Political career of Donald Trump#Early political involvement

Trump's political party affiliation has changed numerous times. He registered as a Republican in Manhattan, New York in 1987, switched to the Reform Party in 1999, the Democratic Party in 2001, and back to the Republican Party in 2009.{{cite news |last=Gillin |first=Joshua |title=Bush says Trump was a Democrat longer than a Republican 'in the last decade' |url=https://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2015/aug/24/jeb-bush/bush-says-trump-was-democrat-longer-republican-las/ |access-date=March 18, 2017 |website=PolitiFact |date=August 24, 2015}}

Donald Trump's earliest involvement in politics was reported in 1979, where he donated to Jimmy Carter’s and Ronald Reagan's presidential campaigns. Upon meeting Roger Stone through their mutual acquaintance with Roy Cohn, Donald Trump and his father, Fred Trump, would join the financial committee for Ronald Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign. However, one month after Ronald Reagan announced his candidacy, the Trump family donated to Jimmy Carter’s presidential election campaign. In October 1981, Trump made an early campaign contribution to the political action committee of Walter Mondale’s 1984 presidential campaign.{{Cite news |last=Grimaldi |first=James |date=2015-09-15 |title=Records Show Scant Reagan-Trump Ties |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/records-show-scant-reagan-trump-ties-1442359829 |access-date=2025-02-19 |work=Wall Street Journal |language=en-US |issn=0099-9660}}

Trump's first official role in public affairs was as co-chairman of the New York Vietnam Veterans Memorial Commission, which he was appointed to alongside Scott Higgins by then-New York City mayor Ed Koch on November 2, 1982. Koch officially established the commission earlier in the year to finance the construction of the Vietnam Veterans Plaza,For release: Friday, November 5, 1982. Office of the Mayor. November 5, 1982. folder: [https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/public/digitallibrary/smof/publicliaison/blackwell/box-053/40_047_7008683_053_004_2017.pdf Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (2)]. Ronald Reagan Library with half of the $1 million to be raised prospectively. The remaining funds were planned for a jobs program dedicated to veterans of the Vietnam War from New York City.{{Cite news |last=Anderson |first=Susan Heller |last2=Carroll |first2=Maurice |date=1984-03-08 |title=NEW YORK DAY BY DAY; Koch Seeks Funds For Vietnam Veterans |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/08/nyregion/new-york-day-by-day-koch-seeks-funds-for-vietnam-veterans.html |access-date=2025-03-29 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

Trump's tenure on the commission was controversial among its membership, reportedly due to his lack of involvement in its regular work.{{Cite news |last=Geist |first=William E. |date=1984-04-08 |title=THE EXPANDING EMPIRE OF DONALD TRUMP |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/08/magazine/the-expanding-empire-of-donald-trump.html |access-date=2025-02-19 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} His active participation was primarily limited to personally donating to and networking with potential financiers for contributions to the project.

During one of its earliest meetings in April 1984, which Trump was late to attend, its priority was determining how to fundraise even a tiny portion of the $1.4 million required for its efforts. This was mainly due to a public lack of interest in the commission’s work. During the meeting, Trump explained that he was on the commission because those who were drafted to fight in the Vietnam War received a “bad deal,” which was “about the worst thing that can happen to anyone.” He then presented a list of potential donors he was acquainted with to contribute to the project, which included Herschel Walker. He added that a fundraising event for the memorial would be held at Trump Tower, with then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan attending. Thus, the commission could raise the event’s ticket prices from $500 to $1,000.

The commission claimed that 500 individuals planned to attend, and the Trump Organization extended an official invite to Ronald and Nancy Reagan.Letter. From New York Vietnam Veterans Memorial Commission to Ronald Reagan. August 23, 1983. ID #[https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/public/digitallibrary/whormsubject/iv084/40-654-12019885-IV084-166427-2017.pdf 537766]. IV084. WHORM: Subject File, Ronald Reagan Presidential Library However, both declined to participate, citing scheduling conflicts.Letter. From Frederick J. Ryan to Alfonse D'Amato. March 14, 1984. ID #[https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/public/digitallibrary/whormsubject/ma034/40-654-12019889-MA034-212192-2017.pdf 212129]. MA034. Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

In November 1984, Trump was criticized by fellow commissioners for his involvement, explaining that he only attended two or three of the twenty meetings held. One official on the commission said Trump only attended its inaugural meeting, and the above in April when a Washington Post reporter, Lois Romano, shadowed him. In response to the criticism, he said, “That's interesting. I'll resign then. They're very small thinkers. They're stockbrokers in Vietnam, and they don't have it.” He further explained that he was never asked to be a working commission member, only agreeing to lend his name to its work.

In February of the following year, the fundraising campaign for the commission's work was renewed on the 10th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. On February 26, Trump pledged to donate $1 million if other commissioners could do the same by May 7. Pete Dawkins, a former brigadier general in the United States Army, a veteran of the Vietnam War, and at this point, a partner at Lehman Brothers, oversaw the fundraising campaign. Before this point, $800,000 had already been raised, with the plaza costing $500,000 of what had been raised. The remainder of what could be funded by the commission would be allocated to a job program for veterans.{{Cite news |last=Anderson |first=Susan Heller |last2=Dunlap |first2=David W. |date=1985-02-27 |title=NEW YORK DAY BY DAY; Vietnam Memorial Pledge |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/02/27/nyregion/new-york-day-by-day-vietnam-memorial-pledge.html |access-date=2025-03-10 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

However, Trump's tenure on the committee was defended by his co-chair, Scott Higgins, saying, “He's been a real friend of New York Vietnam Veterans. He donated his time, money, and even the Trump Tower to our major fundraising event, and we're counting on him to do even more in the future."{{Cite news |last=Romano |first=Lois |date=November 15, 1984 |title=Donald Trump, Holding All The Cards The Tower! The Team! The Money! The Future! |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1984/11/15/donald-trump-holding-all-the-cards-the-tower-the-team-the-money-the-future/8be79254-7793-4812-a153-f2b88e81fa54/ |work=The Washington Post}} The Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Plaza also praised his involvement, explaining that "It was Donald Trump's challenge to the City of New York, and his contribution of one million dollars, that was instrumental in the completion of this project," with the organization claiming that it succeeded in raising more than $3 million,{{Cite web |last=Polanish |first=Christopher |date=2011-10-27 |title=Vietnam Veterans Memorial 2008 Honoree of the Year Donald Trump |url=https://www.vietnamveteransplaza.com/2011/10/2008-honoree-of-the-year-donald-trump/ |access-date=2025-02-19 |website=Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Plaza |language=en-US}} though NYC Parks claims it was $2.5 million.{{Cite web |title=Vietnam Veterans Plaza Highlights : NYC Parks |url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/vietnam-veterans-plaza/history |access-date=2025-02-19 |website=www.nycgovparks.org}} Thomas Lipscomb wrote on USA Today that Eugene Gitelson could utilize what was financially contributed and raised by Donald Trump through the commission to establish the New York Vietnam Veterans’ Leadership Program, among the largest veterans support programs in the country, providing job training and networking opportunities.{{Cite web |last=Lipscomb |first=Thomas |title=The suprising truth about Trump and veterans: Column |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2017/04/14/suprising-truth-trump-veterans-vietnam-memorial-column/100130080/ |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}} Another New York Vietnam Veterans Memorial member, Vincent McGowan, defended Trump’s support for veterans, pointing to his financial and venue support for them in the following years.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=July 20, 2015 |title=Leader of New York Veterans Group Defends Donald Trump |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/leader-york-veterans-group-defends-donald-trump/story?id=32571459 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-02-19 |website=abcnews.go.com |language=en}}

