible for pardons under Justice Department rules, and in other cases the department had opposed clemency. The pardons of three military service members convicted of or charged with violent crimes were opposed by military leaders.{{cite news |last=Phillips |first=Dave |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/15/us/trump-pardons.html |title=Trump Clears Three Service Members in War Crimes Cases |work=The New York Times |date=November 22, 2019 |access-date=April 18, 2024}}

= Immigration =

{{Main|Immigration policy of the first Donald Trump administration|Mexico–United States border crisis#First Trump administration (2017–2021)}}

{{Further|Trump travel ban|Trump administration family separation policy|Mexico–United States border wall#First Trump administration (2017–2021)}}

File:Donald Trump visits San Diego border wall prototypes.jpg]]

As president, Trump described illegal immigration as an "invasion" of the United States{{cite news |last=Fritze |first=John |date=August 8, 2019 |title=A USA Today analysis found Trump used words like 'invasion' and 'killer' at rallies more than 500 times since 2017 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2019/08/08/trump-immigrants-rhetoric-criticized-el-paso-dayton-shootings/1936742001/ |access-date=August 9, 2019 |work=USA Today}} and drastically escalated immigration enforcement.{{sfn|Johnson|2017a}}{{sfn|Johnson|Cuison-Villazor|2019}} He implemented harsh policies against asylum seekers{{sfn|Johnson|Cuison-Villazor|2019}} and deployed nearly 6,000 troops the U.S.–Mexico border to stop illegal crossings.{{cite news |last=Mitchell |first=Ellen |date=January 29, 2019 |title=Pentagon to send a 'few thousand' more troops to southern border |url=https://thehill.com/policy/defense/427519-pentagon-to-send-a-few-thousand-more-troops-to-southern-border |access-date=June 4, 2020 |work=The Hill}} He reduced the number of refugees admitted to record lows, from an annual limit of 110,000 before he took office to 15,000 in 2021.{{cite news |last1=Kanno-Youngs |first1=Zolan |author-link1=Zolan Kanno-Youngs |last2=Shear |first2=Michael D. |author-link2=Michael D. Shear |date=October 1, 2020 |title=Trump Virtually Cuts Off Refugees as He Unleashes a Tirade on Immigrants |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/01/us/politics/trump-refugees.html |access-date=September 30, 2021 |work=The New York Times}}{{cite news |date=November 4, 2019 |title=Donald Trump has cut refugee admissions to America to a record low |url=https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2019/11/04/donald-trump-has-cut-refugee-admissions-to-america-to-a-record-low |access-date=June 25, 2020 |newspaper=The Economist}}{{cite news |last=Hesson |first=Ted |date=October 11, 2019 |title=Trump ending U.S. role as worldwide leader on refugees |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/11/trump-refugee-decrease-immigration-044186 |access-date=June 25, 2020 |work=Politico}} Trump also increased restrictions on granting permanent residency to immigrants needing public benefits.{{cite news |last=Snow |first=Anita |date=February 25, 2020 |title=Crackdown on immigrants who use public benefits takes effect |url=https://apnews.com/article/e069e5a84057752a8535b1abe5d2ba6d |access-date=June 4, 2020 |work=AP News}} One of his central campaign promises was to build a wall along the U.S.–Mexico border;{{cite news |last=Timm |first=Jane C. |date=January 13, 2021 |title=Fact check: Mexico never paid for it. But what about Trump's other border wall promises? |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/fact-check-mexico-never-paid-it-what-about-trump-s-n1253983 |access-date=December 21, 2021 |work=NBC News}} during his first term, the U.S. built {{convert|73|mi|km}} of wall in areas without barriers and {{convert|365|mi|km}} to replace older barriers.{{cite news |last=Farley |first=Robert |date=February 16, 2021 |title=Trump's Border Wall: Where Does It Stand? |url=https://www.factcheck.org/2020/12/trumps-border-wall-where-does-it-stand/ |access-date=December 21, 2021 |work=FactCheck.org}} In 2018, Trump's refusal to sign any spending bill unless it allocated funding for the border wall{{cite news |last1=Davis |first1=Julie Hirschfeld |author-link1=Julie Hirschfeld Davis |last2=Tackett |first2=Michael |author-link2=Michael Tackett |date=January 2, 2019 |title=Trump and Democrats Dig in After Talks to Reopen Government Go Nowhere |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/02/us/politics/trump-congress-shutdown.html |access-date=January 3, 2019 |work=The New York Times}} resulted in the longest-ever federal government shutdown, for 35 days from December 2018 to January 2019.{{cite news |last1=Gambino |first1=Lauren |last2=Walters |first2=Joanna |date=January 26, 2019 |title=Trump signs bill to end $6bn shutdown and temporarily reopen government |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/25/shutdown-latest-news-trump-reopens-government-deal-democrats |access-date=May 31, 2020 |work=The Guardian}}{{cite news |last=Pramuk |first=Jacob |date=January 25, 2019 |title=Trump signs bill to temporarily reopen government after longest shutdown in history |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/25/senate-votes-to-reopen-government-and-end-shutdown-without-border-wall.html |access-date=May 31, 2020 |work=CNBC}} The shutdown ended after he agreed to fund the government without any funds for the wall. To avoid another shutdown, Congress passed a funding bill with $1.4 billion for border fencing in February.{{cite news |last1=Pramuk |first1=Jacob |last2=Wilkie |first2=Christina |date=February 15, 2019 |title=Trump declares national emergency to build border wall, setting up massive legal fight |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/15/trump-national-emergency-declaration-border-wall-spending-bill.html |access-date=May 31, 2020 |work=CNBC}} Trump later declared a national emergency on the southern border to divert $6.1 billion of funding to the border wall despite congressional disagreement.{{cite news |last=Carney |first=Jordain |date=October 17, 2019 |title=Senate fails to override Trump veto over emergency declaration |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/466313-senate-fails-to-override-trumps-emergency-declaration-veto |access-date=May 31, 2020 |work=The Hill}}

In January 2017, Trump signed an executive order that temporarily denied entry to citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries.{{cite news |last1=Walters |first1=Joanna |last2=Helmore |first2=Edward |last3=Dehghan |first3=Saeed Kamali |author-link3=Saeed Kamali Dehghan |date=January 28, 2017 |title=US airports on frontline as Donald Trump's travel ban causes chaos and protests |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/28/airports-us-immigration-ban-muslim-countries-trump |access-date=July 19, 2017 |work=The Guardian}}{{cite news |date=January 28, 2017 |title=Protests erupt at airports nationwide over immigration action |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/protests-airports-immigration-action-president-trump/ |access-date=March 22, 2021 |work=CBS News}} The order caused many protests and legal challenges that resulted in nationwide injunctions.{{cite news |last1=Barrett |first1=Devlin |last2=Frosch |first2=Dan |date=February 4, 2017 |title=Federal Judge Temporarily Halts Trump Order on Immigration, Refugees |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/legal-feud-over-trump-immigration-order-turns-to-visa-revocations-1486153216 |access-date=October 3, 2021 |work=The Wall Street Journal}} A revised order giving some exceptions was also blocked by courts,{{cite news |last1=Levine |first1=Dan |last2=Rosenberg |first2=Mica |date=March 15, 2017 |title=Hawaii judge halts Trump's new travel ban before it can go into effect |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-court-idUSKBN16M17N |access-date=October 3, 2021 |work=Reuters}}{{cite news |date=March 6, 2017 |title=Trump signs new travel ban directive |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-39183153 |access-date=March 18, 2017 |work=BBC News}} but the Supreme Court ruled in June that the ban could be enforced on those lacking "a bona fide relationship with a person or entity" in the U.S.{{cite news |last=Sherman |first=Mark |date=June 26, 2017 |title=Limited version of Trump's travel ban to take effect Thursday |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-travel-ban-supreme-court-20170626-story.html |access-date=August 5, 2017 |work=Chicago Tribune |agency=Associated Press}} Trump replaced the ban in September with a presidential proclamation extending travel bans to North Koreans, Chadians, and some Venezuelan officials, but excluded Iraq and Sudan.{{cite news |last=Laughland |first=Oliver |date=September 25, 2017 |title=Trump travel ban extended to blocks on North Korea, Venezuela and Chad |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/25/trump-travel-ban-extended-to-blocks-on-north-korea-and-venezuela |access-date=October 13, 2017 |work=The Guardian}} The Supreme Court allowed that version to go into effect in December 2017,{{cite news |last=Hurley |first=Lawrence |date=December 4, 2017 |title=Supreme Court lets Trump's latest travel ban go into full effect |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-immigration/supreme-court-lets-trumps-latest-travel-ban-go-into-full-effect-idUSKBN1DY2NY |access-date=October 3, 2021 |work=Reuters}} and ultimately upheld the ban in 2019.{{cite news |last1=Wagner |first1=Meg |last2=Ries |first2=Brian |last3=Rocha |first3=Veronica |date=June 26, 2018 |title=Supreme Court upholds travel ban |url=https://cnn.com/politics/live-news/supreme-court-travel-ban/ |access-date=June 26, 2018 |work=CNN}} From 2017 to 2018, the Trump administration had a policy of family separation that separated over 4,400 children of migrant families from their parents at the U.S.–Mexico border,{{cite news |last=Pearle |first=Lauren |date=February 5, 2019 |title=Trump administration admits thousands more migrant families may have been separated than estimated |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-administration-unsure-thousands-migrant-families-separated-originally/story?id=60797633 |access-date=May 30, 2020 |work=ABC News}}{{cite news |last=Spagat |first=Elliot |date=October 25, 2019 |title=Tally of children split at border tops 5,400 in new count |url=https://apnews.com/article/c654e652a4674cf19304a4a4ff599feb |access-date=May 30, 2020 |work=AP News}} an unprecedented{{cite news |last1=Domonoske |first1=Camila |last2=Gonzales |first2=Richard |date=June 19, 2018 |title=What We Know: Family Separation And 'Zero Tolerance' At The Border |url=https://www.npr.org/2018/06/19/621065383/what-we-know-family-separation-and-zero-tolerance-at-the-border |access-date=May 30, 2020 |work=NPR News}} policy sparked public outrage in the country.{{cite news |last=Epstein |first=Jennifer |date=June 18, 2018 |title=Donald Trump's family separations bedevil GOP as public outrage grows |url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/donald-trump-s-family-separations-bedevil-gop-as-public-outrage-grows-20180618-p4zm9h.html |access-date=May 30, 2020 |work=Bloomberg News |via=The Sydney Morning Herald}} Despite Trump initially blaming Democrats{{cite news |last=Sarlin |first=Benjy |date=June 15, 2018 |title=Despite claims, GOP immigration bill would not end family separation, experts say |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/immigration-border-crisis/despite-claims-gop-immigration-bill-would-not-end-family-separation-n883701 |access-date=June 18, 2018 |work=NBC News}}{{cite news |last1=Davis |first1=Julie Hirschfeld |author-link1=Julie Hirschfeld Davis |last2=Nixon |first2=Ron |author-link2=Ron Nixon |date=May 29, 2018 |title=Trump Officials, Moving to Break Up Migrant Families, Blame Democrats |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/29/us/politics/trump-democrats-immigrant-families.html |access-date=December 29, 2020 |work=The New York Times}} and insisting he could not stop the policy with an executive order, he acceded to public pressure in June 2018 and mandated that migrant families be detained together unless "there is a concern" of risk for the child.{{cite magazine |last=Beckwith |first=Ryan Teague |date=June 20, 2018 |title=Here's What President Trump's Immigration Order Actually Does |url=https://time.com/5317703/trump-family-separation-policy-executive-order/ |access-date=May 30, 2020 |magazine=Time}}{{cite news |last1=Shear |first1=Michael D. |author-link1=Michael D. Shear |last2=Goodnough |first2=Abby |last3=Haberman |first3=Maggie |author-link3=Maggie Haberman |date=June 20, 2018 |title=Trump Retreats on Separating Families, but Thousands May Remain Apart |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/20/us/politics/trump-immigration-children-executive-order.html |access-date=June 20, 2018 |work=The New York Times}} A judge later ordered that the families be reunited and further separations stopped except in limited circumstances,{{cite news |last=Hansler |first=Jennifer |date=June 27, 2018 |title=Judge says government does a better job of tracking 'personal property' than separated kids |url=https://cnn.com/2018/06/27/politics/family-separation-federal-judge-personal-property-comment/ |access-date=May 30, 2020 |work=CNN}}{{cite news |last=Walters |first=Joanna |date=June 27, 2018 |title=Judge orders US to reunite families separated at border within 30 days |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jun/27/us-immigration-must-reunite-families-separated-at-border-federal-judge-rules |access-date=May 30, 2020 |work=The Guardian}} though over 1,000 additional children were separated from their families after the order.

= Foreign policy =

{{Main|Foreign policy of the first Donald Trump administration|Tariffs in the first Trump administration}}

{{Further information|Russia–United States relations#First Trump administration (2017–2021)|China–United States relations#First Trump administration (2017–2021)|2017–2018 North Korea crisis|2018–19 Korean peace process}}

{{See also|List of international presidential trips made by Donald Trump#First presidency (2017–2021)}}

File:-G7Biarritz (48616362963).jpg leaders at the 45th summit in France, 2019]]

Trump described himself as a "nationalist"{{cite news |first=William |last=Cummings |title='I am a nationalist': Trump's embrace of controversial label sparks uproar |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/10/24/trump-says-hes-nationalist-what-means-why-its-controversial/1748521002/ |work=USA Today |date=October 24, 2018 |access-date=August 24, 2021}} and his foreign policy as "America First".{{cite news |first=Katrin |last=Bennhold |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/06/world/europe/germany-troop-withdrawal-america.html |work=The New York Times |title=Has 'America First' Become 'Trump First'? Germans Wonder |date=June 6, 2020 |access-date=August 24, 2021}} He supported populist, neo-nationalist, and authoritarian governments.{{cite news |url=https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2018/10/can-us-democracy-policy-survive-trump?lang=en |title=Can U.S. Democracy Policy Survive Trump? |last1=Carothers |first1=Thomas |author-link1=Thomas Carothers |last2=Brown |first2=Frances Z. |date=October 1, 2018 |website=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |access-date=October 19, 2019}} Unpredictability, uncertainty, and inconsistency characterized foreign relations during his tenure.{{sfn|McGurk|2020}} Relations between the U.S. and its European allies were strained under Trump.{{cite news |first=Ana |last=Swanson |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/business/economy/trump-european-union-trade.html |title=Trump Administration Escalates Tensions With Europe as Crisis Looms |date=March 12, 2020 |access-date=October 4, 2021 |work=The New York Times}} He criticized NATO allies and privately suggested that the U.S. should withdraw from NATO.{{cite news |last=Baker |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Baker (journalist) |date=May 26, 2017 |access-date=October 4, 2021 |title=Trump Says NATO Allies Don't Pay Their Share. Is That True? |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/26/world/europe/nato-trump-spending.html}}{{cite news |last1=Barnes |first1=Julian E. |last2=Cooper |first2=Helene |author-link2=Helene Cooper |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/14/us/politics/nato-president-trump.html |title=Trump Discussed Pulling U.S. From NATO, Aides Say Amid New Concerns Over Russia |work=The New York Times |date=January 14, 2019 |access-date=April 5, 2021}} Trump supported many of the policies of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.{{cite news |last=Sommer |first=Allison Kaplan |date=July 25, 2019 |title=How Trump and Netanyahu Became Each Other's Most Effective Political Weapon |work=Haaretz |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-how-trump-and-netanyahu-became-each-other-s-most-effective-political-weapon-1.7569757 |access-date=August 2, 2019}} In 2020, Trump hosted the signing of the Abraham Accords between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to normalize their foreign relations.{{cite news |last=Crowley |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Crowley (journalist) |date=September 15, 2020 |title=Israel, U.A.E. and Bahrain Sign Accords, With an Eager Trump Playing Host |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/15/us/politics/trump-israel-peace-emirates-bahrain.html |access-date=February 9, 2024}}

Trump began a trade war with China in 2018 after imposing tariffs and other trade barriers he said would force China to end longstanding unfair trade practice and intellectual property infringement.{{cite news |last=Swanson |first=Ana |date=July 5, 2018 |title=Trump's Trade War With China Is Officially Underway |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/05/business/china-us-trade-war-trump-tariffs.html |access-date=May 26, 2019 |work=The New York Times}} Trump weakened the toughest U.S. sanctions imposed after the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea.{{cite news |last=Zengerle |first=Patricia |date=January 16, 2019 |title=Bid to keep U.S. sanctions on Russia's Rusal fails in Senate |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-russia-sanctions/bid-to-keep-u-s-sanctions-on-russias-rusal-fails-in-senate-idUSKCN1PA2JB |access-date=October 5, 2021 |work=Reuters}}{{cite news |last=Whalen |first=Jeanne |date=January 15, 2019 |title=In rare rebuke of Trump administration, some GOP lawmakers advance measure to oppose lifting Russian sanctions |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/01/16/rare-rebuke-trump-administration-some-gop-lawmakers-advance-measure-oppose-lifting-russian-sanctions/ |access-date=October 5, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} Trump praised and, according to some critics, rarely criticized Russian president Vladimir Putin,{{cite news |last=Baker |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Baker (journalist) |date=August 10, 2017 |title=Trump Praises Putin Instead of Critiquing Cuts to U.S. Embassy Staff |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/10/world/europe/putin-trump-embassy-russia.html |access-date=June 7, 2020 |work=The New York Times}}{{cite news |last=Nussbaum |first=Matthew |date=April 8, 2018 |title=Trump blames Putin for backing 'Animal Assad' |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/04/08/trump-putin-syria-attack-508223 |access-date=October 5, 2021 |work=Politico}} though he opposed some actions of Russia's government.{{cite news |date=December 21, 2019 |title=Nord Stream 2: Trump approves sanctions on Russia gas pipeline |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50875935 |access-date=October 5, 2021 |work=BBC News}} He withdrew the U.S. from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, citing alleged Russian noncompliance,{{cite news |last=Bugos |first=Shannon |date=September 2019 |title=U.S. Completes INF Treaty Withdrawal |url=https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2019-09/news/us-completes-inf-treaty-withdrawal |access-date=October 5, 2021 |website=Arms Control Association}} and supported Russia's possible return to the G7.{{cite news |last=Panetta |first=Grace |date=June 14, 2018 |title=Trump reportedly claimed to leaders at the G7 that Crimea is part of Russia because everyone there speaks Russian |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-claims-crimea-is-part-of-russia-since-people-speak-russian-g7-summit-2018-6 |access-date=February 13, 2020 |work=Business Insider}} As North Korea's nuclear weapons were increasingly seen as a serious threat,{{cite news |last1=Taylor |first1=Adam |last2=Meko |first2=Tim |date=December 21, 2017 |title=What made North Korea's weapons programs so much scarier in 2017 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/12/21/what-made-north-koreas-weapons-programs-so-much-scarier-in-2017/ |access-date=July 5, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to meet a North Korean leader, meeting Kim Jong Un three times: in Singapore in June 2018, in Hanoi in February 2019, and in the Korean Demilitarized Zone in June 2019.{{cite news |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |author-link1=Peter Baker (journalist) |last2=Crowley |first2=Michael |author-link2=Michael Crowley (journalist) |date=June 30, 2019 |title=Trump Steps Into North Korea and Agrees With Kim Jong-un to Resume Talks |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/30/world/asia/trump-north-korea-dmz.html |access-date=October 5, 2021 |work=The New York Times}} Talks in October 2019 broke down and no denuclearization agreement was reached.{{cite news |last1=Sanger |first1=David E. |author-link1=David E. Sanger |last2=Sang-Hun |first2=Choe |author-link2=Choe Sang-hun |date=June 12, 2020 |title=Two Years After Trump-Kim Meeting, Little to Show for Personal Diplomacy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/12/world/asia/korea-nuclear-trump-kim.html |access-date=October 5, 2021 |work=The New York Times}}{{cite news |last1=Tanner |first1=Jari |last2=Lee |first2=Matthew |author-link2=Matt Lee (journalist) |date=October 5, 2019 |title=North Korea Says Nuclear Talks Break Down While U.S. Says They Were 'Good' |url=https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-us-news-ap-top-news-north-korea-vietnam-c66474b67b3e41cdad6d21ba3385ddc2 |access-date=July 21, 2021 |work=AP News}}

= Personnel =

{{Main|Political appointments of the first Trump administration|First cabinet of Donald Trump}}

By the end of Trump's first year in office, 34 percent of his original staff had resigned, been fired, or been reassigned.{{cite news |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2017-12-28/trumps-white-house-has-highest-turnover-rate-in-40-years |title=Trump White House Has Highest Turnover in 40 Years |last=Trimble |first=Megan |date=December 28, 2017 |work=U.S. News & World Report |access-date=March 16, 2018}} {{As of|2018|7|pre=early}}, 61 percent of his senior aides had left{{cite news |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/395222-ap-trump-admin-sets-record-for-white-house-turnover |title=AP: Trump admin sets record for White House turnover |work=The Hill |date=July 2, 2018 |access-date=July 3, 2018 |last=Wise |first=Justin}} and 141 staffers had left in the previous year.{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-white-house-sets-turnover-records-analysis-shows-n888396 |title=Trump White House sets turnover records, analysis shows |work=NBC News |date=July 2, 2018 |access-date=July 3, 2018 |agency=Associated Press}} Both figures set a record for recent presidents.{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/2018/03/07/591372397/white-house-staff-turnover-was-already-record-setting-then-more-advisers-left |title=White House Staff Turnover Was Already Record-Setting. Then More Advisers Left |last=Keith |first=Tamara |author-link=Tamara Keith |work=NPR News |date=March 7, 2018 |access-date=March 16, 2018}} Close personal aides to Trump quit or were forced out.{{cite news |first1=Kathryn Dunn |last1=Tenpas |url=https://www.brookings.edu/research/tracking-turnover-in-the-trump-administration/ |title=Tracking Turnover in the Trump Administration |date=March 16, 2018 |website=Brookings Institution |access-date=March 16, 2018}} He publicly disparaged several of his former top officials.{{cite news |last=Cillizza |first=Chris |author-link=Chris Cillizza |title=Donald Trump makes terrible hires, according to Donald Trump |url=https://cnn.com/2020/06/19/politics/trump-mulvaney-bolton-hiring/ |access-date=June 24, 2020 |work=CNN |date=June 19, 2020}}

Trump had four White House chiefs of staff, marginalizing or pushing out several.{{cite news |last=Keith |first=Tamara |author-link=Tamara Keith |date=March 6, 2020 |access-date=October 5, 2021 |title=Mick Mulvaney Out, Mark Meadows in As White House Chief Of Staff |work=NPR News |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/03/06/766025774/mick-mulvaney-out-as-white-house-chief-of-staff}} In May 2017, he dismissed FBI director James Comey, saying a few days later that he was concerned about Comey's role in the Trump–Russia investigations.{{cite magazine |last=Stanek |first=Becca |date=May 11, 2017 |title=President Trump just completely contradicted the official White House account of the Comey firing |magazine=The Week |url=https://theweek.com/speedreads/698368/president-trump-just-completely-contradicted-official-white-house-account-comey-firing |access-date=May 11, 2017}}{{cite news |last1=Schmidt |first1=Michael S. |author-link1=Michael S. Schmidt |last2=Apuzzo |first2=Matt |author-link2=Matt Apuzzo |date=June 7, 2017 |title=Comey Says Trump Pressured Him to 'Lift the Cloud' of Inquiry |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/07/us/politics/james-comey-statement-testimony.html |access-date=November 2, 2021}} Three of Trump's 15 original cabinet members left or were forced to resign within his first year.{{cite news |url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-incredibly-and-historically-unstable-first-year-of-trumps-cabinet/ |title=The Incredibly And Historically Unstable First Year Of Trump's Cabinet |last=Jones-Rooy |first=Andrea |date=November 29, 2017 |work=FiveThirtyEight |access-date=March 16, 2018}} Trump was slow to appoint second-tier officials in the executive branch, saying many of the positions are unnecessary. In October 2017, there were hundreds of sub-cabinet positions without a nominee.{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/10/12/557122200/trump-leaves-top-administration-positions-unfilled-says-hollow-government-by-des |title=Trump Leaves Top Administration Positions Unfilled, Says Hollow Government By Design |last=Keith |first=Tamara |author-link=Tamara Keith |date=October 12, 2017 |work=NPR News |access-date=March 16, 2018}} By January 8, 2019, of 706 key positions, 433 had been filled and he had no nominee for 264.{{cite news |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=January 8, 2019 |access-date=October 6, 2021 |title=Tracking how many key positions Trump has filled so far |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-administration-appointee-tracker/database/}}

= Judiciary =

{{Further|List of federal judges appointed by Donald Trump|Donald Trump judicial appointment controversies}}