Donald Trump would serve as one of 44 special advisors{{Cite web |last=President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports |title=President's Council for Physical Fitness and Sports - The First 50 Years: 1956-2006 |url=https://odphp.health.gov/sites/default/files/2020-09/50-year-anniversary-booklet.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date= |access-date=April 1, 2025 |website=odphp.health.gov |publisher=Faircount Media Group}}{{Cite web |last=Molnar |first=Nicholas |title=Anderson, Cameron |url=https://oralhistory.rutgers.edu/explore/alphabetical-index/interviewees/64-text-html/1511-anderson-cameron |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=The Rutgers Oral History Archives {{!}} Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey |language=en-gb}} on the President's Council on Physical Fitness and SportsAgenda: PCSPF Special Advisors Winter Meeting, December 2, 1983. President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. November 30, 1983. Folder: [https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/public/2025-02/40-367-7065211-006-019-2025.pdf President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports: Special Advisors]. Ronald Reagan Presidential Library{{Cite web |last=Call |first=The Morning |date=1987-11-21 |title=TRUMP NAMED SPEAKER FOR COMMENCEMENT AT LEHIGH UNIVERSITY |url=https://www.mcall.com/1987/11/21/trump-named-speaker-for-commencement-at-lehigh-university/ |access-date=2025-03-30 |website=The Morning Call |language=en-US}} who were responsible for co-sponsoring and funding for the former's programs.[https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/public/2025-02/40-367-7065211-006-022-2025.pdf RECEPTION FOR PRESIDENT'S COUNCIL ON PHYSICAL FITNESS AND SPORTS' MEMBERS AND SPECIAL ADVISORS]. Micheal A. McManus Jr. January 18, 1984. folder "President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports: Reception 01/19/1984 (1 of 3)". Box 6. Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. This occurred as a result of then-president Ronald Reagan signing an executive order on February 2nd, 1982,{{Cite web |last=Executive Office of the President of the United States |date=February 2, 1982 |title=Executive Order 12345 - Physical Fitness and Sports |url=https://archives.federalregister.gov/issue_slice/1982/2/4/5189-5197.pdf |url-status=live |access-date= |website=archives.federalregister.gov |publisher=Federal Register}} to expand the council, part of which tasked the Secretary of Health and Human Services to "Enlist the active support and assistance of individual citizens, civic groups, private enterprise, voluntary organizations, and others in efforts to promote and improve the fitness of all Americans through regular participation in physical fitness and sports activities." On December 2, 1983, he would be an attendee of the PCPFS Special Advisors Winter Meeting in Annapolis, Maryland. Part of the meeting’s agenda included discussing his organizing of the National Fitness Foundation’s National Awards Dinner, which he would host at Trump Tower in 1984, with Ronald Reagan serving as the event's honorary chairman.Letter. From Ronald Reagan to George Allen. March 13, 1984. ID #[https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/public/digitallibrary/whormsubject/pr014-12/40-654-48177561-PR014-12-212453-2017.pdf 212453]. PR014-12. Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. He would remain in the position until September 30, 1991, as per an executive order by succeeding president George H.W. Bush, mandating the body continue in its form until that point.{{Cite web |last=Executive Office of the President of the United States |date=October 3, 1989 |title=Executive Order 12696 - Continuance of Certain Federal Advisory Committees |url=https://archives.federalregister.gov/issue_slice/1989/10/3/40627-40628.pdf |url-status=live |website=rchives.federalregister.gov |publisher=Federal Register}}

After a presidential memorandum from Ronald Reagan was sent to USIA director Charles Z. Wick on December 2, 1982, directing him to form the President’s Council on International Youth Exchange,{{Cite web |title=Memorandum Concerning the Establishment of the President's Council for International Youth Exchange {{!}} Ronald Reagan |url=https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/memorandum-concerning-establishment-presidents-council-international-youth-exchange |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=www.reaganlibrary.gov |language=en}} Trump would be appointed as a member to the body alongside numerous others.The President's Council for International Youth Exchange. April 9, 1985. ID #[https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/public/digitallibrary/whormsubject/fg389/40-654-198419-FG389-271344-4-2017.pdf 271344 [4 of 4]]. FG398. Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. The commission was an independent agency tasked with facilitating the President's International Youth Exchange Initiative that would bring as many as 15,000 international students from other G7 countries to the United States, allowing them to attend domestic high schools and live with families. This was part of a broader effort to counter anti-American sentiment abroad during the later Cold War{{Cite news |last=Upi |date=1982-11-28 |title=YOUTH EXCHANGE VISITS SET UP |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/28/us/youth-exchange-visits-set-up.html |access-date=2025-02-28 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} Trump's tenure would end on the council's official dissolution of May 25, 1985, with the body claiming to have enabled the arrival of 12,000 exchange students as part of the President's International Youth Exchange Initiative, raising just over $4.2 million from 80 companies for the above program outside the $10 million contributed by the federal government.President’s Council for International Youth Exchange: Thank you letter from the President. April 5, 1985. ID #[https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/public/digitallibrary/whormsubject/fg389/40-654-198419-FG389-271344-3-2017.pdf 271344 [3 of 4]]. FG389. Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

On September 23, 1987, Donald Trump would send a letter to then-White House Chief of Staff Howard Baker, recommending Senator Paula Hawkins of Florida as Secretary of Transportation.Letter. From Donald Trump to Howard Baker. September 24, 1987. ID #[https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/public/digitallibrary/whormsubject/fg024/40-654-198419-FG024-515784-2017.pdf 515784]. FG024. Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Reagan however, nominated James H. Burnley IV instead.

Trump first floated the idea of running for president in 1987,{{cite web|date=2017-01-02|title=For Donald Trump, the 1980s still hold relevance|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/01/02/for-donald-trump-the-1980s-still-hold-relevance/|access-date=2021-08-29|website=The Mercury News|language=en-US}} placing full-page advertisements in three major newspapers, proclaiming "America should stop paying to defend countries that can afford to defend themselves."{{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 |newspaper=The New York Times |first=Michael |last=Oreskes |author-link=Michael Oreskes |date=September 2, 1987 |access-date=February 17, 2016}} The advertisements advocated for "reducing the budget deficit, working for peace in Central America, and speeding up nuclear disarmament negotiations with the Soviet Union".{{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 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=February 12, 1988 |first=Fox |last=Butterfield}} DCCC chair Rep. Beryl Anthony Jr. told The New York Times that "the message Trump has been preaching is a Democratic message." Asked whether rumors of a presidential candidacy were true, Trump denied being a candidate but said, "I believe that if I did run for President, I'd win." In 1988, he approached Lee Atwater asking to be put into consideration as Republican nominee George H. W. Bush's running mate. Bush found the request "strange and unbelievable."Jon Meacham, Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush (2016), p. 326 According to a Gallup poll in December 1988, Trump was the tenth most admired man in America.{{sfn|Kranish|Fisher|2017|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=x2jUDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 3]}}{{sfn|Gallup|1990|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=G7Tf_1GzlHEC&pg=PA3 3]}}

{{Main|Donald Trump 2000 presidential campaign}}

In 1999, Trump formed an exploratory committee to seek the nomination of the Reform Party for the 2000 presidential election.{{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 |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/}} A July 1999 poll matching him against likely Republican nominee George W. Bush and likely Democratic nominee Al Gore showed Trump with seven percent support.{{cite news |title=Donald Trump eyeing a run at the White House |last=Johnson |first=Glen |work=Standard-Speaker |location=Hazelton, Pennsylvania}} Trump eventually dropped out of the race, but still went on to win the Reform Party primaries in California and Michigan.{{cite web |url=https://primary2000.sos.ca.gov/returns/pres/00.htm |title=CA Secretary of State – Primary 2000 – Statewide Totals |publisher=ca.gov |access-date=July 1, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150216145038/https://primary2000.sos.ca.gov/returns/pres/00.htm |archive-date=February 16, 2015}} After his run, he left the party due to the involvement of David Duke, Pat Buchanan, and Lenora Fulani.{{cite news |first=Donald J. |last=Trump |title=What I Saw at the Revolution |date=February 19, 2000 |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/19/opinion/what-i-saw-at-the-revolution.html}} He also considered running for president in 2004.{{cite news |last=Travis |first=Shannon |title=Was he ever serious? How Trump strung the country along, again |url=https://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/05/16/trump.again/ |website=CNN |access-date=June 7, 2015 |date=May 17, 2011}} In 2008, after endorsing Democrat Hillary Clinton in the primary, he endorsed Republican John McCain for president in the general election.{{cite web | url=https://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/12/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-good-president/index.html | title=Donald Trump in 2008: Hillary Clinton would 'make a good president'}}{{cite news |url=https://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/09/18/trump-endorses-mccain/ |title=Trump endorses McCain |website=CNN |date=September 18, 2008 |access-date=July 12, 2016 |archive-date=January 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116220554/https://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/09/18/trump-endorses-mccain/ |url-status=dead}}

File:Donald Trump (5440995138).jpg, February 2011]]

Trump publicly speculated about running for president in the 2012 election, and made his first speaking appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in February 2011. The speech is credited for helping kick-start his political career within the Republican Party.{{cite news |url=https://www.towleroad.com/2011/02/goproud-leads-trump-in-2012-movement-at-cpac/ |title=GOProud Leads 'Trump in 2012' Movement at CPAC |website=Towleroad.com |date=February 10, 2011 |last=Belonsky |first=Andrew}} On May 16, 2011, Trump announced he would not run for president in the 2012 election, putting an end to what he described as "unofficially campaigning".{{cite news |title=Trump not running for president |url=https://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/16/breaking-trump-not-running-for-president/ |date=May 16, 2011 |website=CNN |access-date=May 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805131233/https://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/16/breaking-trump-not-running-for-president/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2011-08-05}} In February 2012, Trump endorsed Mitt Romney for president.{{cite news |title=Trump endorses Romney, cites tough China position and electability |date=February 2, 2012 |website=Fox News |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-endorses-romney-cites-tough-china-position-and-electability/}}

Trump's presidential ambitions were generally not taken seriously at the time.{{cite news |last=MacAskill |first=Ewen |author-link=Ewen MacAskill |title=Donald Trump bows out of 2012 US presidential election race |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/16/donald-trump-us-presidential-race |newspaper=The Guardian |date=May 16, 2011 |quote=Few U.S. political commentators took his campaign seriously and many suggested he was only in it for the publicity.}} Trump's moves were interpreted by some media as possible promotional tools for his reality show The Apprentice.{{cite news |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/The-Vote/2011/0210/Donald-Trump-says-he-might-run-for-president.-Three-reasons-he-won-t |title=Donald Trump says he might run for president. Three reasons he won't. |work=The Christian Science Monitor |date=February 10, 2011 |first=Peter |last=Grier |access-date=April 21, 2011}}{{cite news |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/11/donald-trump-cpac-president-act_n_821923.html |title=Donald Trump Brings His 'Pretend To Run For President' Act To CPAC |work=The Huffington Post |access-date=April 21, 2011 |first=Jason |last=Linkins |date=February 11, 2011}} Before the 2016 election, The New York Times speculated that Trump "accelerated his ferocious efforts to gain stature within the political world" after the then U.S. president Barack Obama lampooned him at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in April 2011.{{cite news |work=The New York Times |date=March 12, 2016 |first1=Maggie |last1=Haberman |author1-link=Maggie Haberman |first2=Alexander |last2=Burns |author2-link=Alex Burns (journalist) |title=Donald Trump's Presidential Run Began in an Effort to Gain Stature |access-date=April 13, 2018 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/13/us/politics/donald-trump-campaign.html}}

In 2011, according to Evan Jones, the headmaster of the New York Military Academy at the time, the then-superintendent Jeffrey Coverdale had demanded Trump's academic records, to hand them over to "prominent, wealthy alumni of the school who were Mr. Trump's friends" at their request. Coverdale said he had refused to hand over Trump's records to trustees of the school, and instead sealed Trump's records on campus. Jones said: "It was the only time in my education career that I ever heard of someone's record being removed." Coverdale further said: "It's the only time I ever moved an alumnus's records." The incident reportedly happened days after Trump demanded Obama's academic records.{{cite news |date=March 5, 2019 |last1=Fisher |first1=Marc |author-link=Marc Fisher |title='Grab that record': How Trump's high school transcript was hidden |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/grab-that-record-how-trumps-high-school-transcript-was-hidden/2019/03/05/8815b7b8-3c61-11e9-aaae-69364b2ed137_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=June 9, 2019}}

In 2013, Trump spoke at CPAC again;{{cite news |title=Donald Trump to address CPAC |url=https://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/donald-trump-address-cpac-205409450--politics.html |website=Yahoo! News |date=March 5, 2013 |first=Chris |last=Moody |access-date=March 6, 2013}} he railed against illegal immigration, bemoaned Obama's "unprecedented media protection", advised against harming Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, and suggested that the government "take" Iraq's oil and use the proceeds to pay a million dollars each to families of dead soldiers.{{cite news |first=Lucy |last=Madison |title=Trump: Immigration reform a "suicide mission" for GOP |date=March 15, 2013 |website=CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-immigration-reform-a-suicide-mission-for-gop/}}{{cite news |first=Dan |last=Amira |title=Photos of Donald Trump Delivering His Self-Aggrandizing CPAC Speech to a Half-Empty Ballroom |date=March 15, 2013 |website=New York (magazine) |url=https://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/03/donald-trump-cpac-speech-empty-seat-photos.html}}

In October 2013, New York Republicans circulated a memo suggesting Trump should run for governor of the state in 2014 against Andrew Cuomo. Trump responded that while New York had problems and its taxes were too high, he was not interested in the governorship.{{cite news |last=Spector |first=Joseph |title=N.Y. Republicans want Donald Trump to run for governor |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/10/14/trump-new-york-governor/2979589/ |work=USA Today |date=October 14, 2013 |access-date=October 31, 2013}} A February 2014 Quinnipiac poll had shown Trump losing to the more popular Cuomo by 37 points in a hypothetical election.{{cite news |last=Miller |first=Jake |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-trumped-by-andrew-cuomo-in-new-york-governor-race-poll-finds/ |title=Trump trumped by Cuomo in N.Y. governor race, poll finds |date=February 13, 2014 |website=CBS News |access-date=February 9, 2017}}

{{Main|Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign}}

{{See also|2016 Republican Party presidential primaries}}

File:Donald Trump Laconia Rally, Laconia, NH 4 by Michael Vadon July 16 2015 19.jpg, July 2015]]

On June 16, 2015, Trump announced his candidacy for President of the United States at Trump Tower in Manhattan. In the speech, Trump discussed illegal immigration, offshoring of American jobs, the U.S. national debt, and Islamic terrorism, which all remained large priorities during the campaign. He also announced his campaign slogan would be to "Make America Great Again".{{cite speech |url=https://time.com/3923128/donald-trump-announcement-speech/ |title=Here's Donald Trump's Presidential Announcement Speech |via=Time |first=Donald |last=Trump |author-link=Donald Trump |date=June 16, 2015 |location=Trump Tower, New York City}} Transcript of full speech{{cite web |title=Donald Trump Presidential Campaign Announcement Full Speech (C-SPAN) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apjNfkysjbM |website=YouTube |publisher=C-SPAN |access-date=June 2, 2018 |format=Video |date=June 16, 2015}} Trump said his wealth would make him immune to pressure from campaign donors.{{cite news |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/donald-trump-2016-announcement-10-best-lines-119066 |first=Adam B. |last=Lerner |title=The 10 best lines from Donald Trump's announcement speech |work=Politico |date=June 16, 2015 |access-date=June 7, 2018}} He declared that he was funding his own campaign;{{cite tweet |user=realDonaldTrump |number=640280850182090752 |title=By self-funding my campaign, I am not controlled by my donors, special interests or lobbyists. I am only working for the people of the U.S.! |date=September 5, 2015 |access-date=June 7, 2018}} according to The Atlantic, "Trump's claims of self-funding have always been dubious at best and actively misleading at worst."{{cite news |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/05/trumps-self-funding-lie/482691/ |title=The Lie of Trump's 'Self-Funding' Campaign |work=The Atlantic |first=David A. |last=Graham |date=May 13, 2016 |access-date=June 7, 2018}}