Trump appointed 226 federal judges, including 54 to the courts of appeals and three to the Supreme Court: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.{{cite news |last=Gramlich |first=John |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/01/13/how-trump-compares-with-other-recent-presidents-in-appointing-federal-judges/ |title=How Trump compares with other recent presidents in appointing federal judges |publisher=Pew Research Center |date=January 13, 2021 |access-date=May 30, 2021}} His Supreme Court appointments politically shifted the Court to the right.{{cite news |work=Politico |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/26/trump-legacy-supreme-court-422058 |title=Trump's legacy is now the Supreme Court |first=Anita |last=Kumar |date=September 26, 2020}}{{cite news |work=Voice of America |title=Trump's Lasting Legacy: Conservative Supermajority on Supreme Court |first=Masood |last=Farivar |date=December 24, 2020 |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/usa_trumps-lasting-legacy-conservative-supermajority-supreme-court/6199935.html |access-date=December 21, 2023}}{{cite news |title=Nine Black Robes: Inside the Supreme Court's Drive to the Right and Its Historic Consequences |first=Joan |last=Biskupic |author-link=Joan Biskupic |url=https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2023/06/02/nine-black-robes-supreme-court |date=June 2, 2023 |work=WBUR-FM |access-date=December 21, 2023}} In the 2016 campaign, he pledged that Roe v. Wade would be overturned "automatically" if he were elected and given the opportunity to appoint two or three anti-abortion justices. He later took credit when Roe was overturned by Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization in 2022; all three of his Supreme Court nominees voted with the majority.{{cite magazine |magazine=The Week |title=Trump takes credit for Dobbs decision but worries it 'won't help him in the future' |first=Grayson |last=Quay |date=June 25, 2022 |url=https://theweek.com/donald-trump/1014657/trump-takes-credit-for-dobbs-decision-but-worries-it-wont-help-him-in-the |access-date=October 2, 2023}}{{cite news |work=NBC News |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-was-able-kill-roe-v-wade-rcna84897 |first=Sahil |last=Kapur |title=Trump: 'I was able to kill Roe v. Wade' |date=May 17, 2023 |access-date=December 21, 2023}} Trump disparaged courts and judges he disagreed with, often in personal terms, and questioned the judiciary's constitutional authority. His attacks on courts drew rebukes from observers, including sitting federal judges, concerned about the effect of his statements on the judicial independence and public confidence in the judiciary.{{cite news |first1=Abby |last1=Phillip |author-link1=Abby Phillip |first2=Robert |last2=Barnes |first3=Ed |last3=O'Keefe |author-link3=Ed O'Keefe |title=Supreme Court nominee Gorsuch says Trump's attacks on judiciary are 'demoralizing' |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/supreme-court-nominee-gorsuch-says-trumps-attacks-on-judiciary-are-demoralizing/2017/02/08/64e03fe2-ee3f-11e6-9662-6eedf1627882_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=February 8, 2017 |access-date=October 6, 2021}}{{cite news |first=Katie |last=Shepherd |title=Trump 'violates all recognized democratic norms,' federal judge says in biting speech on judicial independence |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/11/08/judge-says-trump-violates-democratic-norms-judiciary-speech/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 8, 2019 |access-date=October 6, 2021}}

= COVID-19 pandemic =

{{Further|U.S. federal government response to the COVID-19 pandemic|Communication of the Trump administration during the COVID-19 pandemic}}

{{See also|Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States}}

File:White House Press Briefing (49666120807).jpg on March 15, 2020|alt=Trump speaks in the West Wing briefing room with various officials standing behind him, all in formal attire and without face masks]]

Trump initially ignored public health warnings and calls for action from health officials within his administration.{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-04-19/coronavirus-outbreak-president-trump-slow-response |title=How Trump let the U.S. fall behind the curve on coronavirus threat |work=Los Angeles Times |date=April 19, 2020 |access-date=November 27, 2024 |first1=David S. |last1=Cloud |first2=Paul |last2=Pringle |author-link2=Paul Pringle |first3=Eli |last3=Stokols |author-link3=Eli Stokols}} Trump established the White House Coronavirus Task Force on January 29.{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-outbreak-task-force-created-by-trump-to-lead-us-government-response-to-wuhan-virus/ |title=Trump creates task force to lead U.S. coronavirus response |work=CBS News |date=January 30, 2020 |access-date=October 10, 2020}} On March 27, he signed into law the CARES Act—a $2.2 trillion bipartisan economic stimulus bill—the largest stimulus in U.S. history.{{cite news |last1=Hulse |first1=Carl |author-link1=Carl Hulse |last2=Cochrane |first2=Emily |title=As Coronavirus Spread, Largest Stimulus in History United a Polarized Senate |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/26/us/coronavirus-senate-stimulus-package.html |website=The New York Times |date=March 26, 2020 |access-date=November 27, 2024}}{{cite news |last1=Taylor |first1=Andrew |last2=Fram |first2=Alan |last3=Kellman |first3=Laurie |last4=Superville |first4=Darlene |title=Trump signs $2.2T stimulus after swift congressional votes |url=https://apnews.com/2099a53bb8adf2def7ee7329ea322f9d |work=AP News |date=March 28, 2020 |access-date=November 27, 2024}} After weeks of attacks to draw attention away from his slow response, Trump halted funding of the World Health Organization in April.{{cite news |last=Ollstein |first=Alice Miranda |title=Trump halts funding to World Health Organization |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/14/trump-world-health-organization-funding-186786 |access-date=September 7, 2020 |work=Politico |date=April 14, 2020}} In April 2020, Republican-connected groups organized anti-lockdown protests against the measures state governments were taking to combat the pandemic;{{cite news |last=Wilson |first=Jason |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/17/far-right-coronavirus-protests-restrictions |title=The rightwing groups behind wave of protests against Covid-19 restrictions |date=April 17, 2020 |work=The Guardian |access-date=April 18, 2020}}{{cite news |last=Andone |first=Dakin |url=https://cnn.com/2020/04/16/us/protests-coronavirus-stay-home-orders/ |title=Protests Are Popping Up Across the US over Stay-at-Home Restrictions |date=April 16, 2020 |access-date=October 7, 2021 |work=CNN}} Trump encouraged the protests on Twitter,{{cite news |last1=Shear |first1=Michael D. |author-link1=Michael D. Shear |last2=Mervosh |first2=Sarah |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/17/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-governors.html |title=Trump Encourages Protest Against Governors Who Have Imposed Virus Restrictions |date=April 17, 2020 |work=The New York Times |access-date=April 19, 2020}} although the targeted states did not meet his administration's guidelines for reopening.{{cite news |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/493701-trump-support-for-protests-threatens-to-undermine-social-distancing |title=Trump support for protests threatens to undermine social distancing rules |last1=Chalfant |first1=Morgan |last2=Samuels |first2=Brett |date=April 20, 2020 |work=The Hill |access-date=July 10, 2020}} He repeatedly pressured federal health agencies to take actions he favored,{{cite news |url=https://cnn.com/2020/08/26/politics/cdc-coronavirus-testing-guidance/ |title=CDC was pressured 'from the top down' to change coronavirus testing guidance, official says |date=August 26, 2020 |work=CNN |first1=Nick |last1=Valencia |first2=Sara |last2=Murray |author-link2=Sara Murray (journalist) |first3=Kristen |last3=Holmes |access-date=August 26, 2020}} such as approving unproven treatments.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/06/15/hydroxychloroquine-authorization-revoked-coronavirus/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=June 15, 2020 |access-date=October 7, 2021 |title=FDA pulls emergency approval for antimalarial drugs touted by Trump as covid-19 treatment |first1=Laurie |last1=McGinley |first2=Carolyn Y. |last2=Johnson}}{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/12/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-treatment-vaccine.html |title=Trump Pressed for Plasma Therapy. Officials Worry, Is an Unvetted Vaccine Next? |date=September 12, 2020 |work=The New York Times |first1=Sharon |last1=LaFraniere |author-link1=Sharon LaFraniere |first2=Noah |last2=Weiland |first3=Michael D. |last3=Shear |author-link3=Michael D. Shear |access-date=September 13, 2020}} In October, Trump was hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for three days with a severe case of COVID-19.{{cite news |last1=Weiland |first1=Noah |last2=Haberman |first2=Maggie |author-link2=Maggie Haberman |last3=Mazzetti |first3=Mark |author-link3=Mark Mazzetti |last4=Karni |first4=Annie |author-link4=Annie Karni |date=February 11, 2021 |title=Trump Was Sicker Than Acknowledged With Covid-19 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/11/us/politics/trump-coronavirus.html |access-date=February 16, 2021}}

= Investigations =

{{Further|Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections|Mueller special counsel investigation|Mueller report}}

After he assumed office, Trump was the subject of increasing Justice Department and congressional scrutiny, with investigations covering his election campaign, transition, and inauguration, actions taken during his presidency, his private businesses, personal taxes, and charitable foundation.{{cite news |last1=Woodward |first1=Calvin |last2=Pace |first2=Julie |date=December 16, 2018 |title=Scope of investigations into Trump has shaped his presidency |url=https://apnews.com/article/6d6361fdf19846cb9eb020d9c6fbfa5a |access-date=December 19, 2018 |work=AP News}} There were ten federal criminal investigations, eight state and local investigations, and twelve congressional investigations.{{cite news |last1=Buchanan |first1=Larry |last2=Yourish |first2=Karen |date=September 25, 2019 |title=Tracking 30 Investigations Related to Trump |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/05/13/us/politics/trump-investigations.html |access-date=October 4, 2020 |work=The New York Times}}

In July 2016, the FBI launched Crossfire Hurricane, an investigation into possible links between Russia and Trump's 2016 campaign.{{cite news |last1=Apuzzo |first1=Matt |author-link=Matt Apuzzo |last2=Goldman |first2=Adam |author-link2=Adam Goldman |last3=Fandos |first3=Nicholas |author-link3=Nicholas Fandos |date=May 16, 2018 |title=Code Name Crossfire Hurricane: The Secret Origins of the Trump Investigation |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/16/us/politics/crossfire-hurricane-trump-russia-fbi-mueller-investigation.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 21, 2023 |work=The New York Times}} After Trump fired Comey in May 2017, the FBI opened a second investigation into Trump's personal and business dealings with Russia.{{cite news |last=Dilanian |first=Ken |date=September 7, 2020 |title=FBI agent who helped launch Russia investigation says Trump was 'compromised' |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/fbi-agent-who-helped-launch-russia-investigation-says-trump-was-n1239442 |access-date=December 21, 2023 |work=NBC News}} In January 2017, three U.S. intelligence agencies jointly stated with "high confidence" that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election to favor Trump.{{cite news |last=Rosenberg |first=Matthew |author-link=Matthew Rosenberg |date=July 6, 2017 |title=Trump Misleads on Russian Meddling: Why 17 Intelligence Agencies Don't Need to Agree |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/06/us/politics/trump-russia-intelligence-agencies-cia-fbi-nsa.html |access-date=October 7, 2021 |work=The New York Times}}{{cite news |last=Sanger |first=David E. |author-link=David E. Sanger |date=January 6, 2017 |title=Putin Ordered 'Influence Campaign' Aimed at U.S. Election, Report Says |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/06/us/politics/russia-hack-report.html |access-date=October 4, 2021 |work=The New York Times}} Many suspicious{{cite news |last=Harding |first=Luke |date=November 15, 2017 |title=How Trump walked into Putin's web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/15/how-trump-walked-into-putins-web-luke |access-date=May 22, 2019 |work=The Guardian}} links between Trump associates and Russian officials were discovered.{{cite news |last=McCarthy |first=Tom |date=December 13, 2016 |title=Trump's relationship with Russia – what we know and what comes next |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/13/donald-trump-russia-vladimir-putin-us-election-hack |access-date=March 11, 2017 |work=The Guardian}}{{cite news |last=Bump |first=Philip |date=March 3, 2017 |title=The web of relationships between Team Trump and Russia |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/03/03/the-web-of-relationships-between-team-trump-and-russia/ |access-date=March 11, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}{{cite magazine |last=Nesbit |first=Jeff |date=August 2, 2016 |title=Donald Trump's Many, Many, Many, Many Ties to Russia |url=https://time.com/4433880/donald-trump-ties-to-russia/ |access-date=February 28, 2017 |magazine=Time}} Trump told Russian officials he was unconcerned about Russia's election interference.{{cite news |last1=Harris |first1=Shane |author-link1=Shane Harris |last2=Dawsey |first2=Josh |author-link2=Josh Dawsey |last3=Nakashima |first3=Ellen |author-link3=Ellen Nakashima |date=September 27, 2019 |title=Trump told Russian officials in 2017 he wasn't concerned about Moscow's interference in U.S. election |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/trump-told-russian-officials-in-2017-he-wasnt-concerned-about-moscows-interference-in-us-election/2019/09/27/b20a8bc8-e159-11e9-b199-f638bf2c340f_story.html |access-date=October 8, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} Crossfire Hurricane was later transferred to Robert Mueller's special counsel investigation;{{cite news |last=Pearson |first=Nick |date=May 17, 2018 |title=Crossfire Hurricane: Trump Russia investigation started with Alexander Downer interview |url=https://www.9news.com.au/world/crossfire-hurricane-trump-russia-investigation-started-with-alexander-downer-interview/16121e23-bdfc-4f32-9822-e4a7f841e3e4 |access-date=December 21, 2023 |work=Nine News}} the investigation into Trump's ties to Russia was ended by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein after he told the FBI that Mueller would pursue the matter.{{cite news |last=Schmidt |first=Michael S. |author-link=Michael S. Schmidt |date=August 30, 2020 |title=Justice Dept. Never Fully Examined Trump's Ties to Russia, Ex-Officials Say |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/30/us/politics/trump-russia-justice-department.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 8, 2021 |work=The New York Times}}{{cite news |date=May 27, 2020 |title=Rosenstein to testify in Senate on Trump-Russia probe |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-rosenstein-idUSKBN23330H |access-date=October 19, 2021 |work=Reuters}} At the request of Rosenstein, the Mueller investigation examined criminal matters "in connection with Russia's 2016 election interference". Mueller submitted his final report in March 2019.{{cite news |last=Breuninger |first=Kevin |date=March 22, 2019 |title=Mueller probe ends: Special counsel submits Russia report to Attorney General William Barr |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/22/robert-mueller-submits-special-counsels-russia-probe-report-to-attorney-general-william-barr.html |access-date=March 22, 2019 |work=CNBC}} The report found that Russia did interfere in 2016 to favor Trump{{cite news |date=January 16, 2012 |title=Main points of Mueller report |url=https://www.afp.com/en/news/15/main-points-mueller-report-doc-1fr5vv1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420143436/https://www.afp.com/en/news/15/main-points-mueller-report-doc-1fr5vv1 |archive-date=April 20, 2019 |access-date=April 20, 2019 |work=Agence France-Presse}} and that Trump and his campaign welcomed and encouraged the effort,{{cite news |last=Mazzetti |first=Mark |author-link=Mark Mazzetti |date=July 24, 2019 |title=Mueller Warns of Russian Sabotage and Rejects Trump's 'Witch Hunt' Claims |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/24/us/politics/trump-mueller-testimony.html |access-date=March 4, 2020 |work=The New York Times}}{{cite news |last=Bump |first=Philip |date=May 30, 2019 |title=Trump briefly acknowledges that Russia aided his election – and falsely says he didn't help the effort |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/05/30/trump-briefly-acknowledges-that-russia-aided-his-election-falsely-says-he-didnt-help-effort/ |access-date=March 5, 2020 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}{{cite news |last1=Polantz |first1=Katelyn |last2=Kaufman |first2=Ellie |last3=Murray |first3=Sara |date=June 19, 2020 |title=Mueller raised possibility Trump lied to him, newly unsealed report reveals |url=https://cnn.com/2020/06/19/politics/mueller-report-rerelease-fewer-redactions/ |access-date=October 30, 2022 |work=CNN}} but that the evidence "did not establish" that Trump campaign members conspired or coordinated with Russia.{{cite news |last1=Ostriker |first1=Rebecca |last2=Puzzanghera |first2=Jim |last3=Finucane |first3=Martin |last4=Datar |first4=Saurabh |last5=Uraizee |first5=Irfan |last6=Garvin |first6=Patrick |date=April 18, 2019 |title=What the Mueller report says about Trump and more |url=https://apps.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/graphics/2019/03/mueller-report/ |access-date=April 22, 2019 |work=The Boston Globe}}{{cite magazine |last=Law |first=Tara |date=April 18, 2019 |title=Here Are the Biggest Takeaways From the Mueller Report |url=https://time.com/5567077/mueller-report-release/ |access-date=April 22, 2019 |magazine=Time}} Trump claimed the report exonerated him despite Mueller writing that it did not.{{cite news |last1=Yen |first1=Hope |last2=Woodward |first2=Calvin |date=July 24, 2019 |title=AP Fact Check: Trump falsely claims Mueller exonerated him |url=https://apnews.com/article/130932b573664ea5a4d186f752bb8d50 |access-date=October 8, 2021 |work=AP News}} The report also detailed potential obstruction of justice by Trump but "did not draw ultimate conclusions"{{cite news |last1=Barrett |first1=Devlin |last2=Zapotosky |first2=Matt |date=April 17, 2019 |title=Mueller report lays out obstruction evidence against the president |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/attorney-general-to-provide-overview-of-mueller-report-at-news-conference-before-its-release/2019/04/17/8dcc9440-54b9-11e9-814f-e2f46684196e_story.html |access-date=April 20, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}{{cite news |last1=Farley |first1=Robert |last2=Robertson |first2=Lori |last3=Gore |first3=D'Angelo |last4=Spencer |first4=Saranac Hale |last5=Fichera |first5=Angelo |last6=McDonald |first6=Jessica |date=April 18, 2019 |title=What the Mueller Report Says About Obstruction |url=https://www.factcheck.org/2019/04/what-the-mueller-report-says-about-obstruction/ |access-date=April 22, 2019 |work=FactCheck.org}} and left the decision to charge the laws to Congress.{{cite news |last=Mascaro |first=Lisa |date=April 18, 2019 |title=Mueller drops obstruction dilemma on Congress |url=https://apnews.com/article/35829a2b010248f193d1efd00c4de7e5 |access-date=April 20, 2019 |work=AP News}}

In April 2019, the House Oversight Committee issued subpoenas seeking financial details from Trump's banks, Deutsche Bank and Capital One, and his accounting firm, Mazars USA. He sued the banks, Mazars, and committee chair Elijah Cummings to prevent the disclosures.{{cite news |last1=Fahrenthold |first1=David A. |author-link1=David Fahrenthold |last2=Bade |first2=Rachael |author-link2=Rachael Bade |last3=Wagner |first3=John |date=April 22, 2019 |title=Trump sues in bid to block congressional subpoena of financial records |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-sues-in-bid-to-block-congressional-subpoena-of-financial-records/2019/04/22/a98de3d0-6500-11e9-82ba-fcfeff232e8f_story.html |access-date=May 1, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} In May, two judges ruled that both Mazars and the banks must comply with the subpoenas;{{cite news |last=Savage |first=Charlie |author-link=Charlie Savage (author) |date=May 20, 2019 |title=Accountants Must Turn Over Trump's Financial Records, Lower-Court Judge Rules |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/20/us/politics/trump-financial-records.html |access-date=September 30, 2021 |work=The New York Times}}{{cite news |last1=Merle |first1=Renae |last2=Kranish |first2=Michael |author-link2=Michael Kranish |last3=Sonmez |first3=Felicia |author-link3=Felicia Sonmez |date=May 22, 2019 |title=Judge rejects Trump's request to halt congressional subpoenas for his banking records |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/judge-rejects-trumps-request-to-halt-congressional-subpoenas-for-his-banking-records/2019/05/22/28f9b93a-7ccd-11e9-8bb7-0fc796cf2ec0_story.html |access-date=September 30, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}{{cite news |last1=Flitter |first1=Emily |last2=McKinley |first2=Jesse |author-link2=Jesse McKinley |last3=Enrich |first3=David |author-link3=David Enrich |last4=Fandos |first4=Nicholas |author-link4=Nicholas Fandos |date=May 22, 2019 |title=Trump's Financial Secrets Move Closer to Disclosure |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/22/business/deutsche-bank-trump-subpoena.html |access-date=September 30, 2021 |work=The New York Times}} Trump's attorneys appealed.{{cite magazine |last=Hutzler |first=Alexandra |date=May 21, 2019 |title=Donald Trump's Subpoena Appeals Now Head to Merrick Garland's Court |url=https://www.newsweek.com/trump-subpoena-appeal-merrick-garland-court-1431543 |access-date=August 24, 2021 |magazine=Newsweek}} In September 2022, Trump and the committee agreed to a settlement regarding Mazars, and the firm began turning over documents.{{cite news |last=Broadwater |first=Luke |date=September 17, 2022 |title=Trump's Former Accounting Firm Begins Turning Over Documents to Congress |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/17/us/politics/mazars-accounting-trump-documents.html |access-date=January 28, 2023 |work=The New York Times}}

= Impeachments =

{{Main|First impeachment of Donald Trump|Second impeachment of Donald Trump}}

File:President Trump Delivers Remarks (49498772251).jpg

Trump was impeached twice by the House of Representatives during his first presidential term, though acquitted by the Senate on both occasions. The first impeachment arose from a whistleblower complaint that in 2019 Trump had pressured Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate Joe and Hunter Biden,{{cite news |last=Bump |first=Philip |title=Trump wanted Russia's main geopolitical adversary to help undermine the Russian interference story |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/09/25/trump-wanted-russias-main-geopolitical-adversary-help-him-undermine-russian-interference-story/ |access-date=October 1, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=September 25, 2019}} in an attempt to gain an advantage in the 2020 presidential election.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2019/09/24/whistleblower-complaint/assets/amp.html |title=Document: Read the Whistle-Blower Complaint |date=September 24, 2019 |work=The New York Times |access-date=October 2, 2019}} In December 2019, the House voted to impeach Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress,{{cite news |last=Gregorian |first=Dareh |title=Trump impeached by the House for abuse of power, obstruction of Congress |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-impeachment-inquiry/trump-impeached-house-abuse-power-n1104196 |access-date=December 18, 2019 |work=NBC News |date=December 18, 2019}} and the Senate acquitted him in February 2020.{{cite news |work=CNBC |date=February 5, 2020 |title=Trump acquitted of both charges in Senate impeachment trial |last1=Wilkie |first1=Christina |last2=Breuninger |first2=Kevin |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/05/trump-acquitted-in-impeachment-trial.html |access-date=February 2, 2021}}

The second impeachment came after the January 6 attack, for which the House charged Trump with incitement of insurrection on January 13, 2021.{{cite news |last=Fandos |first=Nicholas |author-link=Nicholas Fandos |title=Trump Impeached for Inciting Insurrection |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/13/us/politics/trump-impeached.html |access-date=January 14, 2021 |date=January 13, 2021}} Trump left office on January 20 and was acquitted on February 13. Seven Republican senators voted for conviction.{{cite news |last1=Levine |first1=Sam |last2=Gambino |first2=Lauren |date=February 13, 2021 |title=Donald Trump acquitted in impeachment trial |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/13/donald-trump-acquitted-impeachment-trial |work=The Guardian |access-date=February 13, 2021}}

2020 presidential election

{{Further|2020 United States presidential election|Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign}}

Trump filed to run for reelection only a few hours after becoming president in 2017.{{cite news |last=Morehouse |first=Lee |date=January 31, 2017 |title=Trump breaks precedent, files as candidate for re-election on first day |url=https://www.azfamily.com/story/34380443/trump-breaks-precedent-files-on-first-day-as-candidate-for-re-election |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202210255/https://www.azfamily.com/story/34380443/trump-breaks-precedent-files-on-first-day-as-candidate-for-re-election |archive-date=February 2, 2017 |access-date=February 19, 2017 |work=KTVK}} He held his first reelection rally less than a month after taking office{{cite news |last=Graham |first=David A. |date=February 15, 2017 |title=Trump Kicks Off His 2020 Reelection Campaign on Saturday |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/02/trump-kicks-off-his-2020-reelection-campaign-on-saturday/516909/ |access-date=February 19, 2017 |work=The Atlantic}} and officially became the Republican nominee in August 2020.{{cite news |last1=Martin |first1=Jonathan |author-link1=Jonathan Martin (journalist) |last2=Burns |first2=Alexander |author-link2=Alex Burns (journalist) |last3=Karni |first3=Annie |author-link3=Annie Karni |date=August 24, 2020 |title=Nominating Trump, Republicans Rewrite His Record |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/24/us/politics/republican-convention-recap.html |access-date=August 25, 2020 |work=The New York Times}} Trump's campaign focused on crime, claiming that cities would descend into lawlessness if Democratic nominee Joe Biden won.{{cite news |last1=Haberman |first1=Maggie |author-link1=Maggie Haberman |last2=Corasaniti |first2=Nick |last3=Karni |first3=Annie |author-link3=Annie Karni |date=July 21, 2020 |title=As Trump Pushes into Portland, His Campaign Ads Turn Darker |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/us/politics/trump-portland-federal-agents.html |access-date=July 25, 2020 |work=The New York Times}} He repeatedly misrepresented Biden's positions{{cite news |last=Bump |first=Philip |date=August 28, 2020 |title=Nearly every claim Trump made about Biden's positions was false |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/08/28/nearly-every-claim-trump-made-about-bidens-positions-was-false/ |access-date=October 9, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}{{cite news |last1=Dale |first1=Daniel |author-link1=Daniel Dale |last2=Subramaniam |first2=Tara |last3=Lybrand |first3=Holmes |date=August 31, 2020 |title=Fact check: Trump makes more false claims about Biden and protests |url=https://cnn.com/2020/08/31/politics/trump-kenosha-briefing-fact-check/ |access-date=October 9, 2021 |work=CNN}} and appealed to racism.{{cite news |last=Hopkins |first=Dan |date=August 27, 2020 |title=Why Trump's Racist Appeals Might Be Less Effective In 2020 Than They Were In 2016 |url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-trumps-racist-appeals-might-be-less-effective-in-2020-than-they-were-in-2016 |access-date=May 28, 2021 |work=FiveThirtyEight}} Starting in early 2020, Trump sowed doubts about the election, claiming without evidence that it would be rigged and that widespread use of mail balloting would produce massive election fraud.{{cite news |last=Kumar |first=Anita |date=August 8, 2020 |title=Trump aides exploring executive actions to curb voting by mail |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/08/trump-wants-to-cut-mail-in-voting-the-republican-machine-is-helping-him-392428 |access-date=August 15, 2020 |work=Politico}}{{cite news |last1=Saul |first1=Stephanie |author-link1=Stephanie Saul |last2=Epstein |first2=Reid J. |date=August 31, 2020 |title=Trump Is Pushing a False Argument on Vote-by-Mail Fraud. Here Are the Facts. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/article/mail-in-voting-explained.html |access-date=October 8, 2021 |work=The New York Times}} He blocked funding for the U.S. Postal Service, saying he wanted to prevent any increase in voting by mail.{{cite news |last=Bogage |first=Jacob |date=August 12, 2020 |title=Trump says Postal Service needs money for mail-in voting, but he'll keep blocking funding |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/08/12/postal-service-ballots-dejoy/ |access-date=August 14, 2020 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} He repeatedly refused to say whether he would accept the results if he lost and commit to a peaceful transition of power.{{cite news |last=Sonmez |first=Felicia |author-link=Felicia Sonmez |date=July 19, 2020 |title=Trump declines to say whether he will accept November election results |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-declines-to-say-whether-he-will-accept-november-election-results/2020/07/19/40009804-c9c7-11ea-91f1-28aca4d833a0_story.html |access-date=October 8, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}{{cite news |last1=Browne |first1=Ryan |last2=Starr |first2=Barbara |author-link2=Barbara Starr |date=September 25, 2020 |title=As Trump refuses to commit to a peaceful transition, Pentagon stresses it will play no role in the election |url=https://cnn.com/2020/09/25/politics/pentagon-election-insurrection-act/ |access-date=October 8, 2021 |work=CNN}}