Much of Trump's campaign centered on his promise that, if elected president, he would build a border wall on the United States–Mexico border, a campaign promise which he never fulfilled. In the primaries, Trump was one of seventeen candidates for the 2016 Republican nomination. At the time, this was the largest presidential field in American history.{{cite magazine |url=https://time.com/3948922/jim-gilmore-virginia-2016/ |title=More People Are Running for Presidential Nomination Than Ever |last=Linshi |first=Jack |date=July 7, 2015 |access-date=February 14, 2016 |magazine=Time}} Trump's campaign was initially not taken seriously by political analysts, but he quickly rose to the top of opinion polls.{{Cite magazine |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/123228/how-donald-trump-evolved-joke-almost-serious-candidate |date=October 27, 2015 |first=Elspeth |last=Reeve |title=How Donald Trump Evolved From a Joke to an Almost Serious Candidate |magazine=The New Republic |access-date=July 23, 2018}} The New Yorker attributed Trump's clinching of the Republican nomination largely to the party base's "general disgust with professional politicians" and Trump's ability to distinguish himself from traditional Republican politicians.{{Cite magazine|date=2016-05-04|title=How Donald Trump Won the G.O.P. Nomination|url=http://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/how-donald-trump-won-the-g-o-p-nomination|access-date=2021-09-24|magazine=The New Yorker|language=en-US}}

On Super Tuesday, Trump received the most votes, and he remained the front-runner throughout the primaries. By March 2016, Trump was poised to win the Republican nomination.{{cite news |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/ |title=Why Donald Trump is poised to win the nomination and lose the general election, in one poll |last=Bump |first=Philip |date=March 23, 2016 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} Following a landslide win in Indiana on May 3, 2016{{snd}}which prompted the remaining candidates Ted Cruz and John Kasich to suspend their presidential campaigns{{snd}}RNC chairman Reince Priebus declared Trump the presumptive Republican nominee.{{cite news |url=https://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-gop-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/05/reince-priebus-donald-trump-is-nominee-222767 |title=RNC Chairman: Trump is our nominee |last=Nussbaum |first=Matthew |date=May 3, 2016 |access-date=May 4, 2016 |work=Politico}}

After becoming the presumptive Republican nominee, Trump shifted his focus to the general election. Trump began campaigning against Hillary Clinton, who became the presumptive Democratic nominee on June 6, 2016. Clinton had established a significant lead over Trump in national polls throughout most of 2016. In early July, Clinton's lead narrowed in national polling averages following the FBI's re-opening of its investigation into her then ongoing email controversy.{{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|last3=Psyllos|first3=Stephanie|date=July 19, 2016|access-date=June 12, 2023|work=NBC News}}{{cite news |url=https://elections.huffingtonpost.com/pollster/2016-general-election-trump-vs-clinton |title=2016 General Election: Trump vs. Clinton |access-date=October 3, 2016 |website=The Huffington Post |archive-date=October 2, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002184537/http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/pollster/2016-general-election-trump-vs-clinton |url-status=dead}}File:Donald Trump and Mike Pence RNC July 2016.jpg at the Republican National Convention, July 2016]]

On July 15, 2016, Trump announced his selection of 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 |date=July 15, 2016 |website=CNBC}} Four days later, the two were officially nominated by the Republican Party at the 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 |website=Fox News}} The list of convention speakers and attendees included former presidential nominee Bob Dole, but the other prior nominees did not attend.{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/2016-conventions/9-elephants-room-rnc-what-s-missing-speakers-list-n609471 |title=9 Elephants in the Room at RNC: Who's Missing From the Speakers List |last=Timm |first=Jane C. |date=July 17, 2016 |access-date=August 16, 2016 |website=NBC News}}{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2016/05/05/politics/john-mccain-jeff-flake-donald-trump/ |title=Flake, McCain split over backing Trump |last=Raju |first=Manu |author-link=Manu Raju |date=May 5, 2016 |access-date=May 7, 2016 |website=CNN}}

On September 26, 2016, Trump and Clinton faced off in their first presidential debate, which was held at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York.{{cite web |url=https://www.uspresidentialelectionnews.com/2016-debate-schedule/2016-presidential-debate-schedule/ |title=2016 Presidential Debate Schedule |date=September 23, 2015 |access-date=September 30, 2016}} The second presidential debate was held at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. The beginning of that debate was dominated by references to a recently leaked tape of Trump making sexually explicit comments, which Trump countered by referring to alleged sexual misconduct on the part of Bill Clinton. Prior to the debate, Trump had invited four women who had accused Bill Clinton of impropriety to a press conference. The final presidential debate was held on October 19 at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Trump's refusal to say whether he would accept the result of the election, regardless of the outcome, drew particular attention, with some saying it undermined democracy.{{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}}{{cite news |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-20/how-the-us-media-viewed-the-third-presidential-debate/7950418 |title=How US media reacted to the third presidential debate |date=October 20, 2016 |access-date=October 27, 2016 |website=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}

{{Main|Political positions of Donald Trump}}

Trump's campaign platform emphasized renegotiating U.S.–China relations and free trade agreements such as NAFTA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, strongly enforcing immigration laws, and building a new wall along the U.S.–Mexico border. His other campaign positions included pursuing energy independence while opposing climate change regulations such as the Clean Power Plan and the Paris Agreement, modernizing and expediting 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 for all economic classes, and imposing tariffs on imports by companies that offshore jobs. During the campaign, he also advocated a largely non-interventionist approach to foreign policy while increasing military spending, extreme vetting, or banning immigrants from Muslim-majority countries,{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37982000 |title=Trump's promises before and after election |date=September 19, 2017 |work=BBC Online}} in order to pre-empt domestic Islamic terrorism, and aggressive military action against the Islamic State. During the campaign, Trump repeatedly called NATO "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}}{{Cite journal |issn=0146-3373 |year=2018 |doi=10.1080/01463373.2018.1438485 |title=Make America Great Again: Donald Trump and Redefining the U.S. Role in the World |quote=On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly called North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) 'obsolete' |journal=Communication Quarterly |volume=66 |issue=2 |page=176 |first=Jason A. |last=Edwards|s2cid=149040989}}

His political positions have been described as populist,{{Cite book |title=What Is Populism? |last=Muller |first=Jan-Werner |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-8122-9378-4 |page=101}}{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/27/magazine/how-can-donald-trump-and-bernie-sanders-both-be-populist.html |title=How Can Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders Both Be 'Populist'? |last=Kazin |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Kazin |date=March 22, 2016 |work=The New York Times Magazine}}{{cite news |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/donald-trump-working-class-voters-219231 |title=Trump's 6 populist positions |last=Becker |first=Bernie |date=February 13, 2016 |website=Politico}} and some of his views cross party lines. For example, his economic campaign plan calls for large reductions in income taxes and deregulation,{{cite web |url=https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions/tax-reform |title=Tax Reform |website=Donald J. Trump for president website |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160104052211/https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions/tax-reform |archive-date=January 4, 2016 |access-date=January 6, 2016}} consistent with Republican Party policies, along with significant infrastructure investment,{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/12/16/one-thing-donald-trump-got-right-about-how-the-u-s-is-spending-its-money/ |title=Liberals will love something Donald Trump said last night |last=Ehrenfreund |first=Max |date=December 16, 2015 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} usually considered a Democratic Party policy.{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-democrats-support-infrastructure-overhaul-pledge-1-trillion-rebuild-president-elect-a7488396.html |title=Democrats can finally agree with Donald Trump on something |last=Sharman |first=Jon |date=December 21, 2016 |access-date=December 21, 2016 |website=The Independent}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/trump-infrastructure-cities/512432/ |title=Would Trump's Infrastructure Plan Fix America's Cities? |last=Williams |first=Mason B. |date=January 7, 2017 |website=The Atlantic}} According to political writer Jack Shafer, Trump may be a "fairly conventional American populist when it comes to his policy views" but attracts free media attention, sometimes by making outrageous comments.{{cite news |url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/04/did-media-reporters-create-trump-2016-campaign-213840 |title=Did We Create Trump? |last=Shafer |first=Jack |author-link=Jack Shafer |date=May 2016 |quote=... Trump's outrageous comments about John McCain, Muslims, the 14th Amendment and all the rest ... |website=Politico}}{{sfn|Trump|Schwartz|2009|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Ye6e_VxM00kC&pg=PA56 56]}} Trump has supported or leaned toward varying political positions over time.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/08/17/20-times-donald-trump-has-changed-his-mind-since-june/ |title=20 times Donald Trump has changed his mind since June |last=Fahrenthold |first=David A. |author-link=David Fahrenthold |date=August 17, 2015 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}{{cite news |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/247643-meet-the-press-tracks-trumps-flip-flops |title='Meet the Press' tracks Trump's flip-flops |last=Hensch |first=Mark |date=July 12, 2015 |work=The Hill}}{{cite news |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/will-the-real-donald-trump-please-stand-up-120607 |title=Will the real Donald Trump please stand up? |last=Noah |first=Timothy |author-link=Timothy Noah |date=July 26, 2015 |newspaper=Politico}} Politico described his positions as "eclectic, improvisational and often contradictory", while NBC News counted "141 distinct shifts on 23 major issues" during his campaign.{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/full-list-donald-trump-s-rapidly-changing-policy-positions-n547801 |title=A Full List of Donald Trump's Rapidly Changing Policy Positions |last=Timm |first=Jane C. |access-date=July 12, 2016 |website=NBC News}}

{{See also|False or misleading statements by Donald Trump}}

In his campaign, Trump said he disdained political correctness; he also said the media had intentionally misinterpreted his words, and he made other claims of adverse 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 |website=U.S. News & World Report |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-08-15/trump-media-is-dishonest-and-corrupt |quote='If the disgusting and corrupt media covered me honestly and didn't put false meaning into the words I say, I would be beating Hillary by twenty percent,' Trump also tweeted Sunday.}}{{cite news |first=Ted |last=Koppel |author-link=Ted Koppel |title=Trump: "I feel I'm an honest person" |date=July 24, 2016 |website=CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-i-feel-im-an-honest-person/ |quote=Well, I think that I'm an honest person{{nbsp}}... I feel I'm an honest person. And I don't mind being criticized at all by the media, but I do wanna{{snd}}you know, I do want them to be straight about it.}}{{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, 2015 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} In part due to his fame, and due to his willingness to say things other candidates would not, and because a candidate who is gaining ground automatically provides a compelling news story, Trump received an unprecedented amount of free media coverage during his run for the presidency, which elevated his standing in the Republican primaries.{{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 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}

Fact-checking organizations have denounced Trump for making a record number of false statements compared to other candidates.{{cite news |url=https://www.factcheck.org/2015/12/the-king-of-whoppers-donald-trump/ |title=The 'King of Whoppers': Donald Trump |website=FactCheck.org |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 |website=PolitiFact |date=December 21, 2015 |first1=Angie Drobnic |last1=Holan |author1-link=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 |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}} At least four major publications{{snd}}Politico, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times{{snd}}have pointed out lies or falsehoods in his campaign statements, with the Los Angeles Times saying that "Never in modern presidential politics has a major candidate made false statements as routinely as Trump has".{{cite news |website=CNN |url=https://money.cnn.com/2016/09/25/media/newspapers-donald-trump-hillary-clinton-lies/index.html |title=The weekend America's newspapers called Donald Trump a liar |first=Brian |last=Stelter |author-link=Brian Stelter |date=September 26, 2016}} NPR said Trump's campaign statements were often opaque or suggestive.{{cite news |last=McCammon |first=Sarah |title=Donald Trump's controversial speech often walks the line |website=NPR |date=August 10, 2016 |quote=Many of Trump's opaque statements seem to rely on suggestion and innuendo.}}

Trump's penchant for hyperbole is believed to have roots in the New York real estate scene, where Trump established his wealth and where puffery abounds. Trump adopted his ghostwriter's phrase "truthful hyperbole" to describe his public speaking.{{cite news |first1=Emily |last1=Flitter |first2=James |last2=Oliphant |title=Best president ever! How Trump's love of hyperbole could backfire |date=August 28, 2015 |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-hyperbole-insight-idUSKCN0QX11X20150828}}{{cite news |last=Konnikova |first=Maria |author-link=Maria Konnikova |title=Trump's Lies vs. Your Brain |website=Politico |date=January 20, 2017 |url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/01/donald-trump-lies-liar-effect-brain-214658 |access-date=March 31, 2018}}

{{anchor|White supremacist support}}

According to Michael Barkun, the Trump campaign was remarkable for bringing fringe ideas, beliefs, and organizations into the mainstream.{{Cite journal |last=Barkun |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Barkun |year=2017 |title=President Trump and the Fringe |journal=Terrorism and Political Violence |volume=29 |issue=3 |page=437 |doi=10.1080/09546553.2017.1313649 |s2cid=152199771 |issn=1556-1836}} During his presidential campaign, Trump was accused of pandering to white supremacists.{{cite news |last=Lopez |first=German |title=We need to stop acting like Trump isn't pandering to white supremacists |url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/8/13/16140504/trump-charlottesville-white-supremacists |access-date=January 2, 2018 |work=Vox |date=August 14, 2017}}{{cite news |last=Blow |first=Charles M. |author-link=Charles M. Blow |title=Is Trump a White Supremacist? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/18/opinion/trump-white-supremacist.html |work=The New York Times |date=September 18, 2017}}{{cite news |last1=Kharakh |first1=Ben |last2=Primack |first2=Dan |title=Donald Trump's Social Media Ties to White Supremacists |url=https://fortune.com/donald-trump-white-supremacist-genocide/ |work=Fortune |date=March 22, 2016}} He retweeted open racists,{{cite magazine |last=White |first=Daniel |title=Trump Criticized for Retweeting Racist Account |url=https://time.com/4190482/donald-trump-twitter-racist-retweet/ |magazine=Time |date=January 26, 2016}}{{cite web |title=White Nationalists and the Alt-Right Celebrate Trump's Victory |date=November 9, 2016 |url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016/11/09/white-nationalists-and-alt-right-celebrate-trump%E2%80%99s-victory |website=Southern Poverty Law Center |access-date=November 10, 2016}} and repeatedly refused to condemn David Duke, the Ku Klux Klan or white supremacists, in an interview on CNN's State of the Union, saying he would first need to "do research" because he knew nothing about Duke or white supremacists.{{cite magazine |title=Donald Trump Refuses to Condemn KKK, Disavow David Duke Endorsement |url=https://time.com/4240268/donald-trump-kkk-david-duke/ |access-date=January 20, 2018 |magazine=Time |date=February 28, 2016 |first=Melissa |last=Chan}}{{cite news |last=Lozada |first=Carlos |title=Donald Trump and the alt-right: A marriage of convenience |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/book-party/wp/2016/12/30/donald-trump-and-the-alt-right-a-marriage-of-convenience/ |access-date=March 18, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=December 30, 2016}} Duke himself enthusiastically supported Trump throughout the 2016 primary and election, and has said he and like-minded people voted for Trump because of his promises to "take our country back".{{cite news |url=https://www.vox.com/2017/8/12/16138358/charlottesville-protests-david-duke-kkk |title="Why we voted for Donald Trump": David Duke explains the white supremacist Charlottesville protests |last=Nelson |first=Libby |date=August 12, 2017 |work=Vox |access-date=August 18, 2018}}{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/08/15/david-duke-reaction-trump-news-conference/570517001/ |title=Former KKK leader David Duke praises Trump for his 'courage' |last=Cummings |first=William |date=August 15, 2017 |work=USA Today |access-date=August 18, 2018}} Trump was later reported to have praised Adolf Hitler to his chief of staff John Kelly, opining that "Hitler did a lot of good things," and also reportedly kept a volume of Hitler's speeches on his bedside cabinet when he was younger, and was often compared to Hitler in the media during his 2016 campaign.{{cite web | url=https://gov.harvard.edu/news/one-scholar-similarities-substantial-differences-between-trump-and-hitler |title=One Scholar on Similarities, Substantial Differences Between Trump and Hitler | access-date=May 22, 2022 | archive-date=January 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220104170551/https://gov.harvard.edu/news/one-scholar-similarities-substantial-differences-between-trump-and-hitler | url-status=dead}}{{cite news | url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/07/politics/donald-trump-adolf-hitler-book-claims/index.html | title=Trump allegedly praised Hitler as doing 'a lot of good things,' new book claims |website=CNN}}{{cite web | url=https://abc7.com/trump-praises-hitler-john-kelly-michael-bender-new-book/10868719/ |title=Trump allegedly praised Hitler as doing 'a lot of good things,' new book claims | date=July 7, 2021}}{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-adolf-hitler-books-bedside-cabinet-ex-wife-ivana-trump-vanity-fair-1990-a7639041.html | title=Donald Trump 'kept book of Adolf Hitler's speeches in his bedside cabinet and may have read it for inspiration' |website=Independent.co.uk | date=March 20, 2017}}{{cite journal | doi=10.1017/S0008938919000840 | title=An American Führer? Nazi Analogies and the Struggle to Explain Donald Trump | year=2019 | last1=Rosenfeld | first1=Gavriel D. |journal=Central European History | volume=52 | issue=4 | pages=554–587 | s2cid=212950934 | doi-access=free}} After repeated questioning by reporters, Trump said he disavowed David Duke and the KKK.{{cite news |website=CNN |date=March 3, 2016 |first=Eugene |last=Scott |title=Trump denounces David Duke, KKK |url=https://www.cnn.com/2016/03/03/politics/donald-trump-disavows-david-duke-kkk/index.html}} Trump said on MSNBC's Morning Joe: "I disavowed him. I disavowed the KKK. Do you want me to do it again for the 12th time? I disavowed him in the past, I disavow him now."