= Loss to Biden and rejection of outcome =

{{Further|Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election|2020–21 United States election protests}}

Biden won the November 2020 election, receiving 81.3 million votes (51.3 percent) to Trump's 74.2 million (46.8 percent){{cite news |date=December 11, 2020 |title=Presidential Election Results: Biden Wins |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/11/03/us/elections/results-president.html |access-date=December 11, 2020 |work=The New York Times}}{{cite news |date=December 10, 2020 |title=2020 US Presidential Election Results: Live Map |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Elections/2020-us-presidential-election-results-live-map |access-date=December 11, 2020 |work=ABC News}} and 306 electoral votes to Trump's 232.{{cite news |last1=Holder |first1=Josh |last2=Gabriel |first2=Trip |author-link2=Trip Gabriel |last3=Paz |first3=Isabella Grullón |date=December 14, 2020 |title=Biden's 306 Electoral College Votes Make His Victory Official |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/12/14/us/elections/electoral-college-results.html |access-date=October 9, 2021 |work=The New York Times}} The Electoral College formalized Biden's victory on December 14. Even before the results were known on the morning after the election, Trump declared victory.{{cite news |date=November 4, 2020 |title=With results from key states unclear, Trump declares victory |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-election-trump-statement/with-results-from-key-states-unclear-trump-declares-victory-idUKKBN27K0U3 |access-date=November 10, 2020 |work=Reuters}} Days later, when Biden was projected the winner, Trump baselessly alleged election fraud.{{cite news |last=King |first=Ledyard |date=November 7, 2020 |title=Trump revives baseless claims of election fraud after Biden wins presidential race |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/11/07/joe-biden-victory-president-trump-claims-election-far-over/6202892002/ |access-date=November 7, 2020 |work=USA Today}} As part of an effort to overturn the results, Trump and his allies filed many legal challenges to the results, which were rejected by at least 86 judges in both state and federal courts for having no factual or legal basis.{{cite news |last1=Helderman |first1=Rosalind S. |author-link1=Rosalind S. Helderman |last2=Viebeck |first2=Elise |date=December 12, 2020 |title='The last wall': How dozens of judges across the political spectrum rejected Trump's efforts to overturn the election |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/judges-trump-election-lawsuits/2020/12/12/e3a57224-3a72-11eb-98c4-25dc9f4987e8_story.html |access-date=October 9, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}{{cite news |last=Blake |first=Aaron |date=December 14, 2020 |title=The most remarkable rebukes of Trump's legal case: From the judges he hand-picked |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/12/14/most-remarkable-rebukes-trumps-legal-case-judges-he-hand-picked/ |access-date=October 9, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}

Trump's allegations were also refuted by state election officials,{{cite news |last=Woodward |first=Calvin |date=November 16, 2020 |title=AP Fact Check: Trump conclusively lost, denies the evidence |url=https://apnews.com/article/ap-fact-check-trump-conclusively-lost-bbb9d8c808021ed65d91aee003a7bc64 |access-date=November 17, 2020 |work=AP News}} and the Supreme Court declined to hear a case asking it to overturn the results in four states won by Biden.{{cite news |last=Liptak |first=Adam |author-link=Adam Liptak |date=December 11, 2020 |title=Supreme Court Rejects Texas Suit Seeking to Subvert Election |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/11/us/politics/supreme-court-election-texas.html |access-date=October 9, 2021 |work=The New York Times}} Trump repeatedly sought help to overturn the results, personally pressuring Republican local and state office-holders,{{cite news |last=Gardner |first=Amy |date=January 3, 2021 |title='I just want to find 11,780 votes': In extraordinary hour-long call, Trump pressures Georgia secretary of state to recalculate the vote in his favor |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-raffensperger-call-georgia-vote/2021/01/03/d45acb92-4dc4-11eb-bda4-615aaefd0555_story.html |access-date=January 20, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} Republican legislators,{{cite news |last1=Kumar |first1=Anita |last2=Orr |first2=Gabby |last3=McGraw |first3=Meridith |date=December 21, 2020 |title=Inside Trump's pressure campaign to overturn the election |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/21/trump-pressure-campaign-overturn-election-449486 |access-date=December 22, 2020 |work=Politico}} the Justice Department,{{cite news |last=Cohen |first=Marshall |date=November 5, 2021 |title=Timeline of the coup: How Trump tried to weaponize the Justice Department to overturn the 2020 election |url=https://cnn.com/2021/11/05/politics/january-6-timeline-trump-coup/ |access-date=November 6, 2021 |work=CNN}} and Vice President Pence,{{cite news |last1=Haberman |first1=Maggie |author-link1=Maggie Haberman |last2=Karni |first2=Annie |author-link2=Annie Karni |date=January 5, 2021 |title=Pence Said to Have Told Trump He Lacks Power to Change Election Result |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/05/us/politics/pence-trump-election-results.html |access-date=January 7, 2021 |work=The New York Times}} urging various actions such as replacing presidential electors, or requesting that Georgia officials "find" votes and announce a "recalculated" result. In the weeks after the election, Trump withdrew from public activities.{{cite news |last=Smith |first=David |date=November 21, 2020 |title=Trump's monumental sulk: president retreats from public eye as Covid ravages US |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/nov/21/trump-monumental-sulk-president-retreats-from-public-eye-covid-ravages-us |access-date=October 9, 2021 |work=The Guardian}} He initially blocked government officials from cooperating in Biden's presidential transition.{{cite news |last1=Lamire |first1=Jonathan |last2=Miller |first2=Zeke |author-link2=Zeke Miller |date=November 9, 2020 |title=Refusing to concede, Trump blocks cooperation on transition |url=https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-donald-trump-virus-outbreak-elections-voting-fraud-and-irregularities-2d39186996f69de245e59c966d4d140f |access-date=November 10, 2020 |work=AP News}}{{cite news |last1=Timm |first1=Jane C. |last2=Smith |first2=Allan |date=November 14, 2020 |title=Trump is stonewalling Biden's transition. Here's why it matters. |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/trump-stonewalling-biden-s-transition-here-s-why-it-matters-n1247768 |access-date=November 26, 2020 |work=NBC News}} After three weeks, the administrator of the General Services Administration declared Biden the "apparent winner" of the election, allowing the disbursement of transition resources to his team.{{cite news |last=Rein |first=Lisa |date=November 23, 2020 |title=Under pressure, Trump appointee Emily Murphy approves transition in unusually personal letter to Biden |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gsa-emily-murphy-transition-biden/2020/11/23/c0f43e84-2de0-11eb-96c2-aac3f162215d_story.html |access-date=November 24, 2020 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} While Trump said he recommended that the GSA begin transition protocols, he still did not formally concede.{{cite news |last1=Naylor |first1=Brian |last2=Wise |first2=Alana |date=November 23, 2020 |title=President-Elect Biden To Begin Formal Transition Process After Agency OK |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/biden-transition-updates/2020/11/23/937956178/trump-administration-to-begin-biden-transition-protocols |access-date=December 11, 2020 |work=NPR News}}{{cite news |last1=Ordoñez |first1=Franco |last2=Rampton |first2=Roberta |date=November 26, 2020 |title=Trump Is In No Mood To Concede, But Says Will Leave White House |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/biden-transition-updates/2020/11/26/939386434/trump-is-in-no-mood-to-concede-but-says-will-leave-white-house |access-date=December 11, 2020 |work=NPR News}} Trump did not attend Biden's inauguration on January 20.{{cite news |last=Haberman |first=Maggie |author-link=Maggie Haberman |date=January 20, 2021 |title=Trump Departs Vowing, 'We Will Be Back in Some Form' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/20/us/politics/trump-presidency.html |access-date=January 25, 2021 |work=The New York Times}}

= January 6 Capitol attack =

In December 2020, reports emerged that the U.S. military was on "red alert", and ranking officers had discussed what to do if Trump declared martial law.{{cite magazine |last=Arkin |first=William M. |date=December 24, 2020 |title=Exclusive: Donald Trump's martial-law talk has military on red alert |url=https://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-donald-trumps-martial-law-talk-has-military-red-alert-1557056 |access-date=September 15, 2021 |magazine=Newsweek}} CIA director Gina Haspel and Army general Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, grew concerned that Trump might attempt a coup or military action against China or Iran.{{cite news |last1=Gangel |first1=Jamie |author-link1=Jamie Gangel |last2=Herb |first2=Jeremy |last3=Cohen |first3=Marshall |last4=Stuart |first4=Elizabeth |last5=Starr |first5=Barbara |author-link5=Barbara Starr |date=July 14, 2021 |title='They're not going to f**king succeed': Top generals feared Trump would attempt a coup after election, according to new book |url=https://cnn.com/2021/07/14/politics/donald-trump-election-coup-new-book-excerpt/ |access-date=September 15, 2021 |work=CNN}}{{cite news |last=Breuninger |first=Kevin |date=July 15, 2021 |title=Top U.S. Gen. Mark Milley feared Trump would attempt a coup after his loss to Biden, new book says |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/15/mark-milley-feared-coup-after-trump-lost-to-biden-book.html |access-date=September 15, 2021 |work=CNBC}} Milley insisted that he be consulted about any military orders from Trump, including the use of nuclear weapons.{{cite news |last1=Gangel |first1=Jamie |author-link1=Jamie Gangel |last2=Herb |first2=Jeremy |last3=Stuart |first3=Elizabeth |date=September 14, 2021 |title=Woodward/Costa book: Worried Trump could 'go rogue,' Milley took top-secret action to protect nuclear weapons |url=https://cnn.com/2021/09/14/politics/woodward-book-trump-nuclear/ |access-date=September 15, 2021 |work=CNN}}{{cite news |last=Schmidt |first=Michael S. |author-link=Michael S. Schmidt |date=September 14, 2021 |title=Fears That Trump Might Launch a Strike Prompted General to Reassure China, Book Says |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/14/us/politics/peril-woodward-book-trump.html |access-date=September 15, 2021 |work=The New York Times}}

File:2021 storming of the United States Capitol DSC09254-2 (50820534063) (retouched).jpg

At noon on January 6, 2021, while Congress was certifying the presidential election results in the U.S. Capitol, Trump held a rally at the nearby Ellipse. Speaking from behind a glass barrier,{{cite news |last=Nickeas |first=Peter |date=January 6, 2021 |title=Pro-Trump supporters have flooded DC to protest president's election loss |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/06/politics/pro-trump-supporters-dc-protest/index.html |work=CNN |access-date=March 28, 2025}} he called for the election to be overturned and urged his supporters to "fight like hell" and "take back our country" by marching to the Capitol.{{cite news |last=Savage |first=Charlie |author-link=Charlie Savage (author) |date=January 10, 2021 |title=Incitement to Riot? What Trump Told Supporters Before Mob Stormed Capitol |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/10/us/trump-speech-riot.html |access-date=January 11, 2021 |work=The New York Times}} His supporters then formed a mob that broke into the building, disrupting certification and causing the evacuation of Congress.{{cite news |last1=Tan |first1=Shelley |last2=Shin |first2=Youjin |last3=Rindler |first3=Danielle |date=January 9, 2021 |title=How one of America's ugliest days unraveled inside and outside the Capitol |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/interactive/2021/capitol-insurrection-visual-timeline/ |access-date=May 2, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} During the attack, Trump posted on social media but did not ask the rioters to disperse. In a tweet at 6 p.m., he told them to "go home with love & in peace", called them "great patriots", and restated that he had won the election.{{cite news |last1=Panetta |first1=Grace |last2=Lahut |first2=Jake |last3=Zavarise |first3=Isabella |last4=Frias |first4=Lauren |date=December 21, 2022 |title=A timeline of what Trump was doing as his MAGA mob attacked the US Capitol on Jan. 6 |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/timeline-what-trump-was-doing-as-his-mob-attacked-the-capitol-on-jan-6-2022-7 |access-date=June 1, 2023 |work=Business Insider}} Congress later reconvened and confirmed Biden's victory in the early hours of January 7.{{cite news |last1=Gregorian |first1=Dareh |last2=Gibson |first2=Ginger |last3=Kapur |first3=Sahil |last4=Helsel |first4=Phil |date=January 6, 2021 |title=Congress confirms Biden's win after pro-Trump mob's assault on Capitol |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/congress-begin-electoral-vote-count-amid-protests-inside-outside-capitol-n1253013 |access-date=January 8, 2021 |work=NBC News}}

More than 140 police officers were injured, and five people died during or after the attack.{{cite news |last1=Rubin |first1=Olivia |last2=Mallin |first2=Alexander |last3=Steakin |first3=Will |date=January 4, 2022 |title=By the numbers: How the Jan. 6 investigation is shaping up 1 year later |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/numbers-jan-investigation-shaping-year/story?id=82057743 |access-date=June 4, 2023 |work=ABC News}}{{cite news |last=Cameron |first=Chris |date=January 5, 2022 |title=These Are the People Who Died in Connection With the Capitol Riot |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/05/us/politics/jan-6-capitol-deaths.html |access-date=January 29, 2022 |work=The New York Times}} The event has been described as an attempted self-coup by Trump.{{efn|Several sources:{{sfn|Pion-Berlin|Bruneau|Goetze|2022}}{{sfn|Harvey|2022|p=3|loc="Unlike Hitler's coup attempt, Trump already held the top of the office, so he was attempting to hold onto power, not seize it (the precise term for Trump's intended action is a 'self-coup' or 'autogolpe'). Thus, Trump was able to plan for the event well in advance and with much greater control, including developing the legal arguments that could be used to justify rejecting the election's results"}}{{sfn|Castañeda|Jenks|2023|p=246|loc="What the United States went through on January 6th was an attempt at a self-coup, where Trump would use force to stay as head of state even if abandoning democratic practices in the U.S. Some advised Trump to declare martial law to create a state of emergency and use that as an excuse to stay in power"}}}}

Between terms (2021–2025)

Upon leaving the White House, Trump began living at Mar-a-Lago, establishing an office there as provided for by the Former Presidents Act.{{cite news |last=Wolfe |first=Jan |date=January 27, 2021 |title=Explainer: Why Trump's post-presidency perks, like a pension and office, are safe for the rest of his life |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-impeachment-benefits-explai-idUSKBN29W238 |access-date=February 2, 2021 |work=Reuters}} His continuing false claims concerning the 2020 election were commonly referred to as the "big lie" by his critics, although in May 2021, with his supporters he began using the term to refer to the election itself.{{cite magazine |last=Solender |first=Andrew |date=May 3, 2021 |title=Trump Says He'll Appropriate 'The Big Lie' To Refer To His Election Loss |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2021/05/03/trump-says-hell-appropriate-the-big-lie-to-refer-to-his-election-loss/ |access-date=October 10, 2021 |magazine=Forbes}}{{cite news |last=Wolf |first=Zachary B. |date=May 19, 2021 |title=The 5 key elements of Trump's Big Lie and how it came to be |url=https://cnn.com/2021/05/19/politics/donald-trump-big-lie-explainer/ |access-date=October 10, 2021 |work=CNN}} The Republican Party used his election narrative to justify imposing new voting restrictions in its favor.{{cite news |last=Balz |first=Dan |author-link=Dan Balz |date=May 29, 2021 |title=The GOP push to revisit 2020 has worrisome implications for future elections |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-big-lie-elections-impact/2021/05/29/d7992fa2-c07d-11eb-b26e-53663e6be6ff_story.html |access-date=June 18, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}{{cite news |last1=Izaguirre |first1=Anthony |last2=Coronado |first2=Acacia |date=January 31, 2021 |title=GOP lawmakers seek tougher voting rules after record turnout |url=https://apnews.com/article/bills-voting-rights-elections-coronavirus-pandemic-voter-registration-0e94844d72d2a2bf8b51b1c950bd64fc |access-date=January 17, 2023 |work=AP News}}{{cite news |last=McCaskill |first=Nolan D. |date=March 15, 2021 |title=After Trump's loss and false fraud claims, GOP eyes voter restrictions across nation |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/15/voting-restrictions-states-475732 |access-date=January 17, 2023 |work=Politico}} As of July 2022, he continued to pressure state legislators to overturn the election.{{cite news |last1=Bender |first1=Michael C. |author-link1=Michael C. Bender |last2=Epstein |first2=Reid J. |date=July 20, 2022 |title=Trump Recently Urged a Powerful Legislator to Overturn His 2020 Defeat in Wisconsin |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/21/us/politics/trump-wisconsin-election-call.html |access-date=August 13, 2022 |work=The New York Times}} Unlike other former presidents, Trump continued to dominate his party; a 2022 profile in The New York Times described him as a modern party boss.{{cite news |last=Goldmacher |first=Shane |date=April 17, 2022 |title=Mar-a-Lago Machine: Trump as a Modern-Day Party Boss |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/17/us/politics/trump-mar-a-lago.html |access-date=July 31, 2022 |work=The New York Times}} He continued fundraising, raising a war chest containing more than twice that of the Republican Party, and profited from fundraisers many Republican candidates held at Mar-a-Lago. Much of his focus was on party governance and installing in key posts officials loyal to him. In the 2022 midterm elections, he endorsed over 200 candidates for various offices.{{cite news |last=Paybarah |first=Azi |author-link=Azi Paybarah |date=August 2, 2022 |title=Where Trump's Endorsement Record Stands Halfway through Primary Season |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/02/us/politics/trump-endorsements-midterm-primary-election.html |access-date=August 3, 2022 |work=The New York Times}} In February 2021, he registered a new company, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), for providing "social networking services" to U.S. customers.{{cite news |last=Lyons |first=Kim |date=December 6, 2021 |title=SEC investigating Trump SPAC deal to take his social media platform public |url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/6/22820389/sec-trump-spac-deal-investigation-truth-social-media-platform-public |access-date=December 30, 2021 |work=The Verge}}{{cite news |title=Trump Media & Technology Group Corp |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/1934403D:US |access-date=December 30, 2021 |work=Bloomberg News}} In March 2024, TMTG merged with special-purpose acquisition company Digital World Acquisition and became a public company.{{cite news |last=Harwell |first=Drew |author-link=Drew Harwell |date=March 26, 2024 |title=Trump Media soars in first day of public tradings |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/03/25/truth-social-trump-media-stock-market-billions/ |access-date=March 28, 2024 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} In February 2022, TMTG launched Truth Social, a social media platform.{{cite news |last=Bhuyian |first=Johana |date=February 21, 2022 |title=Donald Trump's social media app launches on Apple store |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/feb/21/donald-trumps-social-media-app-truth-social-launches-on-apple-store |access-date=May 7, 2023 |work=The Guardian}}

= Legal issues =

{{See also|Personal and business legal affairs of Donald Trump|Legal affairs of the first Donald Trump presidency}}

In 2019, journalist E. Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her in the 1990s and sued him for defamation over his denial.{{cite news |last=Ransom |first=Jan |date=November 4, 2019 |title=E. Jean Carroll, Who Accused Trump of Rape, Sues Him for Defamation |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/04/nyregion/jean-carroll-sues-trump.html |access-date=January 24, 2024 |work=The New York Times}} Carroll sued him again in 2022 for battery and more defamation.{{cite news |last=Weiser |first=Benjamin |date=November 17, 2022 |title=Writer Who Accused Trump of Rape to File New Defamation Lawsuit |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/17/nyregion/donald-trump-jean-carroll-lawsuit.html |access-date=January 24, 2025 |work=The New York Times}} He was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation and ordered to pay $5 million in one case{{cite news |last1=Sullivan |first1=Becky |last2=Bernstein |first2=Andrea |last3=Marritz |first3=Ilya |last4=Lawrence |first4=Quil |date=May 9, 2023 |title=A jury finds Trump liable for battery and defamation in E. Jean Carroll trial |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/05/09/1174975870/trump-carroll-verdict |access-date=May 10, 2023 |work=NPR News}} and $83.3 million in the other.{{cite news |last1=Neumeister |first1=Larry |last2=Sisak |first2=Michael R. |date=December 30, 2024 |title=An appeals court upholds a $5 million award in a sexual abuse verdict against President-elect Trump |url=https://apnews.com/article/trump-carroll-lawsuit-defamation-trial-78e4196024539653a6de492312770ff2 |access-date=December 31, 2024 |work=AP News}} In 2022, New York filed a civil lawsuit against Trump accusing him of inflating the Trump Organization's value to gain an advantage with lenders and banks;{{cite news |last1=Scannell |first1=Kara |date=September 21, 2022 |title=New York attorney general files civil fraud lawsuit against Trump, some of his children and his business |url=https://cnn.com/2022/09/21/politics/trump-new-york-attorney-general-letitia-james-fraud-lawsuit/index.html |access-date=September 21, 2022 |work=CNN}}{{cite news |last1=Bromwich |first1=Jonah E. |last2=Protess |first2=Ben |date=February 17, 2024 |title=Trump Fraud Trial Penalty Will Exceed $450 Million |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/16/nyregion/trump-civil-fraud-trial-ruling.html |access-date=February 17, 2024 |work=The New York Times}} He was found liable and ordered to pay $350 million plus interest.File:Classified intelligence material found during search of Mar-a-Lago.jpg

In connection with Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his involvement in the January 6 attack, in December 2022 the U.S. House committee on the attack recommended criminal charges against him for obstructing an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and inciting or assisting an insurrection.{{cite news |last=Feuer |first=Alan |date=December 19, 2022 |title=It's Unclear Whether the Justice Dept. Will Take Up the Jan. 6 Panel's Charges |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/19/us/politics/jan-6-trump-justice-dept.html |access-date=March 25, 2023 |work=The New York Times}} In August 2023, he was indicted on 13 charges, including racketeering, by a grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia for his efforts to subvert the 2020 election in the state.{{cite news |last1=Lowell |first1=Hugo |last2=Wicker |first2=Jewel |date=August 15, 2023 |title=Donald Trump and allies indicted in Georgia over bid to reverse 2020 election loss |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/14/donald-trump-georgia-indictment-2020-election |access-date=December 22, 2023 |work=The Guardian}}{{cite news |last=Drenon |first=Brandon |date=August 25, 2023 |title=What are the charges in Trump's Georgia indictment? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66503668 |access-date=December 22, 2023 |work=BBC News}}

In January 2022, the National Archives and Records Administration retrieved 15 boxes of documents Trump had taken to Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House, some of which were classified.{{cite news |last1=Lybrand |first1=Holmes |last2=Cohen |first2=Marshall |last3=Rabinowitz |first3=Hannah |date=August 12, 2022 |title=Timeline: The Justice Department criminal inquiry into Trump taking classified documents to Mar-a-Lago |url=https://cnn.com/2022/08/09/politics/doj-investigation-trump-documents-timeline/ |access-date=August 14, 2022 |work=CNN}} In the ensuing Justice Department investigation, officials retrieved more classified documents from his lawyers. On August 8, 2022, FBI agents searched Mar-a-Lago for illegally held documents, including those in breach of the Espionage Act, collecting 11 sets of classified documents, some marked top secret.{{cite news |last1=Barrett |first1=Devlin |last2=Dawsey |first2=Josh |author-link2=Josh Dawsey |date=August 12, 2022 |title=Agents at Trump's Mar-a-Lago seized 11 sets of classified documents, court filing shows |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/08/12/trump-warrant-release/ |access-date=August 12, 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}{{cite news |last1=Haberman |first1=Maggie |author-link1=Maggie Haberman |last2=Thrush |first2=Glenn |author-link2=Glenn Thrush |last3=Savage |first3=Charlie |author-link3=Charlie Savage (author) |date=August 12, 2022 |title=Files Seized From Trump Are Part of Espionage Act Inquiry |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/12/us/trump-espionage-act-laws-fbi.html |access-date=August 13, 2022 |work=The New York Times}} A federal grand jury constituted by Special Counsel Jack Smith indicted Trump in June 2023 on 31 counts of "willfully retaining national defense information" under the Espionage Act, among other charges.{{cite news |last1=Barrett |first1=Devlin |last2=Dawsey |first2=Josh |author-link2=Josh Dawsey |last3=Stein |first3=Perry |last4=Alemany |first4=Jacqueline |author-link4=Jacqueline Alemany |date=June 9, 2023 |title=Trump Put National Secrets at Risk, Prosecutors Say in Historic Indictment |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/06/09/trump-tape-classified-documents/ |access-date=June 10, 2023 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}{{cite news |last=Schonfeld |first=Zach |date=July 28, 2023 |title=5 revelations from new Trump charges |url=https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4124168-revelations-from-new-trump-charges/ |access-date=August 4, 2023 |work=The Hill}} Trump pleaded not guilty.{{cite news |last1=Greve |first1=Joan E. |last2=Lowell |first2=Hugo |date=June 14, 2023 |title=Trump pleads not guilty to 37 federal criminal counts in Mar-a-Lago case |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/13/trump-arraignment-not-guilty-charges-mar-a-lago-documents-court |access-date=June 14, 2023 |work=The Guardian}} In July 2024, judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case, ruling Smith's appointment as special prosecutor was unconstitutional.{{cite news |last=Tucker |first=Eric |date=July 15, 2024 |title=Federal judge dismisses Trump classified documents case over concerns with prosecutor's appointment |url=https://apnews.com/article/trump-classified-documents-smith-c66d5ffb7ba86c1b991f95e89bdeba0c |access-date=July 15, 2024 |work=AP News}}

In May 2024, Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.{{cite news |last1=Protess |first1=Ben |last2=Bromwich |first2=Jonah E. |last3=Haberman |first3=Maggie |author-link3=Maggie Haberman |last4=Christobek |first4=Kate |last5=McKinley |first5=Jesse |author-link5=Jesse McKinley |last6=Rashbaum |first6=William K. |date=May 30, 2024 |title=Trump Convicted on All Counts to Become America's First Felon President |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/30/nyregion/trump-convicted-hush-money-trial.html |access-date=January 22, 2024 |work=The New York Times}} The case stemmed from evidence that he booked Michael Cohen's hush-money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels as business expenses to cover up his alleged 2006–2007 affair with Daniels during the 2016 election.{{cite news |last=Bump |first=Philip |date=August 21, 2018 |title=How the campaign finance charges against Michael Cohen implicate Trump |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/08/21/how-the-campaign-finance-charges-against-michael-cohen-may-implicate-trump |access-date=July 25, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} On January 10, 2025, the judge gave Trump a no-penalty sentence known as an unconditional discharge, saying that punitive requirements would have interfered with presidential immunity.{{cite news |last1=Hawkins |first1=Derek |last2=Jacobs |first2=Shayna |last3=Berman |first3=Mark |date=January 10, 2025 |title=What Trump's unconditional discharge sentence means in the hush money case |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/01/10/trump-criminal-sentence-unconditional-discharge-no-penalty/ |access-date=January 11, 2025 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} After his reelection, the 2020 election obstruction case and the classified documents case were dismissed without prejudice due to Justice Department policy against prosecuting sitting presidents.{{cite news |last1=Stein |first1=Perry |last2=Hsu |first2=Spencer S. |date=November 25, 2024 |title=With D.C. case dismissed, Trump is no longer under federal indictment |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/11/25/trump-cases-motion-to-dismiss-jack-smith/ |access-date=November 26, 2024 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}

2024 presidential election

{{Further|2024 Republican Party presidential primaries|2024 United States presidential election|Second presidential transition of Donald Trump}}

File:Donald Trump (53951823882).jpg

In November 2022, Trump announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election and created a fundraising account.{{cite news |last1=Arnsdorf |first1=Isaac |last2=Scherer |first2=Michael |author-link2=Michael Scherer (journalist) |date=November 15, 2022 |title=Trump, who as president fomented an insurrection, says he is running again |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/15/trump-2024-announcement-running-president/ |access-date=December 5, 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}{{cite news |last=Schouten |first=Fredreka |date=November 16, 2022 |title=Questions about Donald Trump's campaign money, answered |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/16/politics/donald-trump-war-chest-presidential-campaign/index.html |access-date=December 5, 2022 |work=CNN}} In March 2023, the campaign began diverting 10 percent of the donations to his leadership PAC. His campaign had paid $100 million towards his legal bills by March 2024.{{cite news |last1=Goldmacher |first1=Shane |last2=Haberman |first2=Maggie |author-link2=Maggie Haberman |date=June 25, 2023 |title=As Legal Fees Mount, Trump Steers Donations Into PAC That Has Covered Them |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/25/us/politics/trump-donations-legal-fees.html |access-date=June 25, 2023 |work=The New York Times}}{{cite news |last1=Escobar |first1=Molly Cook |last2=Sun |first2=Albert |last3=Goldmacher |first3=Shane |date=March 27, 2024 |title=How Trump Moved Money to Pay $100 Million in Legal Bills |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/03/27/us/politics/trump-cases-legal-fund.html |access-date=April 3, 2024 |work=The New York Times}} In December 2023, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled him disqualified for the Colorado Republican primary for his role in inciting the January 6, 2021, attack on Congress. In March 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court restored his name to the ballot in a unanimous decision, ruling that Colorado lacks the authority to enforce Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars insurrectionists from holding federal office.{{cite news |last=Levine |first=Sam |date=March 4, 2024 |title=Trump was wrongly removed from Colorado ballot, US supreme court rules |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/04/trump-scotus-colorado-ruling |access-date=June 23, 2024 |work=The Guardian}}

During the campaign, Trump made increasingly violent and authoritarian statements.{{cite news |last1=Bender |first1=Michael C. |author-link1=Michael C. Bender |last2=Gold |first2=Michael |date=November 20, 2023 |title=Trump's Dire Words Raise New Fears About His Authoritarian Bent |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/20/us/politics/trump-rhetoric-fascism.html |work=The New York Times}}{{cite news |last=Stone |first=Peter |date=November 22, 2023 |title='Openly authoritarian campaign': Trump's threats of revenge fuel alarm |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/nov/22/trump-revenge-game-plan-alarm |work=The Guardian}}{{cite news |last1=Colvin |first1=Jill |last2=Barrow |first2=Bill |date=December 7, 2023 |title=Trump's vow to only be a dictator on 'day one' follows growing worry over his authoritarian rhetoric |url=https://apnews.com/article/trump-hannity-dictator-authoritarian-presidential-election-f27e7e9d7c13fabbe3ae7dd7f1235c72 |work=AP News}}{{cite news |last=LeVine |first=Marianne |date=November 12, 2023 |title=Trump calls political enemies 'vermin', echoing dictators Hitler, Mussolini |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/12/trump-rally-vermin-political-opponents |newspaper=The Washington Post}} He said that he would weaponize the FBI and the Justice Department against his political opponents{{cite news |last=Levine |first=Sam |date=November 10, 2023 |title=Trump suggests he would use FBI to go after political rivals if elected in 2024 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/nov/10/trump-fbi-rivals-2024-election |work=The Guardian}}{{cite news |last=Vazquez |first=Maegan |date=November 10, 2023 |title=Trump says on Univision he could weaponize FBI, DOJ against his enemies |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/09/trump-interview-univision/ |newspaper=The Washington Post}} and use the military to target Democratic politicians and those that do not support his candidacy.{{cite news |last=Stracqualursi |first=Veronica |date=October 14, 2024 |title=Trump suggests using military against 'enemy from within' on Election Day |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2024/10/13/politics/trump-military-enemy-from-within-election-day/index.html |work=CNN}}{{cite news |last1=Lerer |first1=Lisa |last2=Gold |first2=Michael |date=October 15, 2024 |title=Trump Escalates Threats to Political Opponents He Deems the 'Enemy' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/15/us/politics/trump-opponents-enemy-within.html |work=The New York Times}} He used harsher, more dehumanizing anti-immigrant rhetoric than during his presidency.{{cite news |last1=Gold |first1=Michael |last2=Huynh |first2=Anjali |date=April 2, 2024 |title=Trump Again Invokes 'Blood Bath' and Dehumanizes Migrants in Border Remarks |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/02/us/politics/trump-border-blood-bath.html |access-date=April 3, 2024 |work=The New York Times}}{{cite news |last1=Savage |first1=Charlie |author-link1=Charlie Savage (author) |last2=Haberman |first2=Maggie |author-link2=Maggie Haberman |last3=Swan |first3=Jonathan |author-link3=Jonathan Swan |date=November 11, 2023 |title=Sweeping Raids, Giant Camps and Mass Deportations: Inside Trump's 2025 Immigration Plans |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/11/us/politics/trump-2025-immigration-agenda.html |work=The New York Times}}{{cite news |last1=Layne |first1=Nathan |last2=Slattery |first2=Gram |last3=Reid |first3=Tim |date=April 3, 2024 |title=Trump calls migrants 'animals', intensifying focus on illegal immigration |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-expected-highlight-murder-michigan-woman-immigration-speech-2024-04-02/ |access-date=April 3, 2024 |work=Reuters}}{{cite news |last1=Philbrick |first1=Ian Prasad |last2=Bentahar |first2=Lyna |date=December 5, 2023 |title=Donald Trump's 2024 Campaign, in His Own Menacing Words |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/05/us/politics/trump-2024-president-campaign.html |access-date=May 10, 2024 |work=The New York Times}} His harsher rhetoric against his political enemies has been described by some historians and scholars as authoritarian, fascist,{{Efn|name=Fascist|Several sources:{{cite news |title=Trump campaign defends "vermin" speech amid fascist comparisons |url=https://www.axios.com/2023/11/13/trump-vermin-fascist-language-speech |work=Axios |date=November 13, 2023 |last=Basu |first=Zachary |access-date=December 8, 2023}}{{cite news |last=Browning |first=Christopher R. |date=July 25, 2023 |title=A New Kind of Fascism |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/07/trump-second-term-isolationist-fascism/674791/ |work=The Atlantic |access-date=December 8, 2023}}{{cite news |title=Trump compares political opponents to 'vermin' who he will 'root out', alarming historians |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-compares-political-opponents-vermin-root-alarming-historians/story?id=104847748 |work=ABC News |date=November 13, 2023 |last1=Kim |first1=Soo Rin |last2=Ibssa |first2=Lalee |access-date=December 8, 2023}}{{cite news |last=Ward |first=Myah |date=October 12, 2024 |title=We watched 20 Trump rallies. His racist, anti-immigrant messaging is getting darker. |work=Politico |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/12/trump-racist-rhetoric-immigrants-00183537 |access-date=October 12, 2024}}}} and unlike anything a political candidate has ever said in American history.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/27/magazine/trump-rallies-rhetoric.html |title=Donald Trump Has Never Sounded Like This |work=The New York Times Magazine |date=April 27, 2024 |access-date=April 27, 2024 |last1=Homans |first1=Charles}}{{cite news |last=Applebaum |first=Anne |date=October 18, 2024 |title=Trump Is Speaking Like Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini |work=The Atlantic |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/10/trump-authoritarian-rhetoric-hitler-mussolini/680296/ |access-date=October 18, 2024}} Age and health concerns also arose during the campaign, with several medical experts highlighting an increase in rambling, tangential speech and behavioral disinhibition.{{cite news |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |author-link1=Peter Baker (journalist) |last2=Freedman |first2=Dylan |date=October 6, 2024 |title=Trump's Speeches, Increasingly Angry and Rambling, Reignite the Question of Age |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/06/us/politics/trump-speeches-age-cognitive-decline.html |access-date=November 6, 2024 |work=The New York Times}}

Trump mentioned "rigged election" and "election interference" earlier and more frequently than in the 2016 and 2020 campaigns and refused to commit to accepting the 2024 election results.{{cite news |last1=Lane |first1=Nathan |last2=Ulmer |first2=Alexandra |date=May 16, 2024 |title=Trump, allies are laying the groundwork to contest potential election loss |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-allies-are-laying-groundwork-contest-potential-election-loss-2024-05-16/ |access-date=September 12, 2024 |work=Reuters}}{{cite news |last1=Yourish |first1=Karen |last2=Smart |first2=Charlie |date=May 24, 2024 |title=Trump's Pattern of Sowing Election Doubt Intensifies in 2024 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/05/24/us/politics/trump-election-results-doubt.html |access-date=August 30, 2024 |work=The New York Times}} Analysts for The New York Times described this as an intensification of his "heads I win; tails you cheated" rhetorical strategy; the newspaper stated that the claim of a rigged election had become the backbone of the campaign.

On July 13, 2024, Trump was shot in the ear in an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler Township, Pennsylvania.{{cite news |last1=Browne |first1=Malachy |last2=Lum |first2=Devon |last3=Cardia |first3=Alexander |date=July 26, 2024 |title=Speculation Swirls About What Hit Trump. An Analysis Suggests It was a Bullet |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/26/us/politics/trump-shooter-bullet-trajectory-ear.html |access-date=July 29, 2024 |work=The New York Times}}{{cite news |last1=Hutchinson |first1=Bill |last2=Cohen |first2=Miles |date=July 16, 2024 |title=Gunman opened fire at Trump rally as witnesses say they tried to alert police |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/witnesses-trump-assassination-attempt-gunman-roof-shooting/story?id=111947616 |access-date=July 17, 2024 |work=ABC News}}{{cite news |date=July 14, 2024 |title=AP Photos: Shooting at Trump rally in Pennsylvania |url=https://apnews.com/article/trump-rally-shooting-photo-gallery-561478b3f90c950c741eeaa24c6dc159 |access-date=July 23, 2024 |work=AP News}} Two days later, the 2024 Republican National Convention nominated him as their presidential candidate, with Senator JD Vance as his running mate.{{cite news |last=Astor |first=Maggie |date=July 15, 2024 |title=What to Know About J.D. Vance, Trump's Running Mate |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/15/us/politics/who-is-jd-vance-trump-vp.html |access-date=July 15, 2024 |work=The New York Times}} In September, he was targeted in another assassination attempt in Florida.{{cite news |last1=Debusmann |first1=Bernd Jr |last2=Yousif |first2=Nadine |date=September 23, 2024 |title=Suspect described Trump 'assassination attempt' in pre-written note |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c89ly20vvgvo |access-date=November 21, 2024 |work=BBC News}}

Trump won the election in November 2024 with 312 electoral votes to incumbent vice president Kamala Harris's 226,{{cite news |title=2024 Presidential Election Results |url=https://apnews.com/projects/election-results-2024/ |date=November 25, 2024 |access-date=November 25, 2024 |work=AP News}} making him the second president in U.S. history to be elected to a nonconsecutive second term.{{cite news |last=Treisman |first=Rachel |date=November 4, 2024 |title=Trump is hoping to win non-consecutive terms. Only one president has done it |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/11/04/g-s1-32048/grover-cleveland-trump-non-consecutive-terms |access-date=November 9, 2024 |work=NPR News}} He also won the popular vote with 49.8% to Harris's 48.3%.{{cite web |url=https://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/2024presgeresults.pdf |title=2024 Presidential Election Results |publisher=Federal Election Commission |date=January 16, 2025 |access-date=January 16, 2025}} His victory in 2024 was part of a global backlash against incumbent parties,{{cite news |last=Burn-Murdoch |first=John |date=November 7, 2024 |title=Democrats join 2024's graveyard of incumbents |url=https://www.ft.com/content/e8ac09ea-c300-4249-af7d-109003afb893 |access-date=December 5, 2024 |work=Financial Times}}{{cite news |url=https://www.vox.com/2024-elections/383208/donald-trump-victory-kamala-harris-global-trend-incumbents |title=The global trend that pushed Donald Trump to victory |website=Vox |first1=Zack |last1=Beauchamp |date=November 6, 2024 |quote=Incumbents everywhere are doing poorly. America just proved it's not exceptional.}} in part due to the 2021–2023 inflation surge.{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/world/global-politics-conservative-right-shift-ea0e8d05 |title=The Progressive Moment in Global Politics is Over |date=December 27, 2024 |access-date=December 27, 2024 |first1=Bertrand |last1=Benoit |first2=David |last2=Luhnow |first3=Vipal |last3=Monga |website=The Wall Street Journal |quote=Weak economic growth and record immigration are driving gains by the right, especially populists.}}{{cite news |last=Burn-Murdoch |first=John |date=December 29, 2024 |title=What the 'year of democracy' taught us, in 6 charts |url=https://www.ft.com/content/350ba985-bb07-4aa3-aa5e-38eda7c525dd |access-date=December 30, 2024 |work=Financial Times |quote=The billions who voted in 2024 sent an angry message to incumbents, and warmed to populists on left and right}} Several outlets described his reelection as an extraordinary comeback.{{cite news |last1=Sheerin |first1=Jude |last2=Murphy |first2=Matt |date=November 6, 2024 |title=Trump pulls off historic White House comeback |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62l5zdv7zko |access-date=November 9, 2024 |work=BBC News}}{{cite news |last1=Miller |first1=Zeke |author-link1=Zeke Miller |last2=Price |first2=Michelle L. |last3=Weissert |first3=Will |last4=Colvin |first4=Jill |date=November 6, 2024 |title=Trump wins the White House in political comeback rooted in appeals to frustrated voters |url=https://apnews.com/article/election-day-trump-harris-white-house-83c8e246ab97f5b97be45cdc156af4e2 |access-date=November 9, 2024 |work=AP News}}

Second presidency (2025–present)

File:Donald Trump 2nd Inauguration.jpg, administered by Chief Justice John Roberts, January 20, 2025]]

Trump began his second term upon his inauguration on January 20, 2025.{{cite news |last1=Morgan |first1=David |last2=Borter |first2=Gabriella |last3=Mason |first3=Jeff |last4=Ax |first4=Joseph |date=January 20, 2025 |title=Trump sworn in a second time, says he was 'saved by God' to rescue America |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/triumphant-trump-returns-white-house-launching-new-era-upheaval-2025-01-20/ |access-date=January 20, 2025 |work=Reuters}} He became the oldest individual to assume the presidency{{cite news |last=Hussein |first=Mohamed H. |date=January 20, 2025 |title=How does Trump's age at inauguration compare with other presidents? |work=Al Jazeera |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/20/how-does-trumps-age-at-inauguration-compare-to-other-presidents |access-date=January 20, 2025}} and the first president with a felony conviction.{{cite news |last1=Ogwude |first1=Haadiza |last2=Page |first2=Susan |date=January 20, 2025 |title=Is Donald Trump the oldest president sworn into office? A look at his historic feats |work=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2025/01/20/who-is-the-oldest-president-to-be-sworn-in-donald-trump/77776042007/ |access-date=January 20, 2025}}

=Early actions, 2025–present=

{{see also|Second presidential transition of Donald Trump|First 100 days of the second Donald Trump presidency}}

Upon taking office, Trump signed a series of executive orders that tested the limits of executive authority. Many drew immediate legal challenges.{{cite news |last=Wootson Jr. |first=Cleve R. |date=January 21, 2025 |title=Trump's executive orders already face pushback, legal challenges |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/01/21/trump-executive-orders-challenges-lawsuits/ |access-date=January 23, 2025}} He issued more executive orders on his first day than any other president;{{cite news |last=Rakich |first=Nathaniel |date=January 21, 2025 |title=No, Trump can't cancel the 2028 election. But he could still weaken democracy. |work=FiveThirtyEight |url=https://abcnews.go.com/538/trump-cancel-2028-election-weaken-democracy/story?id=117807079 |access-date=January 24, 2025 |quote=He issued more executive orders on Day 1 than any previous president}} he also granted clemency to all January 6 rioters convicted or charged, including those who violently attacked police, by pardoning more than 1,500 and commuting the sentences of 14.{{cite news |last=Reilly |first=Ryan J. |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/trump-set-pardon-defendants-stormed-capitol-jan-6-2021-rcna187735 |title=Trump pardons roughly 1,500 criminal defendants charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack |work=NBC News |date=January 21, 2025 |access-date=January 23, 2025}}{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/02/09/965472049/the-capitol-siege-the-arrested-and-their-stories |title=The Jan. 6 attack: The cases behind the biggest criminal investigation in U.S. history |work=NPR |date=March 14, 2025 |access-date=April 14, 2025}} Four days into his second term, analysis conducted by Time found that nearly two-thirds of his executive actions "mirror or partially mirror" proposals from Project 2025.{{cite magazine |last=Popli |first=Nik |date=January 24, 2025 |title=Trump's Early Actions Mirror Project 2025 |url=https://time.com/7209901/donald-trump-executive-actions-project-2025/ |access-date=January 25, 2025 |magazine=Time}} Trump granted clemency to all January 6 rioters convicted or charged, including those who violently attacked police, by pardoning around 1,500 and commuting the sentences of 14.{{cite news |last=Reilly |first=Ryan J. |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/trump-set-pardon-defendants-stormed-capitol-jan-6-2021-rcna187735 |title=Trump pardons roughly 1,500 criminal defendants charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack |work=NBC News |date=January 21, 2025 |access-date=January 23, 2025}}{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/02/09/965472049/the-capitol-siege-the-arrested-and-their-stories |title=The Jan. 6 attack: The cases behind the biggest criminal investigation in U.S. history |work=NPR |date=March 14, 2025 |access-date=April 14, 2025}} In his first weeks, several of his actions have ignored or violated federal laws, regulations, and the Constitution according to American legal scholars.{{cite news |last=Savage |first=Charlie |author-link=Charlie Savage (author) |date=February 5, 2025 |title=Trump Brazenly Defies Laws in Escalating Executive Power Grab |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/05/us/trump-federal-law-power.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=February 5, 2025}}{{cite news |last=Rein |first=Lisa |date=January 29, 2025 |title=How Trump is stretching laws to make the federal government more political |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/01/29/trump-federal-government-laws-schedule-f/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=February 4, 2025}}{{cite news |last=Pereira |first=Ivan |date=January 28, 2025 |title=Trump funding freeze a blatant violation of Constitution, federal law: Legal experts |work=ABC News |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-funding-freeze-blatant-violation-constitution-federal-law/story?id=118183957 |access-date=February 4, 2025}} In his administration's first month, Trump issued ninety executive orders, memorandums, and directives.{{cite news |work=The Washington Times |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/16/trump-record-breaking-start-rattles-district-rankl/ |title=Trump's record-breaking start rattles Washington, rankles rivals, but earns raves from voters |last=Mordock |first=Jeff |date=February 16, 2025 |access-date=February 17, 2025}} By March 7, his orders and actions on immigration, firing commissioners and watchdogs, downsizing the federal workforce, and others had been challenged by over 100 lawsuits nationwide.{{cite news |last1=Juvenal |first1=Justin |last2=Marimow |first2=Ann E. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/02/07/trump-lawsuits-executive-orders-actions-legal-challenges/ |title=Tracking Trump's wins and losses in court cases over his executive orders |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=March 7, 2025 |access-date=March 7, 2025}} His actions against civil society were described by legal experts and hundreds of political scientists as authoritarian and contributing to democratic backsliding.{{Cite news |last=Riccardi |first=Nicholas |date=March 1, 2025 |title=Trump's moves test the limits of presidential power and the resilience of US democracy |work=AP News |url=https://apnews.com/article/trump-democracy-autocrats-authoritarian-constitution-threat-542ac437a58880e81c052f8f2df1643f |access-date=April 13, 2025}}{{Cite news |last1=Leingang |first1=Rachel |last2=Noor |first2=Dharna |date=April 10, 2025 |title=Fear spreads as Trump targets lawyers and non-profits in 'authoritarian' takedown |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/10/trump-administration-authoritarian |access-date=April 13, 2025}}

= Mass terminations of federal employees =

Trump implemented a hiring freeze across the federal government and ordered telework of federal employees to be discontinued within 30 days.{{cite news |last=Davies |first=Emily |title=On Day 4 of President Trump, telework is on the chopping block |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/01/23/federal-worker-mandates-resistance-trump/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=January 23, 2025 |access-date=February 5, 2025}}{{cite news |last1=Green |first1=Erica L. |last2=Robertson |first2=Campbell |last3=Scheiber |first3=Noam |author-link3=Noam Scheiber |title=Trump's Moves to Upend Federal Bureaucracy Touch Off Fear and Confusion |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/25/us/politics/trump-federal-workers.html |website=The New York Times |date=January 25, 2025 |access-date=January 28, 2025}} He ordered a review of many career civil service positions with the intention of reclassifying them into at-will positions without job protections.{{cite news |last=Doyle |first=Michael |title=Trump plan to upend civil service advances under new name |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/27/trump-plan-civil-service-00200757 |website=Politico |date=January 27, 2025 |access-date=January 28, 2025}}{{cite news |last1=Shalal |first1=Andrea |last2=Spetalnick |first2=Matt |title=Trump accelerates campaign to remake federal bureaucracy |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-attack-diversity-programs-bureaucracy-sends-us-agencies-scrambling-2025-01-23/ |work=Reuters |date=January 23, 2025 |access-date=January 28, 2025}} He initiated mass job terminations of federal employees,{{cite news |last=Collinson |first=Stephen |date=January 28, 2025 |title=Trump sets about his retribution agenda with relish |work=CNN |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/28/politics/trump-retribution-agenda-analysis/index.html |access-date=January 28, 2025}} which were described by legal experts as unprecedented or in violation of federal law,{{cite news |last=Savage |first=Charlie |author-link=Charlie Savage (author) |date=January 27, 2025 |title=Fired Inspectors General Raise Alarms as Trump Administration Moves to Finalize Purge |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/27/us/politics/trump-inspectors-general-fired.html |access-date=January 28, 2025}} with the intent of replacing them with workers more aligned with his agenda.{{cite news |last1=Basu |first1=Zachary |last2=Lawler |first2=Dave |title=Trump's bureaucracy goes to war |url=https://www.axios.com/2025/01/27/trump-federal-eorkers-inspectors-general |website=Axios |date=January 27, 2025 |access-date=January 28, 2025}} By late February, the administration had fired more than 30,000 people.{{cite news |title=DOGE continues to hollow federal workforce after already firing more than 30,000 |date=February 28, 2025 |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/doge-continues-to-hollow-federal-workforce-after-already-firing-more-than-30000 |last=Desjardins |first=Lisa |author-link=Lisa Desjardins |work=PBS Newshour}} To facilitate further terminations, it adopted a novel legal interpretation that vastly expands the range of departments and agencies considered as having national security for their primary function,{{cite web |last=Wagner |first=Erich |title=Trump order aims to outlaw most government unions on 'national security' grounds |url=https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2025/03/trump-order-aims-outlaw-most-government-unions-national-security-grounds/404113/ |website=Government Executive |access-date=March 31, 2025 |date=March 28, 2025 |quote=Trump cited a rarely used provision of the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act allowing the president to exclude agencies and agency subcomponents from collective bargaining rules if the rules 'cannot be applied to that agency or subdivision in a manner consistent with national security requirements.'}}{{cite news |last=Druker |first=Simon |title=Executive order would ban federal employee unionization, collective bargaining |url=https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2025/03/28/donald-trump-federal-unionization-collective-bargaining-executive-order/2671743183358/ |website=UPI News |access-date=March 31, 2025 |date=March 28, 2025}}{{cite news |last=Kanu |first=Hassan Ali |title=Trump administration sues to end some federal workers' union contracts |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/28/federal-workers-unions-lawsuit-donald-trump-00257991 |website=Politico |access-date=March 31, 2025 |date=March 28, 2025 |quote=The Trump administration is asking Albright for a reinterpretation of federal law that would permit the agencies to rescind union contracts, rather than alleging any particular legal violations on the unions' part.}} declaring various federal workers' unions "hostile".{{cite news |last=O'Brien |first=Rebecca Davis |title=Trump Order Could Cripple Federal Worker Unions Fighting DOGE Cuts |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/29/us/politics/federal-worker-unions-doge.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=March 31, 2025 |date=March 29, 2025}}{{cite news |last=Hsu |first=Andrea |title=Trump signs order ending union bargaining rights for wide swaths of federal employees |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/03/28/nx-s1-5343474/trump-collective-bargaining-unions-federal-employees |website=NPR News |access-date=March 31, 2025 |date=March 28, 2025}} A late March executive order based on this interpretation excluded dozens of departments and agencies from federal labor-management relations programs, prompting them to sue to invalidate their collective bargaining agreements,{{cite news |last=Wiessner |first=Daniel |title=Trump administration sues to invalidate dozens of union contracts |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-administration-sues-invalidate-dozens-union-contracts-2025-03-28/ |website=Reuters |access-date=March 31, 2025 |date=March 28, 2025}} which could remove union protections from 1 million federal employees.{{cite news |last1=Iyer |first1=Kaanita |last2=Luhby |first2=Tami |title=Trump signs executive order ending collective bargaining rights for many federal workers |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/28/politics/executive-order-collective-bargaining-national-security/index.html |website=CNN |access-date=March 31, 2025 |date=March 28, 2025}} He ordered an end to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) projects in the federal government and placed employees in DEI offices on leave. He rescinded Executive Order 11246, which mandated affirmative action and nondiscrimination practices for federal contractors.{{cite news |last=Reid |first=Tim |title=Trump's rapid changes in US government stun federal workers |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-rapid-changes-us-government-stuns-stirs-anxiety-among-federal-workers-2025-01-24/ |website=Reuters |date=January 24, 2025 |access-date=January 28, 2025}}{{cite news |last1=Mark |first1=Julian |last2=Telford |first2=Taylor |last3=Svrluga |first3=Susan |title=In first days, Trump deals 'death blow' to DEI and affirmative action |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/01/23/trump-dei-affirmative-action/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=January 23, 2025}}

Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency largely dismantled several federal agencies including USAID and the Department of Education, unilaterally fired several thousand staff, and reduced administrative functions to statutory minimums.{{Cite news |last=Brownstein |first=Ronald |author-link=Ron Brownstein |date=March 20, 2025 |title=Trump's moves to hollow out government could be difficult to undo |work=CNN |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/20/politics/trump-musk-federal-government-reagan/index.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 3, 2025 |quote=Together with Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency, the Trump administration has sought to rapidly deconstruct governmental power through, among other approaches, massive reductions in the federal workforce; the sale of federal buildings; the complete elimination of federal agencies, including the Department of Education, which Trump is expected to begin the process of dismantling on Thursday; and the cancellation of grants that sustain extensive networks of nonprofit humanitarian organizations overseas and sophisticated academic research institutions at home.}}{{Cite news |last=Pager |first=Tyler |date=March 15, 2025 |title=Trump Orders Gutting of 7 Agencies, Including Voice of America's Parent |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/15/us/politics/trump-order-voice-of-america.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 3, 2025}}{{cite news |url=https://apnews.com/article/trump-musk-usaid-c0c7799be0b2fa7cad4c806565985fe2 |title=Trump and Musk move to dismantle USAID, igniting battle with Democratic lawmakers |date=February 3, 2025 |access-date=February 5, 2025 |first1=Ellen |last1=Knickmeyer |first2=Farnoush |last2=Amiri |first3=Adriana |last3=Gomez Licon |work=AP News}} Some actions, such as attempts to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, were paused by federal courts.{{Cite news |last=Gillison |first=Douglas |date=March 28, 2025 |title=Federal judge orders halt to Trump administration efforts to dismantle consumer agency |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/federal-judge-orders-halt-trump-administration-efforts-dismantle-consumer-agency-2025-03-28/ |access-date=April 3, 2025}} Many of his actions attempted to bring historically independent institutions under direct executive branch control in diminished forms.{{Cite news |last1=Kavi |first1=Aishvarya |last2=Wong |first2=Edward |date=April 2, 2025 |title=Musk's Task Force Begins Shutting Down Foreign Policy Research Center |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/us/politics/doge-wilson-center.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 3, 2025 |quote=The apparent gutting of the Wilson Center would be the latest attempt by the Trump administration to bring federally funded institutions that have historically been independent under executive branch control, and in much diminished forms. Mr. Musk and his task force have helped lead efforts at slashing those institutions and various federal agencies.}}

=Domestic policy, 2025–present=

Trump inherited a resilient economy from the Biden administration, with increasing economic growth, low unemployment, and declining inflation.{{efn|Multiple sources describe the economy inherited by the Trump administration as resilient and strong.{{cite news |last1=Horsley |first1=Scott |author-link1=Scott Horsley |last2=Simon |first2=Scott |author-link2=Scott Simon |title=Trump inherits a strong economy by the numbers. What's his plan to lower prices? |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/01/25/nx-s1-5270829/trump-inherits-a-strong-economy-by-the-numbers-whats-his-plan-to-lower-prices |work=NPR News |date=January 25, 2025 |quote=Mark Zandi: The numbers speak for themselves. Growth is strong. Lots of jobs. Unemployment is low. If you take the economy on the whole, it really is about as good as it gets. So President Trump is inheriting a fantastic economy.}}{{Cite news |last=Rugaber |first=Christopher |date=January 23, 2025 |title=Trump's inheriting a solid economy, making it harder to lower borrowing costs or inflation |work=AP News |url=https://apnews.com/article/trump-economy-inflation-interest-rates-borrowing-6ef86392b080ca963ec633546009409b |access-date=January 23, 2025}}{{cite news |last1=Ryssdal |first1=Kai |last2=Terenzio |first2=Sofia |date=November 6, 2024 |title=Trump inherits a sturdy economy |url=https://www.marketplace.org/2024/11/06/strong-economy-next-president-inflation-employment/ |work=Marketplace |access-date=January 23, 2025}}{{Cite news |last=Casselman |first=Ben |author-link=Ben Casselman |date=December 18, 2024 |title=The Economy Is Finally Stable. Is That About to Change? |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/18/business/economy/trump-us-economy.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=January 23, 2025}}{{Cite news |last=Smart |first=Tim |date=January 9, 2025 |title=Trump Will Inherit a Better Economy Than He Left Behind |work=U.S. News & World Report |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/u-s-news-decision-points/articles/2025-01-09/trump-to-inherit-a-better-economy-than-he-left-behind |access-date=January 23, 2025}}{{Cite news |last=Baker |first=Peter |date=January 5, 2025 |title=Trump Sees the U.S. as a 'Disaster.' The Numbers Tell a Different Story. |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/05/us/politics/trump-us-disaster-numbers.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=January 23, 2025}}}} Large drops in consumer sentiment and increased expectations of higher inflation rates among consumers and Wall Street economists emerged due to his tariff policies,{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/13/business/sp-500-stocks-market-correction.html |title=Stocks Tumble Into Correction as Investors Sour on Trump |first1=Joe |last1=Rennison |first2=Danielle |last2=Kaye |first3=Karl |last3=Russell |date=March 13, 2025 |access-date=March 13, 2025 |website=The New York Times |url-access=subscription}} ultimately triggering a a stock market crash in April following his global tariff announcement.{{Cite news |last=Sherter |first=Alain |date=April 5, 2025 |title=Stock market rout deepens as Dow plunges more than 2,200 points and Nasdaq enters bear market |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dow-jones-stocks-today-djia-trump-tariffs/ |access-date=April 10, 2025 |work=CBS News}}

Trump canceled and paused federal grants and made large cuts to scientific research.{{Cite news |last=Casselman |first=Ben |author-link=Ben Casselman |date=March 31, 2025 |title=Trump's Science Policies Pose Long-Term Risk, Economists Warn |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/31/business/economy/trump-research-cutbacks-economy.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 3, 2025}} Trump appointed oil, gas, and chemical lobbyists to the EPA to reverse climate regulations and pollution controls.{{cite news |last1=Friedman |first1=Lisa |last2=Tabuchi |first2=Hiroko |author-link2=Hiroko Tabuchi |last3=Davenport |first3=Coral |date=January 25, 2025 |title=Trump Stocks E.P.A. With Oil, Gas and Chemical Lobbyists |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/25/climate/epa-staff-oil-gas-chemical-industry-lobbyists.html |access-date=January 26, 2025}} He declared a national energy emergency, allowing the suspension of environmental regulations, loosening the rules for fossil fuel extraction and limiting renewable energy projects.{{cite news |last=Elliott |first=Rebecca F. |title=Oil Companies Embrace Trump, but Not 'Drill, Baby, Drill' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/27/business/energy-environment/oil-trump-drill-baby-drill.html |work=The New York Times |date=January 27, 2025 |access-date=February 16, 2025}}{{cite news |last=Brady |first=Jeff |author-link=Jeff Brady (reporter) |title=Trump's energy emergency is a gift to fossil fuel firms. It's likely headed to court |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/01/22/nx-s1-5269717/trump-energy-emergency-climate |work=NPR News |date=January 22, 2025 |access-date=February 16, 2025}} He initiated a review of the "legality and continued applicability" of the EPA endangerment finding, which is the basis of most federal regulations on greenhouse gases,{{cite news |last1=Zraick |first1=Karen |last2=Friedman |first2=Lisa |title=Inside Trump's Renewed Effort to Undo a Major Climate Rule |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/28/climate/trump-endangerment-finding-epa.html |work=The New York Times |date=January 28, 2025 |access-date=February 16, 2025}} and again withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Agreement on climate change.{{cite news |last1=Daly |first1=Matthew |last2=Borenstein |first2=Seth |date=January 20, 2025 |title=Trump signs executive order directing US withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement — again |url=https://apnews.com/article/trump-paris-agreement-climate-change-788907bb89fe307a964be757313cdfb0 |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=AP News}}

Trump blamed DEI and wokeness for problems in society, and, equating diversity with incompetence,{{cite news |last=Green |first=Erica L. |date=February 3, 2025 |title=As Trump Attacks Diversity, a Racist Undercurrent Surfaces |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/03/us/politics/trump-diversity-racism.html |access-date=February 4, 2025}} he reversed pro-diversity policies in the federal government.{{cite news |last1=Green |first1=Erica L. |last2=Aleaziz |first2=Hamed |date=January 22, 2025 |title=Federal Workers Ordered to Report on Colleagues Over D.E.I. Crackdown |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/22/us/politics/trump-order-discrimination-federal-hiring.html |access-date=February 4, 2025}}{{cite news |last=Hurley |first=Lawrence |date=February 3, 2025 |title=Under Trump, conservatives reignite a battle over race and the Constitution |work=NBC News |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-conservatives-reignite-battle-race-constitution-rcna189842 |access-date=February 4, 2025}} His administration aggressively moved against the rights of transgender people and what it termed "gender ideology".{{cite news |last=Kurtzleben |first=Danielle |date=February 7, 2025 |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/02/07/g-s1-46893/trump-anti-trans-rights-executive-action-gender-ideology-confusion |title=Trump's executive actions curbing transgender rights focus on 'gender ideology' |work=NPR News |access-date=February 16, 2025}}{{cite news |date=February 6, 2025 |last1=Sopelsa |first1=Brooke |last2=Yurcaba |first2=Jo |last3=Lambert |first3=Katrina |title=Trump signs executive order banning trans women from women's sports |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/trump-executive-order-ban-trans-women-sports-rcna190767 |access-date=February 13, 2025 |work=NBC News}} Trump sought to remake civil society to his preferences by executive order.{{cite news |url=https://apnews.com/article/trump-law-firms-executive-order-fe8f38a61cf77c5bb6add1315f5f96f1 |title=Trump reaches deals with 5 law firms, allowing them to avoid prospect of punishing executive orders |last=Tucker |first=Eric |date=April 11, 2025 |work=AP News}} On DEI and antisemitism grounds, he threatened cultural institutions{{cite news |title=Trump's changes to the Smithsonian are the latest in his takeover of the arts |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/03/29/nx-s1-5333720/trumps-changes-to-the-smithsonian-are-the-latest-in-his-takeover-of-the-arts |last1=Blair |first1=Elizabeth |last2=Simon |first2=Scott |author-link2=Scott Simon |date=March 29, 2025 |work=NPR News}} and sixty universities,{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/anti-semitism-task-force-who-247c234e |title=The Little-Known Bureaucrats Tearing Through American Universities |last1=Whyte |first1=Liz Essley |last2=Belkin |first2=Douglas |last3=Randazzo |first3=Sara |date=April 14, 2025 |work=The Wall Street Journal}} and forced law firms to capitulate to his political agenda. On April 21, 2025, Reuters and the Wall Street Journal reported that Harvard had started to push back against the Trump administration's financially punitive assertiveness for which they received further sanctions from Trump for another one billion dollars."Trump threatens to cut another $1 billion in Harvard funding, WSJ reports". By Reuters. April 21, 2025. [https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-threatens-cut-another-1-billion-harvard-funding-wsj-reports-2025-04-21/]

=Immigration, 2025–present=

{{Main|Immigration policy of the second Donald Trump administration|Mexico–United States border crisis#Second Trump administration (2025–present)}}

{{Further|Deportation in the second presidency of Donald Trump|Mexico–United States border wall#Second Trump administration (2025–present)}}

In his first days in office, Trump instructed border patrol agents to summarily deport migrants crossing the border, disabled the CBP One app that was being used to schedule border crossings, resumed the remain in Mexico policy, designated drug cartels as terrorist groups, and ordered construction to be resumed on a border wall.{{cite news |last=Bustillo |first=Ximena |title=Trump signs sweeping actions on immigration and border security on Day 1 |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/01/20/g-s1-43650/trump-inauguration-day-one-immigration |work=NPR News |date=January 20, 2025 |access-date=February 16, 2025}}{{cite news |last=Montoya-Galvez |first=Camilo |title=Trump's sweeping immigration crackdown targets some legal means to enter U.S., too |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-migrants-crackdown-legal-immigration/ |website=CBS News |date=January 28, 2025 |access-date=February 16, 2025}} Rates of arrests lagged behind the Immigration and Customs Enforcement goal of 1,200 to 1,500 daily arrests.{{cite news |last1=Miroff |first1=Nick |last2=LeVine |first2=Marianne |date=February 15, 2025 |title=ICE struggles to boost arrest numbers despite infusion of resources |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/02/15/ice-arrests-immigration-deportations/ |newspaper=The Washington Post}}

Deportation operations first focused on "target lists" of criminals formed prior to Trump's second term.{{cite news |last=Hackman |first=Michelle |title=Trump Ramps Up Deportation Effort After Slow Start |url=https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-ramps-up-deportation-effort-after-slow-start-546d9954 |website=The Wall Street Journal |date=January 28, 2025}} Then his administration removed asylum applicants who failed to meet requirements,{{cite news |last1=Contreras |first1=Russell |last2=Gibson |first2=Brittany |title=Trump's orders unleash sweeping limits on immigration, asylum |url=https://www.axios.com/2025/01/20/trump-immigration-executive-orders-deportations |work=Axios |date=January 20, 2025}} revoked the parole status of migrants who entered the U.S. under CBP One and CHNV humanitarian parole, attempted to remove birthright citizenship,{{cite news |last=Sneed |first=Tierney |date=January 23, 2025 |title=Judge blocks Trump's 'blatantly unconstitutional' executive order that aims to end birthright citizenship |work=CNN |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/23/politics/birthright-citizenship-lawsuit-hearing-seattle/index.html |access-date=January 23, 2025}} and suspended the Refugee Admissions Program.{{cite news |last=Johnson |first=Gene |date=February 25, 2025 |title=Things to know about the ruling blocking President Trump's refugee ban |work=AP News |url=https://apnews.com/article/trump-refugee-seattle-ruling-lawsuit-90d4f5eef5ff751e5b4fd45e5c9d9358}} In March, he used the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to imprison migrants without trial—one by "administrative error"{{cite news |title=US judge presses Trump administration on its refusal to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia |url=https://apnews.com/article/kilmar-abrego-garcia-el-salvador-trump-deported-e537cfb69a9840046b5d3e512509e9a8 |date=April 15, 2025 |first1=Michael |last1=Kunzelman |first2=Ben |last2=Finley |work=AP News}} and most without criminal records{{efn|CBS could find no criminal records for 75% of the Venezuelans detained.{{cite news |title=U.S. sent 238 migrants to Salvadoran mega-prison; documents indicate most have no apparent criminal records |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-records-show-about-migrants-sent-to-salvadoran-prison-60-minutes-transcript/ |date=April 6, 2025 |last=Vega |first=Cecilia |work=CBS 60 Minutes}}}}—at the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador{{cite news |last1=Renteria |first1=Nelson |last2=O'Boyle |first2=Brendan |last3=Cortes |first3=Raul |date=March 20, 2025 |title=Explainer: What is El Salvador's mega-prison holding Venezuelans deported from the US? |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/what-is-el-salvadors-mega-prison-that-could-take-us-criminals-2025-02-04/ |work=Reuters |access-date=April 12, 2025}} He targeted activists, legal immigrants, tourists, and students with visas who expressed criticism of his policies or pro-Palestinian advocacy.{{cite news |last1=Kanno-Youngs |first1=Zolan |author-link1=Zolan Kanno-Youngs |last2=Pager |first2=Tyler |last3=Aleaziz |first3=Hamed |date=March 21, 2025 |title=As Trump Broadens Crackdown, Focus Expands to Legal Immigrants and Tourists |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/21/us/politics/trump-immigration-visa-crackdown.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=March 29, 2025}} In April, the administration and DOGE declared dead in Social Security's Death Master File about 6,300 living immigrants—hoping they would "self deport".{{efn|With their lawfully-obtained Social Security numbers voided, these people were cut off from banking and credit cards.}}{{cite news |title=Social Security Lists Thousands of Migrants as Dead to Prompt Them to 'Self-Deport' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/10/us/politics/migrants-deport-social-security-doge.html |date=April 10, 2025 |first1=Alexandra |last1=Berzon |first2=Hamed |last2=Aleaziz |first3=Nicholas |last3=Nehamas |first4=Ryan |last4=Mac |first5=Tara Siegel |last5=Bernard |work=The New York Times}}

=Foreign policy, 2025–present=

{{Main|Foreign policy of the second Donald Trump administration}}

{{Further|Tariffs in the second Trump administration|China–United States trade war|2025 United States trade war with Canada and Mexico|American expansionism under Donald Trump}}

Trump's second term foreign policy has been variously described as imperialist, expansionist,{{cite news |last1=Colvin |first1=Jill |last2=Gillies |first2=Rob |date=January 9, 2025 |title=Trump, the 'America First' candidate, has a new preoccupation: Imperialism |work=AP News |url=https://apnews.com/article/trump-imperialism-canada-panama-greenland-b4b53445dee97398b498b79eab54d49b |access-date=January 28, 2025}}{{cite news |last=Collinson |first=Stephen |date=January 8, 2025 |title=Trump's threats to Greenland, Canada and Panama explain everything about America First |work=CNN |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/08/politics/trump-greenland-canada-panama-analysis/index.html |access-date=January 28, 2025}} isolationist, and autarkist, employing the "America First" ideology as its cornerstone.{{cite news |last=Blaxland |first=John |author-link=John Blaxland (historian) |date=February 18, 2025 |title=Trump's view of the world is becoming clear: America's allies come second to its own interests |work=The Conversation |url=https://theconversation.com/trumps-view-of-the-world-is-becoming-clear-americas-allies-come-second-to-its-own-interests-250144 |access-date=February 28, 2025}} His relations with allies were transactional and ranged from indifference to hostility, including threats of annexation.{{cite news |last=Erlanger |first=Steven |author-link=Steven Erlanger |date=February 27, 2025 |title=Indifference or Hostility? Trump's View of European Allies Raises Alarm |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/27/world/europe/trump-eu-allies.html |access-date=February 28, 2025}}{{cite news |last=Broadwater |first=Luke |date=February 27, 2025 |title=With Trump, Alliances Come With Strings Attached |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/27/us/politics/trump-alliances-ukraine-russia.html |access-date=February 28, 2025}} He ordered the U.S. government to stop funding and working with the WHO and announced the U.S.'s intention to formally leave the WHO.{{cite news |last=Maxmen |first=Amy |date=January 24, 2025 |title=What a U.S. exit from the WHO means for global health |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-withdraw-who-global-health/ |work=CBS News |access-date=January 25, 2025}}{{cite news |last1=Faguy |first1=Ana |last2=Hughes |first2=Dominic |title=US exit from WHO could see fifth of budget disappear |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c391j738rm3o |website=BBC News |access-date=January 27, 2025 |date=January 21, 2025}}{{sfn|Trump|2025}}

Trump and his incoming administration helped broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas alongside the Biden administration, enacted a day prior to his inauguration.{{cite news |last1=Sanger |first1=David E. |author-link1=David E. Sanger |last2=Shear |first2=Michael D. |author-link2=Michael D. Shear |date=January 15, 2025 |title=How the Cease-Fire Push Brought Together Biden and Trump's Teams |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/15/us/politics/gaza-ceasefire-trump-biden.html |access-date=January 20, 2025 |work=The New York Times}}{{cite news |last1=Liptak |first1=Kevin |last2=Williams |first2=Michael |last3=Carvajal |first3=Nikki |last4=Treene |first4=Alayna |last5=Saenz |first5=Arlette |date=January 15, 2025 |title=How the Biden and Trump teams worked together to get the Gaza ceasefire and hostages deal done |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/15/politics/biden-trump-gaza-ceasefire-deal/index.html |access-date=January 20, 2025 |work=CNN}}{{cite news |last=Krauss |first=Joseph |date=March 18, 2025 |title=Why did Netanyahu end the Gaza ceasefire? |url=https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-ceasefire-hostages-netanyahu-ff48f081b069e484955a72bc68261364 |access-date=March 22, 2025 |work=AP News}} In March, Israel broke the ceasefire.