The alt-right movement coalesced around Trump's candidacy,{{cite news |last=Ohlheiser |first=Abby |title=Anti-Semitic Trump supporters made a giant list of people to target with a racist meme |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2016/06/03/anti-semitic-trump-supporters-made-a-giant-list-of-people-to-target-with-a-racist-meme/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=June 3, 2016}} 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://www.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 |website=CNN}}{{cite news |url=https://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e148d930-6cdb-11e6-9ac1-1055824ca907.html |title='Alt-right' movement makes mark on US presidential election |first=Demetri |last=Sevastopulo |work=Financial Times}}

Members of the alt-right enthusiastically supported Trump's campaign.{{cite book |last=Hawley |first=George |title=Making Sense of the Alt-Right |date=2017 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-54600-3}} In August 2016, he appointed Steve Bannon{{snd}}the executive chairman of Breitbart News{{snd}}as his campaign CEO; Bannon described Breitbart News as "the platform for the alt-right".{{cite news |title=Clickbait scoops and an engaged alt-right: everything to know about Breitbart News |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/nov/15/breitbart-news-alt-right-stephen-bannon-trump-administration |access-date=November 18, 2016 |work=The Guardian |date=November 15, 2016 |first=Jason |last=Wilson}} In an interview days after the election, Trump condemned supporters who celebrated his victory with Nazi salutes.{{cite news |title=Trump disavows 'alt-right' supporters |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38069469 |work=BBC Online |date=November 23, 2016}}{{cite news |work=The New York Times |date=November 23, 2016 |title=Donald Trump's New York Times Interview: Full Transcript |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/23/us/politics/trump-new-york-times-interview-transcript.html}}

As a presidential candidate, Trump disclosed details of his companies, assets, and revenue sources to the extent required by the FEC. His 2015 report listed assets above $1.4 billion and outstanding debts of at least $265 million.{{cite news |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/donald-trump-wealth-details-released-federal-regulators-165854286--finance.html/ |website=Yahoo! News |title=Donald Trump wealth details released by federal regulators |date=July 22, 2015 |access-date=August 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150801033902/https://finance.yahoo.com/news/donald-trump-wealth-details-released-federal-regulators-165854286--finance.html |archive-date=August 1, 2015}}{{cite web |publisher=U.S. 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}} The 2016 form showed little change.{{cite news |url=https://money.cnn.com/2016/05/18/news/trump-finances/ |title=A peek at Donald Trump's finances |first1=Cristina |last1=Alesci |author1-link=Cristina Alesci |first2=Laurie |last2=Frankel |first3=Jeanne |last3=Sahadi |publisher=CNN |date=May 19, 2016 |access-date=May 20, 2016}}

Trump has not released his tax returns, contrary to the practice of every major candidate since 1976 and breaking his promise in 2014 to release them 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}} He said his tax returns were being audited, and 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 |date=February 26, 2016 |access-date=February 26, 2016 |last2=Sahadi |first2=Jeanne |website=CNN}} Trump has told the press his tax rate was none of their business, and that he tries to pay "as little tax as possible".{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2016/05/13/politics/donald-trump-tax-rate-none-of-your-business/ |title=Trump on his tax rate: 'None of your business' |last=Kopan |first=Tal |author-link=Tal Kopan |date=May 13, 2016 |website=CNN}}

In October 2016, portions of Trump's state filings for 1995 were leaked to a reporter from The New York Times. They show that Trump declared a loss of $916 million that year, which could have let him avoid taxes for up to 18 years. During the second presidential debate, Trump acknowledged using the deduction, but declined to provide details such as the specific years it was applied.{{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 |author2-link=Megan Twohey |date=October 10, 2016 |newspaper=The New York Times}}

On March 14, 2017, the first two pages of Trump's 2005 federal income tax returns were leaked to MSNBC. The document states that Trump had a gross adjusted income of $150 million and paid $38 million in federal taxes. The White House confirmed the authenticity of the documents.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/14/us/politics/donald-trump-taxes.html |title=Trump Wrote Off $100 Million in Business Losses in 2005 |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |author1-link=Peter Baker (journalist) |last2=Drucker |first2=Jesse |last3=Craig |first3=Susanne |author3-link=Susanne Craig |last4=Barstow |first4=David |author4-link=David Barstow |date=March 15, 2017 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=March 15, 2017}}{{cite news |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/324016-wh-releases-trump-tax-info-ahead-of-msnbc-report-made-150m-in-2005 |title=WH releases Trump tax info ahead of MSNBC report: He paid $38M in federal taxes in '05 |last=Jagoda |first=Naomi |access-date=March 15, 2017 |website=The Hill}}

On April 3, 2019, the House Ways and means committee made a formal request to the Internal Revenue Service for Trump's personal and business tax returns from 2013 to 2018, setting a deadline of April 10.{{Cite news |url=https://apnews.com/79e6935010f94b399bb5e967ad6c1ec2 |title=House chairman asks IRS for 6 years of Trump's tax returns |first=Marcy |last=Gordon |date=April 4, 2019 |website=AP News}} That day, Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said the deadline would not be met,{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/treasury-says-it-will-miss-democrats-deadline-for-turning-over-trump-tax-returns/2019/04/10/14319f9c-5bce-11e9-842d-7d3ed7eb3957_story.html |title=Treasury says it will miss Democrats' deadline for turning over Trump tax returns, casts skepticism over request |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=April 10, 2019 |first1=Jeff |last1=Stein |first2=Damian |last2=Paletta |author2-link=Damian Paletta}} and the deadline was extended to April 23, which also was not honored,{{Cite news |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2019/04/23/donald-trump-tax-returns-deadline-1288760 |title=IRS blows deadline to hand over Trump tax returns |first=Aaron |last=Lorenzo |website=Politico |date=April 23, 2019}} and on May{{nbsp}}6 Mnuchin said the request would be denied.{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/06/us/politics/trump-tax-returns-mnuchin.html |title=Steven Mnuchin Refuses to Release Trump's Tax Documents to Congress |first=Alan |last=Rappeport |author-link=Alan Rappeport |date=May 6, 2019 |work=The New York Times}} On May 10, 2019, committee chairman Richard Neal subpoenaed the Treasury Department and the IRS for the returns and seven days later the subpoenas were defied.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/10/us/politics/democrats-trump-tax-returns.html |title=House Ways and Means Chairman Subpoenas Trump Tax Records |first=Nicholas |last=Fandos |author-link=Nicholas Fandos |date=May 10, 2019 |work=The New York Times}}{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/mnuchin-defies-subpoena-for-president-trumps-tax-returns-11558123367 |title=Mnuchin Defies Subpoena for President Trump's Tax Returns |first=Richard |last=Rubin |date=May 17, 2019 |work=The Wall Street Journal}} A fall 2018 draft IRS legal memo asserted that Trump must provide his tax returns to Congress unless he invokes executive privilege, contradicting the administration's justification for defying the earlier subpoena.{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/confidential-draft-irs-memo-says-tax-returns-must-be-given-to-congress-unless-president-invokes-executive-privilege/2019/05/21/8ed41834-7b1c-11e9-8bb7-0fc796cf2ec0_story.html |title=Confidential draft IRS memo says tax returns must be given to Congress unless president invokes executive privilege |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 21, 2019 |first1=Jeff |last1=Stein |first2=Josh |last2=Dawsey |author2-link=Josh Dawsey}} Mnuchin asserted the memo actually addressed a different matter.{{Cite news |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/22/steven-mnuchin-irs-trump-tax-returns-1339270 |title=Mnuchin dismisses IRS memo saying Congress must be given Trump's tax returns |first=Toby |last=Eckert |website=Politico |date=May 22, 2019}}