File:President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy Clash During Meeting in Oval Office, Feb. 28, 2025.jpg

In February 2025, Trump and Vice President Vance met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, in the Oval Office. The meeting, which was televised live, was highly contentious as Trump and Vance berated Zelenskyy. Media outlets described it as an unprecedented public confrontation between an American president and a foreign head of state.{{cite news |last1=Liptak |first1=Kevin |last2=Zeleny |first2=Jeff |author-link2=Jeff Zeleny |last3=Maher |first3=Kit |last4=Collins |first4=Kaitlan |author-link4=Kaitlan Collins |date=February 28, 2025 |title=Trump and Vance erupt at Zelensky in tense Oval Office meeting |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/28/politics/trump-zelensky-vance-oval-office/index.html |access-date=March 20, 2025 |work=CNN |quote=Never before has an American president verbally attacked his visitor like Trump did Zelensky, leading to an almost real-time breakdown in relations between Washington and Kyiv.}}{{cite news |last1=De Luce |first1=Dan |date=March 1, 2025 |title=Trump-Zelenskyy clash marks a defining turn away from U.S. defense of democracies |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/trump-zelenskyy-clash-marks-defining-turn-away-us-defense-democracies-rcna193975 |access-date=March 27, 2025 |work=NBC News |quote=An ugly and unprecedented confrontation in the Oval Office … Previous American presidents have had plenty of tense exchanges with allies, but often in private and never like this.}}

Trump's economic policies have been described as protectionist,{{cite news |last1=Douglas |first1=Jason |last2=Fairless |first2=Tom |date=March 24, 2025 |title=Trade War Explodes Across World at Pace Not Seen in Decades |url=https://www.wsj.com/economy/trade/trade-war-explodes-across-world-at-pace-not-seen-in-decades-0b6d6513?mod=hp_lead_pos7 |access-date=March 25, 2025 |website=The Wall Street Journal |quote=Economists and historians say the flurry of recent moves suggest the world could be heading toward the largest, broadest surge in protectionist activity since the U.S. Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 touched off a global retreat behind tariff walls that lasted until after World War II.}} with Trump imposing tariffs on most countries, including large tariffs on major trading partners China, Canada, and Mexico.{{cite news |last1=Swanson |first1=Ana |last2=Austen |first2=Ian |last3=Romero |first3=Simon |author-link3=Simon Romero |title=Trump's Tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China Snap Into Effect |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/business/economy/trump-tariffs-canada-mexico-china.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=March 4, 2025 |date=March 4, 2025}} He also suspended American financial contributions to the World Trade Organization.{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us-suspends-financial-contributions-wto-trade-sources-say-2025-03-27/ |date=March 28, 2025 |website=Reuters |title=Exclusive: US pauses financial contributions to WTO, trade sources say |first1=Emma |last1=Farge |access-date=March 28, 2025}} Economists argued that the administration misunderstood the relationship between trade deficits and tariffs, using flawed assumptions.{{Cite web |last=Weissmann |first=Jordan |date=April 6, 2025 |title=The White House cited these economists to justify its tariffs. They aren't thrilled. |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-white-house-cited-these-economists-to-justify-its-tariffs-they-arent-thrilled-193615537.html |website=Yahoo! Finance}}

= Personnel, 2025–present =

{{Main|Political appointments of the second Trump administration|Second cabinet of Donald Trump}}

In his second term, Trump selected cabinet members with personal loyalty to him,{{cite news |last=Griffiths |first=Brent D. |date=November 13, 2024 |title=Trump's early Cabinet picks show how much he values loyalty in his second term |work=Business Insider |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-cabinet-picks-so-far-loyalty-resumes-11 |access-date=February 23, 2025}}{{cite news |last1=Slattery |first1=Gram |last2=Ulmer |first2=Alexander |date=November 11, 2024 |title=As Trump staffs up for second term, only MAGA loyalists need apply |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/default/donald-trump-staffs-up-second-term-only-maga-loyalists-need-apply-2024-11-11/ |access-date=February 23, 2025}} with the "focus on loyalty over subject-matter expertise". In February 2025, the White House stated that Elon Musk was a special government employee.{{cite news |last=Picchi |first=Aimee |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/elon-musk-special-government-employee-what-does-that-mean/ |title=The White House says Elon Musk is a "special government employee." Here's what that means. |work=CBS News |date=February 4, 2025 |access-date=February 5, 2025}} Trump gave Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) access to many federal government agencies. Musk's teams operated in eighteen departments and agencies in the administration's first month,{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meet-press-february-23-2025-n1311564 |title=Meet the Press – February 23, 2025 |date=February 23, 2025 |work=NBC News}} including in the Treasury Department's $5 trillion payment system,{{cite news |title=Elon Musk's Team Now Has Access to Treasury's Payments System |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/01/us/politics/elon-musk-doge-federal-payments-system.html |first1=Andrew |last1=Duehren |first2=Maggie |last2=Haberman |author-link2=Maggie Haberman |first3=Theodore |last3=Schleifer |first4=Alan |last4=Rappeport |author-link4=Alan Rappeport |date=February 1, 2025 |access-date=February 2, 2025 |work=The New York Times}} the Small Business Administration, the Office of Personnel Management, and the General Services Administration.{{cite news |first=Nicole |last=Narea |title=Elon Musk's secretive government IT takeover, explained |date=February 5, 2025 |access-date=February 5, 2025 |url=https://www.vox.com/politics/398366/musk-doge-treasury-sba-opm-budget |work=Vox}}

=Judiciary, 2025–present=

Following legal setbacks, Trump increased his criticism of the judiciary and called for impeachment of federal judges who ruled against him.{{cite news |last=Riccardi |first=Nicholas |date=March 16, 2025 |title=Trump administration ramps up rhetoric targeting the courts amid mounting legal setbacks |work=AP News |url=https://apnews.com/article/trump-courts-judges-rule-of-law-85058a5ffcef105d4ea2ce0ef078f084 |access-date=March 20, 2025}} He threatened, signed executive actions, and ordered investigations into his political opponents, critics, and organizations aligned with the Democratic Party.{{cite news |last1=Vogel |first1=Kenneth P. |author-link1=Kenneth P. Vogel |last2=Goldmacher |first2=Shane |date=March 19, 2025 |title=With Orders, Investigations and Innuendo, Trump and G.O.P. Aim to Cripple the Left |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/us/politics/trump-republicans-attack-democrats-actblue.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=March 20, 2025}} His defiance of court orders and a claimed right to disobey the courts raised fears among legal experts of a constitutional crisis.{{cite news |last=Liptak |first=Adam |author-link=Adam Liptak |date=March 19, 2025 |title=Defiance and Threats in Deportation Case Renew Fear of Constitutional Crisis |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/us/politics/trump-deportations-constitutional-crisis-impeachment.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=March 20, 2025}} He engaged in an unprecedented targeting of law firms and lawyers that previously represented positions adverse to himself.{{cite episode |last=Lucas |first=Ryan |date=March 19, 2025 |title=Experts say Trump's targeting of law firms is unprecedented |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/03/19/nx-s1-5323890/experts-say-trumps-targeting-of-law-firms-is-unprecedented |series=All Things Considered |work=NPR News |access-date=April 13, 2025}}{{cite news |last1=Scarcella |first1=Mike |last2=Merken |first2=Sara |last3=Sloan |first3=Karen |date=March 21, 2025 |title=Law firm Paul Weiss defends deal with Trump as lawyers sound alarm |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/trumps-deal-with-law-firm-paul-weiss-sparks-alarm-among-lawyers-2025-03-21/ |work=Reuters |access-date=April 13, 2025 |quote=[...] marked an unprecedented attack on their ability to do business.}}

Political practice and rhetoric

{{Further|Trumpism|Political positions of Donald Trump|Rhetoric of Donald Trump}}

Beginning with his 2016 campaign, Trump's politics and rhetoric led to the creation of a political movement known as Trumpism.{{cite news |last=O'Brien |first=Timothy L. |author-link=Timothy L. O'Brien |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-11-01/trumpism-has-deep-roots-in-american-history-and-it-will-outlast-trump |title=The Peculiarly American Roots of Trumpism |work=Bloomberg News |date=November 1, 2024 |access-date=November 26, 2024}} His political positions are populist,{{sfn|Ross|2024|p=298|loc="In 2016, a populist won the presidential election in the United States."}}{{sfn|Urbinati|2019}} more specifically described as right-wing populist.{{sfn|Campani|Concepción|Soler|Savín|2022}}{{cite news |last=Chotiner |first=Isaac |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/redefining-populism |title=Redefining Populism |magazine=The New Yorker |date=July 29, 2021 |access-date=October 14, 2021}} He helped bring far-right fringe ideas and organizations into the mainstream.{{cite news |last=Bierman |first=Noah |date=August 22, 2016 |title=Donald Trump helps bring far-right media's edgier elements into the mainstream |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-media-20160820-snap-story.html |access-date=October 7, 2021}} Many of his actions and rhetoric have been described as authoritarian and contributing to democratic backsliding.{{sfn|Parker|Towler|2019|p=505; 513|loc="The rise of Donald Trump, however, forces scholars to apprehend why the country is trending toward authoritarianism, complete with a renegade executive and party loyalists willing to permit him to govern as he sees fit. Again, this is not the first time the United States has confronted authoritarianism. ... We must also say something about the much-discussed topic of authoritarianism and the election of Donald Trump. By now, several books, including How Democracies Die, have identified Trump as an authoritarian."}}{{sfn|Kaufman|Haggard|2019}} Trump pushed for an expansion of presidential power under a maximalist interpretation of the unitary executive theory.{{cite news |last=Savage |first=Charlie |author-link=Charlie Savage (author) |date=January 22, 2025 |title=Trump Seeks to Paralyze Independent Privacy and Civil Liberties Watchdog |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/22/us/trump-privacy-civil-liberties-oversight-board.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=January 25, 2025 |quote=Advisers to Mr. Trump subscribe to a strong view of presidential power called the unitary executive theory, under which the Constitution should be interpreted as giving presidents exclusive control of the executive branch and independent agencies are considered illegitimate. During the campaign, Trump allies vowed to stomp out pockets of independence in the executive branch if he won the election.}}{{cite news |last=Savage |first=Charlie |author-link=Charlie Savage (author) |date=January 22, 2025 |title=How Trump Is Pushing at Limits of Presidential Power in Early Orders |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/22/us/politics/trump-executive-orders.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=January 28, 2025 |quote=After President Trump left the White House in 2021, critics of his norm-breaking use of executive power implored Congress to tighten legal limits on when presidents can unilaterally reshape American government with the stroke of a pen. But lawmakers largely did not act. On Monday, as Mr. Trump took the oath of office to begin his second term, he asserted a muscular vision of presidential power. He not only revived some of the same expansive understandings of executive authority that were left unaddressed, but went even further with new claims of sweeping and inherent constitutional clout.}} His political base has been compared to a cult of personality.{{efn|name=Cult|Multiple sources:{{sfn|Sundahl|2022|loc="[In] a model for distinguishing between popularity and personality cults based on three parameters covering a representational and social practice dimension... Trump and Putin belong in the domain of personality cults"}}{{sfn|Franks|Hesami|2021|loc="Results of the current study... may lend credence to accusations that some Trump supporters have a cult-like loyalty to the 45th president"}}{{sfn|Adams|2021|p=256}}{{sfn|Reyes|2020|p=869}}{{sfn|Diamond|2023|p=96|loc="The cult of Trumpism fosters and exploits paranoia and allegiance to an all-powerful, charismatic figure, contributing to a social milieu at risk for the erosion of democratic principles and the rise of fascism"}}{{sfn|Hassan|2019|p=xviii|loc="...Trump employs many of the same techniques as prominent cult leaders"}}{{cite news |last=Ben-Ghiat |first=Ruth |author-link=Ruth Ben-Ghiat |date=December 19, 2020 |title=Op-Ed: Trump's formula for building a lasting personality cult |url=https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-12-09/donald-trump-strongman-personality-cult |access-date=October 4, 2023 |work=Los Angeles Times}}}} Trumpists are the dominant faction in the Republican Party as of 2024.{{cite news |last1=Ball |first1=Molly |title=The GOP Wants Pure, Uncut Trumpism |url=https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/gop-new-hampshire-trump-haley-403080ca |access-date=February 22, 2024 |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=January 23, 2024}}{{Cite journal |last1=Arhin |first1=Kofi |last2=Stockemer |first2=Daniel |last3=Normandin |first3=Marie-Soleil |date=May 29, 2023 |title=The Republican Trump Voter: A Populist Radical Right Voter Like Any Other? |journal=World Affairs |volume=186 |issue=3 |doi=10.1177/0043820023117681 |doi-broken-date=November 1, 2024 |issn=1940-1582 |doi-access=free |quote=In this article, we first illustrate that the Republican Party, or at least the dominant wing, which supports or tolerates Donald Trump and his Make America Great Again (MAGA) agenda have become a proto-typical populist radical right-wing party (PRRP).}}{{cite news |last1=Aratani |first1=Lauren |title=Republicans unveil two minimum wage bills in response to Democrats' push |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/26/republicans-minimum-wage-bills-senate |access-date=September 7, 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=February 26, 2021 |quote=In keeping with the party's deep division between its dominant Trumpist faction and its more traditionalist party elites, the twin responses seem aimed at appealing on one hand to its corporate-friendly allies and on the other hand to its populist rightwing base. Both have an anti-immigrant element.}}

Trump's rhetoric and actions inflame anger and exacerbate distrust through an "us" versus "them" narrative.{{sfn|Ross|2024|p=299|loc="Through his rhetoric and action, Trump inflamed anger and exacerbated distrust in a way that deepened the divide between the "us" and the "them""}} He explicitly and routinely disparages racial, religious, and ethnic minorities,{{sfn|Stephens-Dougan|2021|p=302|loc="Trump, however, managed to achieve electoral success in 2016 despite routinely using racial appeals that openly and categorically disparaged racial, religious, and ethnic minorities, or what the racial priming literature refers to as explicit racial appeals. ... Throughout his campaign and subsequent presidency, Trump continued to traffic in similar explicit racial appeals"}} and scholars consistently find that racial animus regarding blacks, immigrants, and Muslims are the best predictors of support for Trump.{{sfn|Berman|2021|p=76|loc="In the United, States scholars consistently find that "racial animus," or attitudes regarding "blacks, immigrants, Muslims" are the best predictors of support for President Trump"}} His rhetoric has been described as using fearmongering and demagogy,{{cite news |last=Haberman |first=Maggie |author-link=Maggie Haberman |date=September 11, 2024 |title='The End of Our Country': Trump Paints Dark Picture at Debate |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/11/us/politics/trump-debate-dark-picture.html |access-date=September 25, 2024 |quote=Fear-mongering, and demagoguing on the issue of immigrants, has been Mr. Trump's preferred speed since he announced his first candidacy for the presidency in June 2015, and he has often found a receptive audience for it.}} and he has said that he believes real power comes from fear.{{cite news |last1=Tackett |first1=Michael |last2=Haberman |first2=Maggie |date=February 4, 2019 |title=Trump Once Said Power Was About Instilling Fear. In That Case, He Should Be Worried. |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/04/us/politics/fear-trump.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=March 29, 2025 |quote=In an interview as a presidential candidate in 2016 with Bob Woodward and Robert Costa of The Washington Post, Mr. Trump said, 'Real power is — I don't even want to use the word — fear.'}} The alt-right movement coalesced around and supported his candidacy, due in part to its opposition to multiculturalism and immigration.{{cite news |last=Weigel |first=David |author-link=David Weigel |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/racial-realists-are-cheered-by-trumps-latest-strategy/2016/08/20/cd71e858-6636-11e6-96c0-37533479f3f5_story.html |title='Racialists' are cheered by Trump's latest strategy |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=August 20, 2016 |access-date=June 23, 2018}}{{cite news |url=https://cnn.com/2016/08/25/politics/alt-right-explained-hillary-clinton-donald-trump/ |title=Clinton is attacking the 'Alt-Right' – What is it? |first=Gregory |last=Krieg |access-date=August 25, 2016 |date=August 25, 2016 |work=CNN}}{{cite news |last=Pierce |first=Matt |title=Q&A: What is President Trump's relationship with far-right and white supremacist groups? |url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-09-30/la-na-pol-2020-trump-white-supremacy |work=Los Angeles Times |date=September 20, 2020 |access-date=October 7, 2021}} He has a strong appeal to evangelical Christian voters and Christian nationalists,{{sfn|Perry|Whitehead|Grubbs|2021|p=229}} and his rallies take on the symbols, rhetoric, and agenda of Christian nationalism.{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Peter |date=May 18, 2024 |title=Jesus is their savior, Trump is their candidate. Ex-president's backers say he shares faith, values |url=https://apnews.com/article/trump-christian-evangelicals-conservatives-2024-election-43f25118c133170c77786daf316821c3 |access-date=November 23, 2024 |work=AP News}} Trump has also used anti-communist sentiment in his rhetoric, regularly calling his opponents "communists" and "Marxists".{{cite news |last=Sarat |first=Austin |author-link=Austin Sarat |date=June 22, 2023 |title=Why Donald Trump Says His Enemies Are 'Communists' |url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/06/22/donald-trump-red-scare-communism-00102990 |access-date=March 30, 2025 |work=Politico |quote=Calling his political opponents communists has become a regular feature of Trump's attacks on the Biden administration, the Democratic Party, and the likes of George Soros.}}{{cite news |last1=Santana |first1=Rebecca |last2=Swenson |first2=Ali |date=June 28, 2023 |title=Trump wants to keep 'communists' and 'Marxists' out of the US. Here's what the law says |url=https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-immigration-marxists-communists-ban-2024-d9a377149926457d1b8b182293d9c86e |access-date=March 30, 2025 |work=AP News |quote=[...] these attacks have helped him target voters' emotions in a country with a long history of anti-communist sentiment. The tactic has also helped Trump appeal to some immigrants whose families faced oppression and political persecution under Communist regimes [...]}}

= Racial and gender views =

Many of Trump's comments and actions have been characterized as racist.Multiple sources:

{{cite news |last=Lopez |first=German |date=February 14, 2019 |title=Donald Trump's long history of racism, from the 1970s to 2019 |url=https://www.vox.com/2016/7/25/12270880/donald-trump-racist-racism-history |access-date=June 15, 2019 |work=Vox}}
{{cite news |last=Desjardins |first=Lisa |author-link=Lisa Desjardins |date=January 12, 2018 |title=Every moment in Trump's charged relationship with race |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/every-moment-donald-trumps-long-complicated-history-race |access-date=January 13, 2018 |work=PBS NewsHour}}
{{cite news |last=Dawsey |first=Josh |author-link=Josh Dawsey |date=January 11, 2018 |title=Trump's history of making offensive comments about nonwhite immigrants |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-attacks-protections-for-immigrants-from-shithole-countries-in-oval-office-meeting/2018/01/11/bfc0725c-f711-11e7-91af-31ac729add94_story.html |access-date=January 11, 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}
{{cite news |last=Weaver |first=Aubree Eliza |date=January 12, 2018 |title=Trump's 'shithole' comment denounced across the globe |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/12/trump-shithole-comment-reaction-337926 |access-date=January 13, 2018 |work=Politico |ref={{harvid|Weaver|2018b}}}}
{{cite news |last1=Stoddard |first1=Ed |last2=Mfula |first2=Chris |date=January 12, 2018 |title=Africa calls Trump racist after 'shithole' remark |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-immigration-reaction/africa-calls-trump-racist-after-shithole-remark-idUSKBN1F11VC |access-date=October 1, 2019 |work=Reuters}} In a 2018 national poll, about half of respondents said he is racist; a greater proportion believed that he emboldened racists.{{cite web |date=July 3, 2018 |title=Harsh Words For U.S. Family Separation Policy, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Voters Have Dim View Of Trump, Dems On Immigration |url=https://poll.qu.edu/Poll-Release-Legacy?releaseid=2554 |access-date=July 5, 2018 |publisher=Quinnipiac University Polling Institute}} Several studies and surveys found that racist attitudes fueled his political ascent and were more important than economic factors in determining the allegiance of Trump voters.{{cite news |last=Lopez |first=German |date=December 15, 2017 |title=The past year of research has made it very clear: Trump won because of racial resentment |url=https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/12/15/16781222/trump-racism-economic-anxiety-study |access-date=January 14, 2018 |work=Vox}} Racist and Islamophobic attitudes are strong indicators of support for Trump.{{sfn|Lajevardi|Oskooii|2018}} He has also been accused of racism for insisting a group of five black and Latino teenagers were guilty of raping a white woman in the 1989 Central Park jogger case, even after they were exonerated in 2002 when the actual rapist confessed and his DNA matched the evidence. In 2024, the men sued Trump for defamation after he said in a televised debate that they had committed the crime and killed the woman.{{cite news |last=Diaz |first=Jaclyn |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/09/11/nx-s1-5108632/central-park-five-trump-debate |title=The Central Park 5 are suing Trump over Philly debate comments |work=NPR News |date=October 21, 2024 |access-date=November 27, 2024}}

In 2011, Trump became the leading proponent of the racist "birther" conspiracy theory that Barack Obama, the first black U.S. president, was not born in the United States.{{cite news |last=John |first=Arit |date=June 23, 2020 |title=From birtherism to 'treason': Trump's false allegations against Obama |url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-06-23/trump-obamagate-birtherism-false-allegations |access-date=February 17, 2023 |work=Los Angeles Times}} He claimed credit for pressuring the government to publish Obama's birth certificate, which he considered fraudulent.{{cite news |last=Keneally |first=Meghan |date=September 18, 2015 |title=Donald Trump's History of Raising Birther Questions About President Obama |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/donald-trumps-history-raising-birther-questions-president-obama/story?id=33861832 |access-date=August 27, 2016 |work=ABC News}} He acknowledged that Obama was born in the U.S. in September 2016,{{cite news |last1=Haberman |first1=Maggie |author-link1=Maggie Haberman |last2=Rappeport |first2=Alan |author-link2=Alan Rappeport |date=September 16, 2016 |title=Trump Drops False 'Birther' Theory, but Floats a New One: Clinton Started It |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/17/us/politics/donald-trump-birther-obama.html |access-date=October 12, 2021 |work=The New York Times}} though reportedly expressed birther views privately in 2017.{{cite news |last1=Haberman |first1=Maggie |author-link1=Maggie Haberman |last2=Martin |first2=Jonathan |author-link2=Jonathan Martin (journalist) |date=November 28, 2017 |title=Trump Once Said the 'Access Hollywood' Tape Was Real. Now He's Not Sure. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/28/us/politics/trump-access-hollywood-tape.html |access-date=June 11, 2020 |work=The New York Times}} During the 2024 presidential campaign, he made false attacks against the racial identity of his opponent, Kamala Harris, that were described as reminiscent of the birther conspiracy theory.{{cite news |last1=Doherty |first1=Erin |last2=Cai |first2=Sophia |title=Trump doubles down after false attack on Kamala Harris |url=https://www.axios.com/2024/08/01/trump-kamala-harris-interview-nabj |newspaper=Axios |date=July 31, 2024 |access-date=July 31, 2024}}

Trump has a history of belittling women when speaking to the media and on social media.{{sfn|Rothe|Collins|2019}}{{cite news |last1=Shear |first1=Michael D. |author-link1=Michael D. Shear |last2=Sullivan |first2=Eileen |author-link2=Eileen Sullivan |date=October 16, 2018 |title='Horseface,' 'Lowlife,' 'Fat, Ugly': How the President Demeans Women |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/16/us/politics/trump-women-insults.html |access-date=August 5, 2020 |newspaper=The New York Times}} He made lewd comments, disparaged women's physical appearances, and referred to them using derogatory epithets. At least 25 women publicly accused him of sexual misconduct, including rape, kissing without consent, groping, looking under women's skirts, and walking in on naked teenage pageant contestants. He has denied the allegations.{{cite news |last=Osborne |first=Lucy |date=September 17, 2020 |title='It felt like tentacles': the women who accuse Trump of sexual misconduct |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/17/amy-dorris-donald-trump-women-who-accuse-sexual-misconduct |access-date=June 6, 2024 |newspaper=The Guardian}} In October 2016, a 2005 "hot mic" recording surfaced in which he bragged about kissing and groping women without their consent, saying that, "when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. ... Grab 'em by the pussy."{{cite news |last=Timm |first=Jane C. |title=Trump caught on hot mic making lewd comments about women in 2005 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/trump-hot-mic-when-you-re-star-you-can-do-n662116 |work=NBC News |date=October 7, 2016 |access-date=June 10, 2018}} He characterized the comments as "locker-room talk".{{cite news |last=Pennington |first=Bill |author-link=Bill Pennington |title=What Exactly Is 'Locker-Room Talk'? Let an Expert Explain |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/11/sports/what-exactly-is-locker-room-talk-let-an-expert-explain.html |website=The New York Times |date=October 11, 2016 |access-date=December 14, 2024}}{{cite news |last=Fahrenthold |first=David |author-link=David Fahrenthold |title=Trump recorded having extremely lewd conversation about women in 2005 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-recorded-having-extremely-lewd-conversation-about-women-in-2005/2016/10/07/3b9ce776-8cb4-11e6-bf8a-3d26847eeed4_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=December 14, 2024}} The incident's widespread media exposure led to his first public apology, videotaped during his 2016 presidential campaign.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/08/us/politics/donald-trump-women.html |title=Donald Trump Apology Caps Day of Outrage Over Lewd Tape |date=October 7, 2016 |work=The New York Times |access-date=October 8, 2016 |last1=Burns |first1=Alexander |author-link1=Alex Burns (journalist) |last2=Haberman |first2=Maggie |author-link2=Maggie Haberman |last3=Martin |first3=Jonathan |author-link3=Jonathan Martin (journalist)}}

= Link to violence and hate crimes =

Trump has been identified as a key figure in increasing political violence in the U.S., both for and against him.{{cite news |last=Baker |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Baker (journalist) |date=September 16, 2024 |title=Trump, Outrage and the Modern Era of Political Violence |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/16/us/politics/trump-violence-assassination-attempt.html |access-date=January 20, 2025 |quote=At the heart of today's eruption of political violence is Mr. Trump, a figure who seems to inspire people to make threats or take actions both for him and against him. He has long favored the language of violence in his political discourse, encouraging supporters to beat up hecklers, threatening to shoot looters and undocumented migrants, mocking a near-fatal attack on the husband of the Democratic House speaker and suggesting that a general he deemed disloyal be executed.}}{{sfn|Nacos|Shapiro|Bloch-Elkon|2020}}{{sfn|Piazza|Van Doren|2022}} He is described as embracing extremism, conspiracy theories such as Q-Anon, and far-right militia movements to a greater extent than any modern American president,{{cite news |last=Baker |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Baker (journalist) |date=December 1, 2022 |title=Trump Embraces Extremism as He Seeks to Reclaim Office |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/01/us/politics/trump-extremism-candidacy.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=January 20, 2025 |quote=Analysts and strategists see Mr. Trump's pivot toward the far right as a tactic to re-create political momentum [...] Mr. Trump has long flirted with the fringes of American society as no other modern president has, openly appealing to prejudice based on race, religion, national origin and sexual orientation, among others [...] Mr. Trump's expanding embrace of extremism has left Republicans once again struggling to figure out how to distance themselves from him.}}{{cite news |last1=Swenson |first1=Ali |last2=Kunzelman |first2=Michael |date=November 18, 2023 |title=Fears of political violence are growing as the 2024 campaign heats up and conspiracy theories evolve |work=AP News |url=https://apnews.com/article/depape-paul-pelosi-qanon-conspiracy-theories-violence-390ad310fa34b0edb925d88540a7ddcd |access-date=January 20, 2025 |quote=Trump has amplified social media accounts that promote QAnon, which grew from the far-right fringes of the internet to become a fixture of mainstream Republican politics [...] In his 2024 campaign, Trump has ramped up his combative rhetoric with talk of retribution against his enemies. He recently joked about the hammer attack on Paul Pelosi and suggested that retired Gen. Mark Milley, a former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, should be executed for treason.}} and engaging in stochastic terrorism.{{cite news |last=Yousef |first=Odette |date=September 17, 2024 |title=The U.S. has had a long history of political violence, but experts see a new trend |work=NPR News |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/09/17/nx-s1-5113997/political-violence-trump |access-date=January 20, 2025}}{{cite encyclopedia |last=Metych |first=Michele |date=April 9, 2024 |title=stochastic terrorism |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/stochastic-terrorism |access-date=January 20, 2025 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |quote=Since the start of his U.S. presidential campaign in 2016, former president Donald Trump has frequently used language that encourages violence or threats of violence against a wide range of persons, groups, and communities [...] One of the most cited examples of stochastic terrorism is then president Trump's news conferences, public speeches, and social-media communications in the weeks leading up to the January 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol.}}

Research suggests Trump's rhetoric is associated with an increased incidence of hate crimes,{{cite news |last1=Kunzelman |first1=Michael |last2=Galvan |first2=Astrid |date=August 7, 2019 |title=Trump words linked to more hate crime? Some experts think so |url=https://apnews.com/article/7d0949974b1648a2bb592cab1f85aa16 |access-date=October 7, 2021 |work=AP News}}{{cite news |last1=Feinberg |first1=Ayal |last2=Branton |first2=Regina |last3=Martinez-Ebers |first3=Valerie |date=March 22, 2019 |title=Counties that hosted a 2016 Trump rally saw a 226 percent increase in hate crimes |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/03/22/trumps-rhetoric-does-inspire-more-hate-crimes/ |access-date=October 7, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} and that he has an emboldening effect on expressing prejudicial attitudes due to his normalization of explicit racial rhetoric.{{sfn|Stephens-Dougan|2021|p=306|loc="The election of President Donald Trump, however, indicates that a candidate who utilizes explicit racial rhetoric is not necessarily penalized. In fact, some research suggests that Trump's 2016 presidential campaign may have had an emboldening effect, such that some voters felt more comfortable expressing prejudicial attitudes because of Trump's normalization of racist rhetoric"}} During his 2016 campaign, he urged or praised physical attacks against protesters or reporters.{{cite magazine |last=White |first=Daniel |date=February 1, 2016 |title=Donald Trump Tells Crowd To 'Knock the Crap Out Of' Hecklers |url=https://time.com/4203094/donald-trump-hecklers/ |access-date=August 9, 2019 |magazine=Time}}{{cite news |last=Koerner |first=Claudia |date=October 18, 2018 |title=Trump Thinks It's Totally Cool That A Congressman Assaulted A Journalist For Asking A Question |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/claudiakoerner/trump-gianforte-congressman-assault-journalist-montana |access-date=October 19, 2018 |work=BuzzFeed News}} Numerous defendants investigated or prosecuted for violent acts and hate crimes cited his rhetoric in arguing that they were not culpable or should receive leniency.{{cite magazine |last=Tracy |first=Abigail |date=August 8, 2019 |title="The President of the United States Says It's Okay": The Rise of the Trump Defense |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/08/donald-trump-domestic-terrorism-el-paso |access-date=October 7, 2021 |magazine=Vanity Fair}}{{cite news |last1=Helderman |first1=Rosalind S. |author-link1=Rosalind S. Helderman |last2=Hsu |first2=Spencer S. |last3=Weiner |first3=Rachel |date=January 16, 2021 |title='Trump said to do so': Accounts of rioters who say the president spurred them to rush the Capitol could be pivotal testimony |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-rioters-testimony/2021/01/16/01b3d5c6-575b-11eb-a931-5b162d0d033d_story.html |access-date=September 27, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} A nationwide review by ABC News in May 2020 identified at least 54 criminal cases, from August 2015 to April 2020, in which he was invoked in direct connection with violence or threats of violence mostly by white men and primarily against minorities.{{cite news |last=Levine |first=Mike |date=May 30, 2020 |title='No Blame?' ABC News finds 54 cases invoking 'Trump' in connection with violence, threats, alleged assaults. |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/blame-abc-news-finds-17-cases-invoking-trump/story?id=58912889 |access-date=February 4, 2021 |work=ABC News}} Trump's refusal to condemn the white supremacist Proud Boys during a 2020 presidential debate{{cite news |last1=Olorunnipa |first1=Toluse |author-link1=Toluse Olorunnipa |last2=Wootson |first2=Cleve R. Jr. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-debate-white-supremacist-question/2020/09/30/366df500-02c7-11eb-a2db-417cddf4816a_story.html |title=Trump refused to condemn white supremacists and militia members in presidential debate marked by disputes over race |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=September 30, 2020 |access-date=December 25, 2024}} and his comment, "Proud Boys, stand back and stand by", were said to have led to increased recruitment for the pro-Trump group.{{cite news |last=Cheney |first=Kyle |author-link=Kyle Cheney (journalist) |title=Enrique Tarrio, Proud Boys leader on Jan. 6, sentenced to 22 years for seditious conspiracy |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/05/sentencing-enrique-tarrio-proud-boys-00114095 |access-date=December 25, 2024 |work=Politico |date=September 5, 2023}} His normalization and revisionist history of the January 6 Capitol attack, and grant of clemency to all January 6 rioters, were described, by counterterrorism researchers, as encouraging future political violence.{{cite news |last1=Hsu |first1=Spencer S. |last2=Silverman |first2=Ellie |last3=Zakrzewski |first3=Cat |date=January 22, 2025 |title=Clemency for Oath Keepers, Proud Boys fuels extremism threat, experts say |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/01/21/pardons-proud-boys-oath-keepers/ |access-date=January 22, 2025}}{{cite news |last1=Feuer |first1=Alan |last2=Haberman |first2=Maggie |author-link2=Maggie Haberman |date=April 13, 2024 |title=Inside Donald Trump's Embrace of the Jan. 6 Rioters |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/13/us/politics/trump-jan-6.html |access-date=January 20, 2025 |work=The New York Times |quote=Recently, however, his celebrations of the Capitol riot and those who took part in it have become more public as he has promoted a revisionist history of the attack and placed it at the heart of his 2024 presidential campaign.}}

= Conspiracy theories =

Since before his first presidency, Trump has promoted numerous conspiracy theories, including Obama "birtherism", global warming being a hoax, and alleged Ukrainian interference in U.S. elections.{{cite web |last1=Fichera |first1=Angelo |last2=Spencer |first2=Saranac Hale |date=October 20, 2020 |title=Trump's Long History With Conspiracy Theories |url=https://www.factcheck.org/2020/10/trumps-long-history-with-conspiracy-theories/ |access-date=September 15, 2021 |work=FactCheck.org}}{{cite news |last=Haberman |first=Maggie |author-link=Maggie Haberman |date=February 29, 2016 |title=Even as He Rises, Donald Trump Entertains Conspiracy Theories |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/01/us/politics/donald-trump-conspiracy-theories.html |access-date=October 11, 2021 |work=The New York Times}}{{cite news |last=Bump |first=Philip |date=November 26, 2019 |title=President Trump loves conspiracy theories. Has he ever been right? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/11/26/president-trump-loves-conspiracy-theories-has-he-ever-been-right/ |access-date=October 11, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} After the 2020 presidential election, he promoted conspiracy theories for his defeat that were characterized as "the big lie".{{cite magazine |last=McEvoy |first=Jemima |date=December 17, 2020 |title=These Are The Voter Fraud Claims Trump Tried (And Failed) To Overturn The Election With |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2020/12/17/these-are-the-voter-fraud-claims-trump-tried-and-failed-to-overturn-the-election-with/ |access-date=September 13, 2021 |magazine=Forbes}}{{cite news |last=Block |first=Melissa |author-link=Melissa Block |date=January 16, 2021 |title=Can The Forces Unleashed By Trump's Big Election Lie Be Undone? |work=NPR News |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/01/16/957291939/can-the-forces-unleashed-by-trumps-big-election-lie-be-undone |access-date=December 25, 2024}}

= False or misleading statements =

File:2017- Donald Trump veracity - composite graph.png from The Washington Post,{{cite news |last1=Kessler |first1=Glenn |author-link1=Glenn Kessler (journalist) |last2=Kelly |first2=Meg |last3=Rizzo |first3=Salvador |last4=Lee |first4=Michelle Ye Hee |author-link4=Michelle Ye Hee Lee |date=January 20, 2021 |title=In four years, President Trump made 30,573 false or misleading claims |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-claims-database/ |access-date=October 11, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} the Toronto Star,{{cite news |last=Dale |first=Daniel |author-link=Daniel Dale |date=June 5, 2019 |title=Donald Trump has now said more than 5,000 false things as president |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/world/analysis/2019/06/05/donald-trump-has-now-said-more-than-5000-false-claims-as-president.html |access-date=October 11, 2021 |work=Toronto Star}} and CNN{{cite news |last1=Dale |first1=Daniel |author-link=Daniel Dale |last2=Subramiam |first2=Tara |date=March 9, 2020 |title=Fact check: Donald Trump made 115 false claims in the last two weeks of February |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/09/politics/fact-check-trump-false-claims-february/index.html |access-date=November 1, 2023 |work=CNN}} compiled data on "false or misleading claims" (orange background) and "false claims" (violet foreground).|alt=Chart depicting false or misleading claims made by Trump]]

Trump frequently makes false statements in public remarks{{cite news |last=Finnegan |first=Michael |date=September 25, 2016 |title=Scope of Trump's falsehoods unprecedented for a modern presidential candidate |url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-false-statements-20160925-snap-story.html |access-date=October 10, 2021 |work=Los Angeles Times}} to an extent unprecedented in American politics.{{cite magazine |last=Glasser |first=Susan B. |author-link=Susan Glasser |date=August 3, 2018 |title=It's True: Trump Is Lying More, and He's Doing It on Purpose |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/trumps-escalating-war-on-the-truth-is-on-purpose |access-date=January 10, 2019 |magazine=The New Yorker}}{{cite news |last=Konnikova |first=Maria |author-link=Maria Konnikova |date=January 20, 2017 |title=Trump's Lies vs. Your Brain |url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/01/donald-trump-lies-liar-effect-brain-214658 |access-date=March 31, 2018 |work=Politico Magazine}} His falsehoods are a distinctive part of his political identity and have been described as firehosing.{{sfn|Kakutani|2018|pp=94–104}} His false and misleading statements were documented by fact-checkers, including at The Washington Post, which tallied 30,573 false or misleading statements made by him during his first presidency, increasing in frequency over time.{{cite news |last1=Kessler |first1=Glenn |author-link1=Glenn Kessler (journalist) |last2=Kelly |first2=Meg |last3=Rizzo |first3=Salvador |last4=Shapiro |first4=Leslie |last5=Dominguez |first5=Leo |date=January 23, 2021 |title=A term of untruths: The longer Trump was president, the more frequently he made false or misleading claims |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2021/timeline-trump-claims-as-president/ |access-date=October 11, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}

Some of Trump's falsehoods were inconsequential,{{cite news |last=Qiu |first=Linda |date=January 21, 2017 |title=Donald Trump had biggest inaugural crowd ever? Metrics don't show it |url=https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/jan/21/sean-spicer/trump-had-biggest-inaugural-crowd-ever-metrics-don/ |access-date=March 30, 2018 |work=PolitiFact}}{{cite news |last=Rein |first=Lisa |date=March 6, 2017 |title=Here are the photos that show Obama's inauguration crowd was bigger than Trump's |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/03/06/here-are-the-photos-that-show-obamas-inauguration-crowd-was-bigger-than-trumps/ |access-date=March 8, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} while others had more far-reaching effects, such as his unproven promotion of antimalarial drugs as a treatment for COVID-19,{{cite news |last=Wong |first=Julia Carrie |author-link=Julia Carrie Wong |date=April 7, 2020 |title=Hydroxychloroquine: how an unproven drug became Trump's coronavirus 'miracle cure' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/06/hydroxychloroquine-trump-coronavirus-drug |access-date=June 25, 2021 |work=The Guardian}}{{cite news |last=Spring |first=Marianna |author-link=Marianna Spring |date=May 27, 2020 |title=Coronavirus: The human cost of virus misinformation |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-52731624 |access-date=June 13, 2020 |work=BBC News}} causing a U.S. shortage of these drugs and panic-buying in Africa and South Asia.{{cite news |last=Rowland |first=Christopher |date=March 23, 2020 |title=As Trump touts an unproven coronavirus treatment, supplies evaporate for patients who need those drugs |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/03/20/hospitals-doctors-are-wiping-out-supplies-an-unproven-coronavirus-treatment/ |access-date=March 24, 2020 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}{{cite news |last1=Parkinson |first1=Joe |last2=Gauthier-Villars |first2=David |date=March 23, 2020 |title=Trump Claim That Malaria Drugs Treat Coronavirus Sparks Warnings, Shortages |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-claim-that-malaria-drugs-treat-coronavirus-sparks-warnings-shortages-11584981897 |url-access=subscription |access-date=March 26, 2020 |work=The Wall Street Journal}} Other misinformation, such as misattributing a rise in crime in England and Wales to the "spread of radical Islamic terror", served his domestic political purposes.{{cite news |last=Zurcher |first=Anthony |date=November 29, 2017 |title=Trump's anti-Muslim retweet fits a pattern |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42171550 |access-date=June 13, 2020 |work=BBC News}} His attacks on mail-in ballots and other election practices weakened public faith in the integrity of the 2020 presidential election,{{cite news |last=Siders |first=David |date=May 25, 2020 |title=Trump sees a 'rigged election' ahead. Democrats see a constitutional crisis in the making. |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/25/donald-trump-rigged-election-talk-fears-274477 |access-date=October 9, 2021 |work=Politico}}{{cite news |last=Riccardi |first=Nicholas |date=September 17, 2020 |title=AP Fact Check: Trump's big distortions on mail-in voting |url=https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-election-2020-ap-fact-check-elections-voting-fraud-and-irregularities-8c5db90960815f91f39fe115579570b4 |access-date=October 7, 2020 |work=AP News}} while his disinformation about the pandemic delayed and weakened the national response to it.{{cite news |first1=Eric |last1=Lipton |author-link1=Eric Lipton |first2=David E. |last2=Sanger |author-link2=David E. Sanger |first3=Maggie |last3=Haberman |author-link3=Maggie Haberman |first4=Michael D. |last4=Shear |author-link4=Michael D. Shear |first5=Mark |last5=Mazzetti |author-link5=Mark Mazzetti |first6=Julian E. |last6=Barnes |title=He Could Have Seen What Was Coming: Behind Trump's Failure on the Virus |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/11/us/politics/coronavirus-trump-response.html |access-date=April 11, 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=April 11, 2020}}{{cite news |last=Guynn |first=Jessica |date=October 5, 2020 |title=From COVID-19 to voting: Trump is nation's single largest spreader of disinformation, studies say |url=https://usatoday.com/story/tech/2020/10/05/trump-covid-19-coronavirus-disinformation-facebook-twitter-election/3632194001/ |access-date=October 7, 2020 |work=USA Today}}{{cite magazine |last1=Bergengruen |first1=Vera |last2=Hennigan |first2=W.J. |date=October 6, 2020 |title='You're Gonna Beat It.' How Donald Trump's COVID-19 Battle Has Only Fueled Misinformation |url=https://time.com/5896709/trump-covid-campaign/ |access-date=October 7, 2020 |magazine=Time}} He habitually does not apologize for his falsehoods.{{cite news |last=Allen |first=Jonathan |date=December 31, 2018 |title=Does being President Trump still mean never having to say you're sorry? |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/does-being-president-trump-still-mean-never-having-say-you-n952841 |access-date=June 14, 2020 |work=NBC News}} Until 2018, the media rarely referred to his falsehoods as lies, including when he repeated demonstrably false statements.{{cite news |last=Greenberg |first=David |author-link=David Greenberg (historian) |date=January 28, 2017 |title=The Perils of Calling Trump a Liar |url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/01/the-perils-of-calling-trump-a-liar-214704 |access-date=June 13, 2020 |work=Politico Magazine}}{{cite news |last=Bauder |first=David |date=August 29, 2018 |title=News media hesitate to use 'lie' for Trump's misstatements |url=https://apnews.com/8d3c7387eff7496abcd0651124caf891 |access-date=September 27, 2023 |work=AP News}}{{cite news |last=Farhi |first=Paul |date=June 5, 2019 |title=Lies? The news media is starting to describe Trump's 'falsehoods' that way. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/lies-the-news-media-is-starting-to-describe-trumps-falsehoods-that-way/2019/06/05/413cc2a0-8626-11e9-a491-25df61c78dc4_story.html |access-date=April 11, 2024 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}

= Social media =

{{Main|Social media use by Donald Trump|Twitter use by Donald Trump}}

Trump's social media presence attracted worldwide attention after he joined Twitter in 2009. He posted frequently during his 2016 campaign and as president until Twitter banned him after the January 6 attack.{{cite news |last1=Conger |first1=Kate |author-link1=Kate Conger |last2=Isaac |first2=Mike |author-link2=Mike Isaac |date=January 16, 2021 |title=Inside Twitter's Decision to Cut Off Trump |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/16/technology/twitter-donald-trump-jack-dorsey.html |access-date=October 10, 2021 |work=The New York Times}} He often used Twitter to communicate directly with the public and sideline the press;{{cite news |last1=Madhani |first1=Aamer |last2=Colvin |first2=Jill |date=January 9, 2021 |title=A farewell to @realDonaldTrump, gone after 57,000 tweets |url=https://apnews.com/article/twitter-donald-trump-ban-cea450b1f12f4ceb8984972a120018d5 |access-date=October 10, 2021 |work=AP News}} in 2017, his press secretary said that his tweets constituted official presidential statements.{{cite news |last=Landers |first=Elizabeth |date=June 6, 2017 |title=White House: Trump's tweets are 'official statements' |url=https://cnn.com/2017/06/06/politics/trump-tweets-official-statements/ |access-date=October 10, 2021 |work=CNN}}

Twitter began attaching fact-checks to tweets in which Trump made false claims in May 2020.{{cite news |last=Dwoskin |first=Elizabeth |date=May 27, 2020 |title=Twitter labels Trump's tweets with a fact check for the first time |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/05/26/trump-twitter-label-fact-check/ |access-date=July 7, 2020 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} In response, he said social media platforms "totally silence" conservatives and he would "strongly regulate, or close them down".{{cite news |last=Dwoskin |first=Elizabeth |date=May 27, 2020 |title=Trump lashes out at social media companies after Twitter labels tweets with fact checks |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/05/27/trump-twitter-label/ |access-date=May 28, 2020 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} After the January 6 attack, he was banned from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other platforms.{{cite news |last1=Fischer |first1=Sara |last2=Gold |first2=Ashley |date=January 11, 2021 |title=All the platforms that have banned or restricted Trump so far |url=https://www.axios.com/platforms-social-media-ban-restrict-trump-d9e44f3c-8366-4ba9-a8a1-7f3114f920f1.html |access-date=January 16, 2021 |work=Axios}} The loss of his social media presence diminished his ability to shape events{{cite news |last=Timberg |first=Craig |date=January 14, 2021 |title=Twitter ban reveals that tech companies held keys to Trump's power all along |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/01/14/trump-twitter-megaphone/ |access-date=February 17, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}{{cite news |last1=Alba |first1=Davey |author-link1=Davey Alba |last2=Koeze |first2=Ella |last3=Silver |first3=Jacob |date=June 7, 2021 |title=What Happened When Trump Was Banned on Social Media |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/06/07/technology/trump-social-media-ban.html |access-date=December 21, 2023 |work=The New York Times}} and correlated with a dramatic decrease in the volume of misinformation on Twitter.{{cite news |last1=Dwoskin |first1=Elizabeth |last2=Timberg |first2=Craig |date=January 16, 2021 |title=Misinformation dropped dramatically the week after Twitter banned Trump and some allies |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/01/16/misinformation-trump-twitter/ |access-date=February 17, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} In February 2022, he launched social media platform Truth Social where he only attracted a fraction of his Twitter following.{{cite news |last1=Harwell |first1=Drew |author-link1=Drew Harwell |last2=Dawsey |first2=Josh |author-link2=Josh Dawsey |date=November 7, 2022 |title=Trump once reconsidered sticking with Truth Social. Now he's stuck. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/11/07/trump-once-reconsidered-sticking-with-truth-social-now-hes-stuck/ |access-date=May 7, 2023 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} Elon Musk, after acquiring Twitter, reinstated his Twitter account in November 2022.{{cite news |last1=Mac |first1=Ryan |author-link1=Ryan Mac |last2=Browning |first2=Kellen |date=November 19, 2022 |title=Elon Musk Reinstates Trump's Twitter Account |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/19/technology/trump-twitter-musk.html |access-date=November 21, 2022 |work=The New York Times}}{{cite news |last1=Dang |first1=Sheila |last2=Coster |first2=Helen |date=November 20, 2022 |title=Trump snubs Twitter after Musk announces reactivation of ex-president's account |url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/musks-twitter-poll-showing-narrow-majority-want-trump-reinstated-2022-11-20/ |access-date=May 10, 2024 |work=Reuters}} Meta Platforms' two-year ban lapsed in January 2023, allowing him to return to Facebook and Instagram.{{cite news |last=Bond |first=Shannon |date=January 23, 2023 |title=Meta allows Donald Trump back on Facebook and Instagram |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/01/25/1146961818/trump-meta-facebook-instagram-ban-ends |work=NPR News}}

= Relationship with the press =

{{Further|First presidency of Donald Trump#Relationship with the news media|Personal and business legal affairs of Donald Trump|Donald Trump's conflict with the media}}

File:President Trump's First 100 Days- 45 (33573172373).jpg

Trump sought media attention throughout his career, sustaining a "love-hate" relationship with the press.{{cite news |last=Parnes |first=Amie |date=April 28, 2018 |title=Trump's love-hate relationship with the press |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/385245-trumps-love-hate-relationship-with-the-press |access-date=July 4, 2018 |work=The Hill}} In the 2016 campaign, he benefited from a record amount of free media coverage.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/06/14/this-harvard-study-is-a-powerful-indictment-of-the-medias-role-in-donald-trumps-rise/ |title=This Harvard study is a powerful indictment of the media's role in Donald Trump's rise |first=Chris |last=Cillizza |author-link=Chris Cillizza |date=June 14, 2016 |access-date=October 1, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} As a candidate and as president, he frequently accused the press of bias, calling it the "fake news media" and "the enemy of the people".{{cite web |last1=Hetherington |first1=Marc |last2=Ladd |first2=Jonathan M. |date=May 1, 2020 |title=Destroying trust in the media, science, and government has left America vulnerable to disaster |url=https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2020/05/01/destroying-trust-in-the-media-science-and-government-has-left-america-vulnerable-to-disaster/ |access-date=October 11, 2021 |publisher=Brookings Institution}} The first Trump presidency reduced formal press briefings from about one hundred in 2017 to about half that in 2018 and to two in 2019; they also revoked the press passes of two White House reporters, which were restored by the courts.{{cite news |last=Grynbaum |first=Michael M. |date=December 30, 2019 |title=After Another Year of Trump Attacks, 'Ominous Signs' for the American Press |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/30/business/media/trump-media-2019.html |access-date=October 11, 2021 |work=The New York Times}} Trump's 2020 presidential campaign sued The New York Times, The Washington Post, and CNN for defamation in opinion pieces about his stance on Russian election interference. All the suits were dismissed.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/03/donald-trump-lawsuit-new-york-times-mary-trump |title=US judge throws out Donald Trump's lawsuit against New York Times |date=May 3, 2023 |access-date=November 25, 2024 |work=The Guardian}}{{cite magazine |last1=Geltzer |first1=Joshua A. |last2=Katyal |first2=Neal K. |date=March 11, 2020 |title=The True Danger of the Trump Campaign's Defamation Lawsuits |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/true-danger-trump-campaigns-libel-lawsuits/607753/ |access-date=October 1, 2020 |magazine=The Atlantic}} By 2024, Trump repeatedly voiced support for outlawing political dissent and criticism,{{cite news |last=Kapur |first=Sahil |date=October 13, 2024 |title='Totally illegal': Trump escalates rhetoric on outlawing political dissent and criticism |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/totally-illegal-trump-escalates-rhetoric-outlawing-political-dissent-c-rcna174280 |access-date=November 23, 2024 |work=NBC News}} and said that reporters should be prosecuted for not divulging confidential sources and media companies should possibly lose their broadcast licenses for unfavorable coverage of him.{{cite news |last=Folkenflik |first=David |author-link=David Folkenflik |date=October 21, 2024 |title=Could Trump's threats against news outlets carry weight if he wins the presidency? |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/10/21/nx-s1-5150039/could-trumps-threats-against-news-outlets-carry-weight-if-he-wins-the-presidency |access-date=November 23, 2024 |work=NPR News}} Following his reelection, Trump launched lawsuits and created blacklists against certain media outlets, took over the process run by the White House Correspondents' Association to choose what outlets could gain access to him,{{cite news |last1=VendeHei |first1=Jim |last2=Allen |first2=Mike |date=February 26, 2025 |title=Behind the Curtain: Trump's media-control strategy |work=Axios |url=https://www.axios.com/2025/02/26/behind-the-curtain-trumps-media-control-strategy |access-date=March 20, 2025}} and the Federal Communications Commission launched investigations into media outlets accused of bias against him.{{cite news |last=Brodkin |first=Jon |date=January 23, 2025 |title=Trump's FCC chair gets to work on punishing TV news stations accused of bias |work=Ars Technica |url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/01/trumps-fcc-chair-gets-to-work-on-punishing-news-stations-accused-of-bias/ |access-date=March 20, 2025}}

Personal life

= Family =

In 1977, Trump married Czech model Ivana Zelníčková.{{sfn|Blair|2015|p=300}} They had three children: Donald Jr. (b. 1977), Ivanka (b. 1981), and Eric (b. 1984). The couple divorced in 1990, following his affair with model and actress Marla Maples.{{cite news |last=Barron |first=James |author-link=James Barron (journalist) |date=December 12, 1990 |title=Trumps Get Divorce; Next, Who Gets What? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/12/nyregion/trumps-get-divorce-next-who-gets-what.html |access-date=March 5, 2023 |work=The New York Times}} He and Maples married in 1993 and divorced in 1999. They have one daughter, Tiffany (b. 1993), whom Maples raised in California.{{cite news |last=Hafner |first=Josh |date=July 19, 2016 |title=Get to know Donald's other daughter: Tiffany Trump |url=https://usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/07/19/who-is-tiffany-trump/87321708/ |access-date=July 10, 2022 |work=USA Today}} In 2005, he married Slovenian model Melania Knauss.{{sfn|Kranish|Fisher|2017|p=266}} They have one son, Barron (b. 2006).{{cite news |date=July 2, 2021 |title=Donald Trump Fast Facts |url=https://cnn.com/2013/07/04/us/donald-trump-fast-facts/ |access-date=September 29, 2021 |work=CNN}}