{{Main|2016 United States presidential election}}

File:ElectoralCollege2016.svg

On November 8, 2016, Trump received 306 pledged electoral votes versus 232 for Clinton. The official counts were 304 and 227 respectively, after defections on both sides.{{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 |website=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/12/19/us/elections/electoral-college-results.html}} Trump received nearly 2.9 million fewer popular votes than Clinton, which made him the fifth person to be elected president while losing the popular vote.{{cite web |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, 2017}}{{efn|Records on this matter date from the year 1824. The number "five" includes the elections of 1824, 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016. Despite their similarities, some of these five elections had peculiar results; e.g. John Quincy Adams trailed in both the national popular vote and the electoral college in 1824 (since no one had a majority in the electoral college, Adams was chosen by the House of Representatives), and Samuel Tilden in 1876 remains the only losing candidate to win an actual majority of the popular vote (rather than just a plurality).{{cite book |last=Thomas |first=G. Scott |title=Counting the Votes: A New Way to Analyze America's Presidential Elections |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XvxPCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA125 |page=125 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |date=2015 |isbn=978-1-4408-3883-5}}{{cite news |last=Cheney |first=Kyle |author-link=Kyle Cheney (journalist) |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/donald-trump-electoral-college-232665 |title=Trump lawyer cites 1876 crisis to rebuke Electoral College suit |website=Politico |date=December 14, 2016}}}} Clinton was ahead nationwide with 65,853,514 votes ({{percentage| 65,853,514| 136,669,276|2|pad=yes}}) to 62,984,828 votes ({{percentage| 62,984,828| 136,669,276|2|pad=yes}}).{{cite web |title=Official 2016 Presidential General Election Results |url=https://transition.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2016/federalelections2016.pdf |website=Federal Election Commission |date=December 2017 |access-date=February 12, 2018}}

Trump's victory was considered a stunning political upset by most observers, as polls had consistently showed Hillary Clinton with a nationwide{{snd}}though diminishing{{snd}}lead, as well as a favorable advantage in most of the competitive states. Trump's support had been modestly underestimated throughout his campaign,{{cite news |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/election-results-2016-clinton-trump-231070 |title=Trump pulls off biggest upset in U.S. history |work=Politico |date=November 9, 2016 |first=Maxwell |last=Tani |access-date=November 9, 2016}} and many observers blamed errors in polls, partially attributed to pollsters overestimating Clinton's support among well-educated and nonwhite voters, while underestimating Trump's support among white working-class voters.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/10/upshot/why-trump-won-working-class-whites.html |title=Why Trump Won: Working-Class Whites |work=The New York Times |date=November 9, 2016 |first=Nate |last=Cohn |access-date=November 9, 2016}}

The polls were relatively accurate,{{cite news |work=FiveThirtyEight |date=January 17, 2017 |first=Nate |last=Silver |author-link=Nate Silver |title=Can You Trust Trump's Approval Rating Polls? |url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/can-you-trust-polling-in-the-age-of-trump/}} but media outlets and pundits alike showed overconfidence in a Clinton victory despite a large number of undecided voters and a favorable concentration of Trump's core constituencies in competitive states.{{cite news |work=FiveThirtyEight |date=September 21, 2017 |first=Nate |last=Silver |author-link=Nate Silver |title=The Media Has A Probability Problem |url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-media-has-a-probability-problem/}}

Trump won 30 states, including Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, which had been considered a blue wall of Democratic strongholds since the 1990s. Clinton won 20 states and the District of Columbia. Trump's victory marked the return of a Republican White House combined with control of both chambers of Congress.

Trump is the wealthiest president in U.S. history, even after adjusting for inflation,{{cite news |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-richest-us-president-in-history-2017-1 |title=Donald Trump is officially the richest US president in history |last=Martin |first=Emmie |date=January 23, 2017 |work=Business Insider |access-date=September 9, 2017}} and at the time of his inauguration, the oldest person to take office as president.{{efn|Joe Biden became the oldest president to take office in 2021.}}{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/2016/06/14/481991965/its-trumps-birthday-if-he-wins-hed-be-the-oldest-president-ever-to-take-office |title=It's Trump's Birthday. If He Wins, He'd Be The Oldest President Ever To Take Office |last=Kurtzlebel |first=Danielle |date=June 14, 2016 |website=NPR |access-date=May 3, 2019}} He is also the first president who did not serve in the military or hold elective or appointed government office prior to being elected.{{cite news |first=Peter |last=Weber |title=Donald Trump will be the first U.S. president with no government or military experience |date=November 9, 2016 |website=The Week |url=https://theweek.com/speedreads/660840/donald-trump-first-president-no-government-military-experience}}{{cite news |first=Jesse |last=Yomtov |title=Where Trump ranks among least experienced presidents |date=November 8, 2016 |website=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/11/08/donald-trump-experience-president/93504134/}}{{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}} Of the 43{{efn|Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president.{{cite news |title=Will Trump Be The 44th Or 45th President? Yes And Yes |url=http://ethics.npr.org/memos-from-memmott/will-trump-be-the-44th-or-45th-president-yes-and-yes/ |website=NPR |date=November 10, 2016 |access-date=June 4, 2017 |archive-date=February 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207004548/http://ethics.npr.org/memos-from-memmott/will-trump-be-the-44th-or-45th-president-yes-and-yes/}}}} previous presidents, 38 had held prior elective office, two had not held elective office but had served in the Cabinet, and three had never held public office but had been commanding generals.

{{main|First presidency of Donald Trump|Second presidency of Donald Trump}}

File:Donald Trump Coronavirus briefing.jpg.]]

Expert scholarly analysis of Trump's first presidency by presidential historians has generally ranked Trump's tenure as among history's worst; for example, the first major scholarly survey on presidential rankings after he left office ranked Trump 41st out of 44, ahead of only James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, and Franklin Pierce.

Donald Trump and his family received more than 100 gifts from foreign nations with net value of nearly $300,000, which they failed to explain. A House Oversight Committee report by the Democrats exposed the details of numerous gifts received by the Trump family. Saudi Arabia gave 16 gift items worth $45,000, while India gave 17 precious gift items worth $47,000. The Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act mandates the US president and his family to not receive gifts of more than $415 value. Besides, the expensive gifts are supposed to be disclosed and received on behalf of the US, and must be turned over to the National Archives.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/17/donald-trump-failed-to-report-gifts-from-foreign-nations|title=Golf clubs and a $24K dagger: Trump failed to report dozens of foreign gifts|accessdate=18 March 2023|website=The Guardian|date=March 18, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/3905496-trump-family-failed-to-disclose-more-than-100-foreign-gifts-congressional-report-says/|title= Trump, family failed to disclose more than 100 foreign gifts, congressional report says|accessdate=17 March 2023|website=The Hill|date= March 17, 2023}}

{{Main|Protests against Donald Trump}}

File:Women's March on Washington (32593123745).jpg in Washington on January 21, 2017, a day after the inauguration]]