= Health =

Trump says he has never drunk alcohol, smoked cigarettes, or used drugs.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/30/us/trump-biden-alcohol.html |title=In Trump and Biden, a Choice of Teetotalers for President |last=Nagourney |first=Adam |author-link=Adam Nagourney |date=October 30, 2020 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=February 5, 2021}}{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/kavanaugh-likes-beer--but-trump-is-a-teetotaler-he-doesnt-like-drinkers/2018/10/02/783f585c-c674-11e8-b1ed-1d2d65b86d0c_story.html |title=Kavanaugh likes beer — but Trump is a teetotaler: 'He doesn't like drinkers.' |last1=Parker |first1=Ashley |author-link1=Ashley Parker |last2=Rucker |first2=Philip |author-link2=Philip Rucker |date=October 2, 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=February 5, 2021}} He sleeps about four or five hours a night.{{cite news |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/3970379/donald-trump-sleep-hours-night/ |title=Donald Trump sleeps 4–5 hours each night; he's not the only famous 'short sleeper' |last=Dangerfield |first=Katie |date=January 17, 2018 |work=Global News |access-date=February 5, 2021}}{{sfn|Almond|Du|2020}} He has called golfing his "primary form of exercise", but usually does not walk the course.{{cite news |url=https://thegolfnewsnet.com/golfnewsnetteam/2018/07/14/donald-trump-exercise-golf-cart-turnberry-110166/ |title=Donald Trump says he gets most of his exercise from golf, then uses cart at Turnberry |work=Golf News Net |date=July 14, 2018 |access-date=July 4, 2019 |first=Ryan |last=Ballengee}} He considers exercise a waste of energy because he believes the body is "like a battery, with a finite amount of energy", which is depleted by exercise.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/trump-thinks-that-exercising-too-much-uses-up-the-bodys-finite-energy/2017/05/12/bb0b9bda-365d-11e7-b4ee-434b6d506b37_story.html |first=Rachael |last=Rettner |title=Trump thinks that exercising too much uses up the body's 'finite' energy |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 14, 2017 |access-date=September 29, 2021}}{{sfn|O'Donnell|Rutherford|1991|p=133}} In 2015, his campaign released a letter from his longtime personal physician, Harold Bornstein, stating that he would "be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency".{{cite news |first1=Alex |last1=Marquardt |first2=Lawrence III |last2=Crook |title=Exclusive: Bornstein claims Trump dictated the glowing health letter |url=https://cnn.com/2018/05/01/politics/harold-bornstein-trump-letter/ |work=CNN |date=May 1, 2018 |access-date=May 20, 2018}} In 2018, Bornstein said Trump had dictated the contents of the letter and that three of Trump's agents had seized his medical records in a February 2017 raid on Bornstein's office.{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-doc-says-trump-bodyguard-lawyer-raided-his-office-took-n870351 |title=Trump doctor Harold Bornstein says bodyguard, lawyer 'raided' his office, took medical files |last=Schecter |first=Anna |date=May 1, 2018 |work=NBC News |access-date=June 6, 2019}}

In 2025, the White House released the results of a health examination. The report said Trump had "well controlled" high cholesterol, while "exhibit[ing] excellent cognitive and physical health" and being "fully fit to execute the duties" of the presidency. It was written by Sean Barbabella, the physician to the president.{{cite news |last1=Kim |first1=Minho |last2=Balk |first2=Tim |date=April 13, 2025 |title=White House Releases Results of Trump's Annual Physical Exam |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/13/us/politics/trump-physical-exam-results.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=April 14, 2025}}

= Religion =

Trump said in 2016 that he was a Presbyterian and a Protestant.{{cite news |last=Campbell |first=Colin |title=Trump: If I'm president, 'Christianity will have power' in the US |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-christianity-merry-christmas-2016-1 |work=Business Insider |access-date=January 20, 2025 |date=January 23, 2016}}{{cite news |last=Engel |first=Pamela |title=Trump on God: 'Hopefully I won't have to be asking for much forgiveness' |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-on-god-jesus-2016-6 |work=Business Insider |access-date=January 20, 2025 |date=June 8, 2016}} In 2020, he said he was a nondenominational Christian.{{cite magazine |last1=Jenkins |first1=Jack |last2=Mwaura |first2=Maina |title=Trump, confirmed a Presbyterian, now identifies as 'non-denominational Christian' |url=https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2020/10/24/trump-confirmed-presbyterian-now-identifies-non-denominational |magazine=America |access-date=January 20, 2025 |date=October 24, 2020}}

Assessments

= Public image =

{{Main|Public image of Donald Trump|Donald Trump in popular culture}}

{{See also|Opinion polling on the first Donald Trump administration|Opinion polling on the second Donald Trump administration}}

A Gallup poll in 134 countries comparing the approval ratings of U.S. leadership between 2016 and 2017 found that Trump led Obama in job approval in 29 countries, most of them non-democracies;{{cite web |last=Datta |first=Monti |date=September 16, 2019 |title=3 countries where Trump is popular |url=https://theconversation.com/3-countries-where-trump-is-popular-120317 |access-date=October 3, 2021 |work=The Conversation}} approval of U.S. leadership plummeted among its allies.{{cite news |title=Rating World Leaders: 2018 The U.S. vs. Germany, China and Russia |url=https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000161-0647-da3c-a371-867f6acc0001 |access-date=October 3, 2021 |publisher=Gallup, Inc. |via=Politico}} Page 9 By mid-2020, 16 percent of international respondents to a 13-nation Pew Research poll expressed confidence in Trump, lower than China's Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin.{{cite web |last1=Wike |first1=Richard |last2=Fetterolf |first2=Janell |last3=Mordecai |first3=Mara |date=September 15, 2020 |title=U.S. Image Plummets Internationally as Most Say Country Has Handled Coronavirus Badly |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2020/09/15/us-image-plummets-internationally-as-most-say-country-has-handled-coronavirus-badly/ |access-date=December 24, 2020 |publisher=Pew Research Center}}

During his first presidency, research from 2020 found that Trump had a stronger impact on popular assessments towards American political parties and partisan opinions than any president since Harry S. Truman.{{sfn|Jacobson|2020|p=763}} In 2021, he was identified as the only president never to reach a 50 percent approval rating in the Gallup poll, which dates to 1938, partially due to a record-high partisan gap in his approval ratings: 88 percent among Republicans and 7 percent among Democrats.{{cite web |last=Jones |first=Jeffrey M. |date=January 18, 2021 |title=Last Trump Job Approval 34%; Average Is Record-Low 41% |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/328637/last-trump-job-approval-average-record-low.aspx |access-date=October 3, 2021 |publisher=Gallup, Inc.}} His early ratings were unusually stable, ranging between 35 and 49 percent.{{cite news |last=Klein |first=Ezra |author-link=Ezra Klein |date=September 2, 2020 |title=Can anything change Americans' minds about Donald Trump? The eerie stability of Trump's approval rating, explained. |url=https://www.vox.com/2020/9/2/21409364/trump-approval-rating-2020-election-voters-coronavirus-convention-polls |access-date=October 10, 2021 |work=Vox}} He finished his term with a rating between 29 and 34 percent—the lowest of any president since modern polling began—and a record-low average of 41 percent throughout his presidency.{{cite news |last=Enten |first=Harry |date=January 16, 2021 |title=Trump finishes with worst first term approval rating ever |url=https://cnn.com/2021/01/16/politics/trump-approval-analysis/ |access-date=October 3, 2021 |work=CNN}}

In Gallup's annual poll asking Americans to name the man they admire the most, Trump placed second to Obama in 2017 and 2018, tied with Obama for first in 2019, and placed first in 2020.{{cite web |date=December 28, 2006 |title=Most Admired Man and Woman |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/1678/most-admired-man-woman.aspx |access-date=October 3, 2021 |publisher=Gallup, Inc.}}{{cite news |last=Budryk |first=Zack |date=December 29, 2020 |title=Trump ends Obama's 12-year run as most admired man: Gallup |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/531906-trump-ends-obamas-12-year-run-as-most-admired-man-gallup |access-date=December 31, 2020 |work=The Hill}} Since Gallup started conducting the poll in 1946, he was the first elected president not to be named most admired in his first year in office.{{cite magazine |last=Bach |first=Natash |date=December 28, 2017 |title=Trump Is the Only Elected U.S. President Not to Be Named America's Most Admired Man In His First Year |url=https://fortune.com/2017/12/28/gallup-most-admired-man-and-woman-obama-clinton/ |access-date=November 19, 2024 |magazine=Fortune}}

According to Gallup, Trump began his second term with an approval rating of 47% and a disapproval rating of 48%. His approval rating was extremely politically polarized, being approved by 91% of Republicans, 46% of independents, and 6% of Democrats.{{cite web |first1=Megan |last1=Brenan |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/655955/trump-inaugural-approval-rating-historically-low-again.aspx |title=Trump's Inaugural Approval Rating Is Historically Low Again |date=January 29, 2025 |access-date=January 29, 2025 |publisher=Gallup, Inc.}}

= Scholarly rankings =

{{Further|Historical rankings of presidents of the United States}}

In C-SPAN's 2021 survey of presidential historians,{{cite web |year=2021 |url=https://www.c-span.org/presidentsurvey2021/ |title=Presidential Historians Survey 2021 |work=C-SPAN |access-date=June 30, 2021}} historians ranked Trump as the fourth-worst president. He rated lowest in the leadership characteristics categories for moral authority and administrative skills.{{cite news |last=Sheehey |first=Maeve |date=June 30, 2021 |title=Trump debuts at 41st in C-SPAN presidential rankings |work=Politico |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/30/trump-cspan-president-ranking-497184 |access-date=March 31, 2023}}{{cite news |last=Brockell |first=Gillian |title=Historians just ranked the presidents. Trump wasn't last. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/06/30/presidential-rankings-2021-cspan-historians/ |access-date=July 1, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=June 30, 2021}} The Siena College Research Institute's 2022 survey ranked him third-worst. He was ranked near the bottom in all categories except for luck, willingness to take risks, and party leadership, and ranked last in several categories.{{cite web |url=https://scri.siena.edu/2022/06/22/american-presidents-greatest-and-worst/ |title=American Presidents: Greatest and Worst |publisher=Siena College Research Institute |date=June 22, 2022 |access-date=July 11, 2022}} In 2018 and 2024, members of the American Political Science Association ranked him the worst president.{{cite news |last1=Rottinghaus |first1=Brandon |last2=Vaughn |first2=Justin S. |date=February 19, 2018 |title=Opinion: How Does Trump Stack Up Against the Best—and Worst—Presidents? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/02/19/opinion/how-does-trump-stack-up-against-the-best-and-worst-presidents.html |access-date=July 13, 2024 |work=The New York Times}}{{cite news |last=Chappell |first=Bill |date=February 19, 2024 |title=In historians' Presidents Day survey, Biden vs. Trump is not a close call |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/02/19/1232447088/historians-presidents-survey-trump-last-biden-14th |work=NPR News}}

Notes

References

Works cited

= Books =

{{cite book |last=Barrett |first=Wayne |author-link=Wayne Barrett |date=2016 |orig-date=1992 |title=Trump: The Greatest Show On Earth: The Deals, the Downfall, the Reinvention |publisher=Regan Arts |isbn=978-1-68245-079-6}}
{{cite book |title=The Trumps: Three Generations That Built an Empire |last=Blair |first=Gwenda |author-link=Gwenda Blair |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=2015 |orig-year=2001 |isbn=978-1-5011-3936-9}}
{{cite book |last1=Buettner |first1=Russ |author-link1=Russ Buettner |last2=Craig |first2=Susanne |author-link2=Susanne Craig |title=Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father's Fortune And Created The Illusion of Success |publisher=Penguin Press |date=2024 |isbn=978-0-593-29864-0}}
{{cite book |title=Never enough : Donald Trump and the pursuit of success |last=D'Antonio |first=Michael |author-link=Michael D'Antonio |date=2015 |publisher=Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin's Press |isbn=978-1-250-04238-5}}
{{cite book |title=Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America |last=Haberman |first=Maggie |author-link=Maggie Haberman |date=2022 |publisher=Penguin Press |isbn=978-0-593-29734-6}}
{{cite book |last=Harvey |first=Michael |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003110361-1/introduction-michael-harvey |title=Donald Trump in Historical Perspective |date=2022 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-003-11036-1 |editor-last=Harvey |editor-first=Michael |chapter=Introduction: History's Rhymes |doi=10.4324/9781003110361-1}}
{{cite book |last1=Hassan |first1=Steven |author-link=Steven Hassan |year=2019 |title=The Cult of Trump |publisher=Simon & Schuster |pages= |isbn=978-1-9821-2733-6}}
{{cite book |last=Johnston |first=David Cay |author-link=David Cay Johnston |year=2016 |title=The Making of Donald Trump |publisher=Melville House Publishing |isbn=978-1-61219-658-9}}
{{cite book |last=Johnston |first=David Cay |author-link=David Cay Johnston |date=2021 |title=The Big Cheat: How Donald Trump Fleeced America And Enriched Himself And His Family |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=978-1-9821-7804-8}}
{{cite book |last1=Kakutani |first1=Michiko |title=The Death of Truth: Notes on Falsehood in the Age of Trump |date=2018 |publisher=Crown/Archetype |isbn=978-0-525-57484-2 |chapter=The Firehose of Falsehood: Propaganda and Fake News |author-link=Michiko Kakutani |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vlw_DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT94}}
{{cite book |last=Klein |first=Naomi |author-link=Naomi Klein |date=2017 |title=No Is Not Enough |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-14-198679-1}}
{{cite book |title=Trump Revealed: The Definitive Biography of the 45th President |last1=Kranish |first1=Michael |author-link1=Michael Kranish |last2=Fisher |first2=Marc |author-link2=Marc Fisher |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=2017 |orig-year=2016 |isbn=978-1-5011-5652-6 |title-link=Trump Revealed}}
{{cite book |last=O'Brien |first=Timothy L. |author-link=Timothy L. O'Brien |publisher=Warner Books |date=2005 |title=TrumpNation: The Art of Being The Donald |isbn=978-0-446-57854-7}}
{{cite book |first=Jon |last=Meacham |author-link=Jon Meacham |title=Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush |date=2016 |publisher=Random House |isbn=978-0-8129-7947-3}}
{{cite book |title=Trumped! |last1=O'Donnell |first1=John R. |last2=Rutherford |first2=James |publisher=Crossroad Press Trade Edition |year=1991 |isbn=978-1-946025-26-5 |title-link=Trumped! (book)}}

{{refend}}{{cite whitelink|CITEREFLopez2019|CITEREFDesjardins2018|CITEREFDawsey2018|CITEREFStoddardMfula2018|CITEREFWeaver2018b}}{{sfn whitelist|CITEREFKranishFisher2017|CITEREFBlair2015|CITEREFO'DonnellRutherford1991}}

= Journals =

{{cite journal |last1=Adams |first1=Kenneth Alan |date=Spring 2021 |title=The Trump Death Cult |url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/c5d4601ebe8dcb232f9ab2965e900d70/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=35407 |journal=Journal of Psychohistory |volume=48 |issue=4 |access-date=November 6, 2024 |pages=256–276 |issn=0145-3378}}
{{cite journal |first1=Douglas |last1=Almond |first2=Xinming |last2=Du |journal=Economics Letters |title=Later bedtimes predict President Trump's performance |volume=197 |doi=10.1016/j.econlet.2020.109590 |date=December 2020 |pmid=33012904 |pmc=7518119 |issn=0165-1765}}
{{cite journal |last=Berman |first=Sheri |author-link=Sheri Berman |date=May 2021 |title=The Causes of Populism in the West |journal=Annual Review of Political Science |volume=24 |issue= |pages=71–88 |issn=1094-2939 |doi=10.1146/annurev-polisci-041719-102503 |doi-access=free}}
{{cite journal |last1=Campani |first1=Giovanna |last2=Concepción |first2=Sunamis Fabelo |last3=Soler |first3=Angel Rodriguez |last4=Savín |first4=Claudia Sánchez |date=November 2, 2022 |title=The Rise of Donald Trump Right-Wing Populism in the United States: Middle American Radicalism and Anti-Immigration Discourse |journal=Societies |volume=12 |issue=6 |page=154 |doi=10.3390/soc12060154 |doi-access=free}}
{{cite journal |last1=Castañeda |first1=Ernesto |last2=Jenks |first2=Daniel |date=April 17, 2023 |title=January 6th and De-Democratization in the United States |editor-last1=Costa |editor-first1=Bruno Ferreira |editor-last2=Parton |editor-first2=Nigel |journal=Social Sciences |publisher=MDPI |volume=12 |issue=4 |pages=238–253 |doi=10.3390/socsci12040238 |doi-access=free |issn=2076-0760}}
{{cite journal |last1=Diamond |first1=Michael J. |date=February 22, 2023 |title=Perverted Containment: Trumpism, Cult Creation, and the Rise of Destructive American Populism |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07351690.2023.2163147 |journal=Psychoanalytic Inquiry |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=96–109 |doi=10.1080/07351690.2023.2163147}}
{{cite journal |year=2018 |doi=10.1080/01463373.2018.1438485 |title=Make America Great Again: Donald Trump and Redefining the U.S. Role in the World |journal=Communication Quarterly |volume=66 |issue=2 |page=176 |first=Jason A. |last=Edwards}}
{{cite journal |last1=Franks |first1=Andrew S. |last2=Hesami |first2=Farhang |title=Seeking Evidence of The MAGA Cult and Trump Derangement Syndrome: An Examination of (A)symmetric Political Bias |journal=Societies |volume=11 |issue=3 |date=September 18, 2021 |pages=113 |doi=10.3390/soc11030113 |doi-access=free}}
{{cite journal |last1=Gaufman |first1=Elizaveta |last2=Ganesh |first2=Bharath |title= The Trump Carnival: Populism, Transgression and the Far Right Bias - Chapter 6: Laughing Culture |journal=De Gruyter Contemporary Social Sciences |volume=35 |date=2024 |pages=69–70 |doi=10.1515/9783111238135-006 |doi-access=free}}
{{cite journal |last1=Jacobson |first1=Gary C. |author-link=Gary Jacobson |date=October 24, 2020 |title=Donald Trump and the Parties: Impeachment, Pandemic, Protest, and Electoral Politics in 2020 |journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly |volume=50 |issue=4 |pages=762–795 |issn=0360-4918 |doi=10.1111/psq.12682}}
{{cite journal |last=Johnson |first=Kevin R. |author-link=Kevin Johnson (academic) |title=Immigration and civil rights in the Trump administration: Law and policy making by executive order |journal=Santa Clara Law Review |year=2017a |volume=57 |issue=3 |pages=611–665 |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/saclr57&div=21&id=&page=}}
{{cite journal |last1=Johnson |first1=Kevin R. |author-link1=Kevin Johnson (academic) |last2=Cuison-Villazor |first2=Rose |title=The Trump Administration and the War on Immigration Diversity |journal=Wake Forest Law Review |date=May 2, 2019 |url=https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/wflr54§ion=21 |pages=575–616 |volume=54 |issue=2}}
{{cite journal |last1=Kaufman |first1=Robert R. |last2=Haggard |first2=Stephan |author-link2=Stephan Haggard |title=Democratic Decline in the United States: What Can We Learn from Middle-Income Backsliding? |journal=Perspectives on Politics |date=2019 |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=417–432 |doi=10.1017/S1537592718003377 |s2cid=149457724 |doi-access=free}}
{{cite journal |last1=Lajevardi |first1=Nazita |last2=Oskooii |first2=Kassra A. R. |year=2018 |title=Old-Fashioned Racism, Contemporary Islamophobia, and the Isolation of Muslim Americans in the Age of Trump |journal=Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=112–152 |doi=10.1017/rep.2017.37}}
{{cite journal |last=McGurk |first=Brett |author-link=Brett McGurk |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/iran/2020-01-22/cost-incoherent-foreign-policy |title=The Cost of an Incoherent Foreign Policy: Trump's Iran Imbroglio Undermines U.S. Priorities Everywhere Else |journal=Foreign Affairs |date=January 22, 2020}}
{{cite journal |last1=Nacos |first1=Brigitte L. |author-link1=Brigitte L. Nacos |last2=Shapiro |first2=Robert Y. |author-link2=Robert Y. Shapiro |last3=Bloch-Elkon |first3=Yaeli |date=2020 |title=Donald Trump: Aggressive Rhetoric and Political Violence |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26940036 |journal=Perspectives on Terrorism |volume=14 |issue=5 |pages=2–25 |issn=2334-3745 |jstor=26940036 |access-date=January 20, 2025}}
{{cite journal |last=O'Brien |first=Shannon |url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-50551-6_3 |title=Donald Trump and the Kayfabe Presidency - Wrestling with the Presidency: How Donald Trump Uses Wrestling and Theatrical Tactics in the Public Sphere |journal=Rhetoric, Politics and Society |date=July 22, 2020 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-50551-6_3 |pages=39–58}}
{{cite journal |last1=Parker |first1=Christopher Sebastian |last2=Towler |first2=Christopher C. |date=May 2019 |title=Race and Authoritarianism in American Politics |journal=Annual Review of Political Science |volume=22 |issue= |pages=503–519 |issn=1094-2939 |doi=10.1146/annurev-polisci-050317-064519 |doi-access=free}}
{{cite journal |last1=Perry |first1=Samuel L. |author-link1=Samuel L. Perry |last2=Whitehead |first2=Andrew L. |last3=Grubbs |first3=Joshua B. |date=April 21, 2021 |title=The Devil That You Know: Christian Nationalism and Intent to Change One's Voting Behavior For or Against Trump in 2020 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S175504832100002X/type/journal_article |journal=Politics and Religion |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=229–246 |doi=10.1017/S175504832100002X |hdl=11244/334967 |hdl-access=free}}
{{cite journal |last1=Piazza |first1=James |last2=Van Doren |first2=Natalia |date=October 8, 2022 |title=It's About Hate: Approval of Donald Trump, Racism, Xenophobia and Support for Political Violence |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1532673X221131561 |journal=American Politics Research |volume=51 |issue=3 |pages=299–314 |access-date=January 20, 2025 |issn=1532-673X |doi=10.1177/1532673X221131561}}
{{cite journal |last1=Pion-Berlin |first1=David |author-link1=David Pion-Berlin |last2=Bruneau |first2=Thomas |last3=Goetze |first3=Richard B. Jr. |date=April 7, 2022 |title=The Trump self-coup attempt: comparisons and civil–military relations |journal=Government and Opposition |volume=FirstView |issue=4 |pages=789–806 |doi=10.1017/gov.2022.13 |s2cid=248033246 |doi-access=free}}
{{cite journal |last1=Reyes |first1=Antonio |date=May 4, 2020 |title=I, Trump The cult of personality, anti-intellectualism and the Post-Truth era |url=https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/jlp.20002.rey |journal=Journal of Language and Politics |volume=19 |issue=6 |pages=869–892 |issn=1569-2159 |doi=10.1075/jlp.20002.rey}}
{{cite journal |last1=Rothe |first1=Dawn L. |last2=Collins |first2=Victoria E. |date=November 17, 2019 |title=Turning Back the Clock? Violence against Women and the Trump Administration |journal=Victims & Offenders |volume=14 |issue=8 |pages=965–978 |doi=10.1080/15564886.2019.1671284}}
{{cite journal |last1=Ross |first1=Bertrall L. |date=October 2024 |title=Polarization, Populism, and the Crisis of American Democracy |url=https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-041922-035113 |journal=Annual Review of Law and Social Science |volume=20 |access-date=December 20, 2024 |pages=293–308 |issn=1550-3631 |doi=10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-041922-035113}}
{{cite journal |last1=Schaffner |first1=Brian F. |author-link1=Brian Schaffner |last2=Macwilliams |first2=Matthew |last3=Nteta |first3=Tatishe |date=March 2018 |title=Understanding White Polarization in the 2016 Vote for President: The Sobering Role of Racism and Sexism |journal=Political Science Quarterly |volume=133 |issue=1 |pages=9–34 |doi=10.1002/polq.12737 |doi-access=free}}
{{cite journal |last=Stephens-Dougan |first=LaFluer |date=May 2021 |title=The Persistence of Racial Cues and Appeals in American Elections |journal=Annual Review of Political Science |volume=24 |issue= |pages=301–320 |issn=1094-2939 |doi=10.1146/annurev-polisci-082619-015522 |doi-access=free}}
{{cite journal |last1=Sundahl |first1=Anne-Mette Holmgård |title=Personality Cult or a Mere Matter of Popularity? |journal=International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society |volume=36 |issue=4 |date=May 4, 2022 |pages=431–458 |doi=10.1007/s10767-022-09423-0 |pmid=35528318 |pmc=9066393}}
{{cite journal |last=Trump |first=Donald |title=Withdrawing the United States From the World Health Organization |journal=Federal Register |date=January 29, 2025 |volume=90 |issue=18 |page=8361 |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-01-29/pdf/2025-01957.pdf |publisher=Office of the Federal Register}}
{{cite journal |last=Urbinati |first=Nadia |author-link=Nadia Urbinati |date=May 2019 |title=Political Theory of Populism |url=https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-polisci-050317-070753 |journal=Annual Review of Political Science |volume=22 |access-date=December 20, 2024 |pages=111–127 |issn=1094-2939 |doi=10.1146/annurev-polisci-050317-070753}}