Some rallies during the primary season were accompanied by protests or violence, including attacks on Trump supporters and vice versa both inside and outside the venues.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/03/10/trump-protester-sucker-punched-at-north-carolina-rally-videos-show/ |title=Trump supporter charged after sucker-punching protester at North Carolina rally |last1=Moyer |first1=Justin Wm. |date=March 11, 2016 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=August 31, 2016 |last2=Starrs |first2=Jenny |last3=Larimer |first3=Sarah}}{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/06/03/ugly-bloody-scenes-in-san-jose-as-protesters-attack-trump-supporters-outside-rally/ |title=Ugly, bloody scenes in San Jose as protesters attack Trump supporters outside rally |last1=Sullivan |first1=Sean |date=June 3, 2016 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=August 31, 2016 |last2=Miller |first2=Michael E.}}{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2016/05/27/politics/donald-trump-san-diego-protesters/ |title=Pro-Trump, anti-Trump groups clash in San Diego |last=Diamond |first=Jeremy |author-link=Jeremy Diamond |date=May 28, 2016 |access-date=August 31, 2016 |website=CNN}} Trump's election victory sparked protests across the United States, in opposition to his policies and his inflammatory statements. Trump initially said on Twitter that these were "professional protesters, incited by the media", and were "unfair", but he later tweeted, "Love the fact that the small groups of protesters last night have passion for our great country."{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/11/10/trump-tweet-professional-protesters-media/93624612/ |title=Trump calls protests 'unfair' in first controversial tweet as president-elect |last=Cummings |first=William |date=November 11, 2016 |work=USA Today |access-date=November 27, 2016}}{{cite news |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-tweets-that-protesters-have-passion-for-our-great-country-2016-11 |title=Trump says protesters have 'passion for our great country' after calling demonstrations 'very unfair' |last=Colson |first=Thomas |date=November 11, 2016 |newspaper=Business Insider |access-date=November 14, 2016}}

In the weeks following Trump's inauguration, massive anti-Trump demonstrations took place, such as the Women Marches, which gathered 2,600,000 people worldwide,{{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 22, 2017 |work=USA Today |access-date=January 22, 2017 |edition=online}} including 500,000 in Washington alone.{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/womens-march-on-washington-pink-pussy-hat-500000-donald-trump-resist-latest-a7540396.html |title=We asked ten people why they felt empowered wearing a pink 'pussy' hat |last=Buncombe |first=Andrew |date=January 22, 2017 |work=The Independent |access-date=January 15, 2017}} Marches against his travel ban began across the country on January 29, 2017, just nine days after his inauguration.{{cite news |url=https://thinkprogress.org/muslim-ban-protests-344f6e66022e/ |title=Here's your list of all the protests happening against the Muslim Ban |work=ThinkProgress |date=January 28, 2017 |first=Adrienne Mahsa |last=Varkiani |access-date=September 18, 2018}}

{{Main|Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign}}

Trump signaled his intention to run for a second term by filing with the FEC within a few hours of assuming the presidency.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/trump-hints-at-re-election-bid-vowing-eight-years-of-great-things/article/2612632 |title=Trump hints at re-election bid, vowing 'eight years' of 'great things' |last=Westwood |first=Sarah |work=The Washington Examiner |date=January 22, 2017 |access-date=February 19, 2017}} This transformed his 2016 election committee into a 2020 reelection one.{{cite news |url=https://www.azfamily.com/story/34380443/trump-breaks-precedent-files-on-first-day-as-candidate-for-re-election |title=Trump breaks precedent, files as candidate for re-election on first day |publisher=KTVK |location=Phoenix, Arizona |first=Lee |last=Morehouse |date=January 31, 2017 |access-date=February 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202210255/http://www.azfamily.com/story/34380443/trump-breaks-precedent-files-on-first-day-as-candidate-for-re-election |archive-date=February 2, 2017}} Trump marked the official start of the campaign with a rally in Melbourne, Florida, on February 18, 2017, less than a month after taking office.{{cite news |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/02/trump-kicks-off-his-2020-reelection-campaign-on-saturday/516909/ |title=Trump Kicks Off His 2020 Reelection Campaign on Saturday |last=Graham |first=David A. |work=The Atlantic |date=February 15, 2017 |access-date=February 19, 2017}} By January 2018, Trump's reelection committee had $22 million in hand,{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-31/trump-s-2020-re-election-committee-has-22-1-million-in-bank |title=Trump's 2020 Re-Election Committee Has $22.1 Million in the Bank |last1=McCormick |first1=John |last2=Jacobs |first2=Jennifer |date=January 31, 2018 |website=Bloomberg News |access-date=March 24, 2018}} and it had raised a total amount exceeding $67 million by December 2018.{{cite web |url=https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00580100/?tab=summary |title=Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. / Presidential – Principal campaign committee / Financial summary |website=Federal Election Commission |date=December 31, 2018 |access-date=February 5, 2019}} $23 million was spent in the fourth quarter of 2018, as Trump supported various Republican candidates for the 2018 midterm elections.{{cite web |url=https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00580100/1312481/ |title=FEC Form 3P – Report of receipts and disbursements – Filing FEC-1312481 |author=Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. |website=Federal Election Commission |date=January 31, 2019 |access-date=February 5, 2019}}

{{Main|2020 United States presidential election}}

File:ElectoralCollege2020.svg

On November 3, 2020, Trump lost re-election to Democratic nominee and former vice president Joe Biden. Trump received 232 electoral votes to Biden's 306. Trump received 74,216,154 in the popular vote to Biden's 81,268,924.

{{Main|Donald Trump 2024 presidential campaign}}

On November 15, 2022, at his Mar-a-Lago residence, one week after the 2022 midterm elections, Trump became the first major candidate to declare a campaign for the 2024 presidential election.{{cite web |last1=Chen |first1=Shawna |date=November 16, 2022 |title=Trump announces 2024 presidential campaign |url=https://www.axios.com/2022/11/16/donald-trump-2024-president-run |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116015632/https://www.axios.com/2022/11/16/donald-trump-2024-president-run |archive-date=November 16, 2022 |access-date=November 16, 2022 |website=Axios}}

On 15 July 2024, the United States Republican Party selected Trump and JD Vance the party's nominees for president and vice president in the 2024 United States presidential election.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/15/trump-milwaukee-republican-national-convention |title=Donald Trump formally nominated to be Republican presidential candidate |newspaper=The Guardian |date=July 15, 2024 |last1=Herman |first1=Alice}} Trump formally accepted the nomination on 19 July 2024.{{cite web |url=https://apnews.com/article/trump-republican-national-convention-nomination-assassination-attempt-5f1f337ac39477e9d1c53d3e027edda3 |title=Trump urges unity after assassination attempt while proposing sweeping populist agenda in RNC finale |website=Associated Press News |date=July 18, 2024}}

{{Main|2024 United States presidential election}}

File:ElectoralCollege2024.svg

Trump went on to win the election held on 5 November 2024, defeating the Democratic nominee and incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris, and became the second US president in history to serve two non-consecutive terms after Grover Cleveland.{{cite web | url=https://news.sky.com/story/donald-trump-wins-us-election-in-monumental-political-comeback-13249208 | title=Donald Trump wins US election in monumental political comeback}}{{cite web | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/ap-trump-new-york-cleveland-massachussetts-b2642353.html | title=Trump isn't first to be second: Grover Cleveland set precedent of non-consecutive presidential terms | website=Independent.co.uk | date=November 6, 2024}}

• Business career of Donald Trump
• Media career of Donald Trump

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• {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G7Tf_1GzlHEC |title=The Gallup Poll: Public Opinion 1989 |last=Gallup |first=George Jr. |authorlink=George Gallup Jr. |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-8420-2344-3}}
• {{cite book |title=Trump Revealed: The Definitive Biography of the 45th President |last1=Kranish |first1=Michael |author1link=Michael Kranish |last2=Fisher |first2=Marc |author2link=Marc Fisher |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=2017 |orig-year=First published 2016 |isbn=978-1-5011-5652-6 |title-link=Trump Revealed}}
• {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ye6e_VxM00kC |title=Trump: The Art of the Deal |first1=Donald J. |last1=Trump |first2=Tony |last2=Schwartz |author2link=Tony Schwartz (author) |publisher=Random House |year=2009 |orig-year=First published 1987 |isbn=978-0-446-35325-0}}

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• [https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/administration/president-trump President Trump's profile on WhiteHouse.gov]
• [https://www.thetrumparchive.com/ Archive of Donald Trump's Tweets]

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Category:Donald Trump