Donald Trump was the 45th President of the United States of America. He was the first political figure ever elected to the US presidency without any previous government or military experience by all means. He served as America’s president from January 2017 to January 2021. He is also the only US president to be impeached and charged with the crime in the hundred years of political and democratic set up of the United States of America. He is currently running for president again in the presidential election 2024.
Born on 14th June 1946, Donald Trump was the leading real estate developer of New York City and reality TV star. He became the billionaire businessman of USA. Surprisingly, he later campaigned as a Republican and scored an upset victory over his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, in the 2016 Presidential election. Donald Trump began his career working for his father’s real estate development firm, taking over its leadership in the 1970s. In the ensuing decades, he acquired and built hotels, office towers, casinos and golf courses and also appeared on 14 seasons of “The Apprentice.”
Contrary to his exceptional success in real estate, showbiz and various businesses, he was impeached by the House of Representatives on 18th December 2019. On January 13, 2021, he became the only president in the US history to be impeached a second time. On March 30, 2023, he became the first former president to be charged with a crime when a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict him on charges related to hush money payments.
Early Life and Education
A preview of Donald Trump’s early life shows his father was a wealthy and leading real estate developer and his mother was a homemaker. He, the fourth of five children and the second son, attended a private boarding school in rural New York for high school. He spent his first two years of college at New York City’s Fordham University before completing his education at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Finance and Commerce where he earned an undergraduate degree in 1968. After completing his graduation, Donald Trump returned to New York City and began working for his father’s real estate business. In 1971, he became president of a collection of family-owned businesses, which he later named the Trump Organization.
Marriages and Children
Regarding Donald Trump’s matrimonial experiences, he married Czech model Ivana Zelnickova, with whom he went on to have three children, Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump in 1977. The couple divorced in 1992 and the following year Trump wed actress Marla Maples, with whom he has a daughter, Tiffany Trump. After Trump’s second marriage ended in 1999, he tied the knot with Slovenian model Melania Knauss in 2005. His son with Melania Trump, Barron Trump, was born in 2006. His daughter Ivana Trump died in 2022.
Journey from successful businessman to leading politician
After taking control of the Trump Organization, Donald Trump continued to work in real estate development but also expanded into other businesses. He purchased sports teams, published books and served as producer and host of a reality TV show called the apprentice.The Trump family interest in real estate development began with Donald Trump’s grandfather, aGerman immigrant who settled in New York City and began acquiring properties. After college, Donald Trump joined his father’s company, E. Trump & Son, which developed apartments for the middle-class in New York City’s outer boroughs. He became president of the firm in 1974 and went on to make a name for himself in the Manhattan real estate world with the construction of such high-profile projects as the Grand Hyatt New York hotel, which opened in 1980, and Trump Tower, a luxury high-rise that opened in 1983.Gradually and steadily,The Art of the Deal, Trump’s memoir and business advice book, was published and became a best-seller in 1987. Later, according to Forbes, his net worth was $1.5 billion and he made his first appearance on the cover of Time magazine.
During 1990s, Trump was deeply in debt and several of his casinos filed for bankruptcy due to an economic downturn and slump in the real estate market. In 1995, he reported a nearly $1 billion loss on his taxes. His journey headed towards successful growth and developed real estate properties. In 2016, when he became the first billionaire elected to theWhite House, his empire included office buildings, hotels and golf courses around the world.
Trump’s Entertainment Career
In 2004, Trump started hosting a reality TV show, “The Apprentice,” in which contestants vied for a management job at one of his companies. The show featured Trump’s catchphrase “You’re fired” and drew big ratings. The business Mogul eventually raked in $1 million per episode and became a household name. He hosted 14 combined seasons of “The Apprentice” and a spinoff show, “The Celebrity Apprentice.” In addition to starring on “The Apprentice” and making cameo appearances in other TV shows and movies, Trump owned several beauty pageants from 1996 to 2015, including Miss Universe and Miss USA. In 1999, he founded a modeling agency.
2016 Presidential Campaign
Strangely enough, Donald Trump never held any elected or appointed government office before presidential election. He had considered a presidential bid on at least several earlier occasions prior to the 2016 race but ultimately opted not to run. In June 2015, the real estate developer announced his presidential candidacy in a speech at Trump Tower. He ran his campaign on a populist pledge to “Make America Great Again,” and spoke out against political correctness, illegal immigration and government lobbyists, while promising to cut taxes, renegotiate trade deals and create millions of jobs for American workers. In May 2016, he filed the Republican nomination, beating out a field of 16 other candidates.
History of Donald Trump’s Presidency Race
In 2000, Trump ran for president as a candidate on a third-party ticket, meaning as an alternative candidate to those from the two major political parties, the Republicans and Democrats. He dropped out early in the race, but considered running again in 2004 and 2012. In 2015, he announced he was again running for president, this time on a major-party ticket as a Republican nominee. He beat out 16 other candidates to become the party’s official nominee in 2016. Significantly, he officially announced his candidacy for the Presidency of the United States on 15th June 2015. On January 20, 2017, Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States, and turned over the management of The Trump Organization to his eldest sons, Donald Jr. and Eric.
The First Impeachment Of Donald Trump
Dramatically describing, the evidence emerged that Trump had supposedly withheld aid to the eastern European country of Ukraine in an attempt to get them to provide damaging information on one of his political rivals. This offended many members of Congress. On December 18, 2019, the House of Representatives voted to impeach Trump, or officially charge him with misconduct in office. The two charges (called articles of impeachment) were abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, or blocking Congress from doing their job properly. The Senate then held a trial to decide if Trump should be removed from office. After nearly three weeks, the Senate voted to let the president remain in office. Historically, only two other US presidents have ever been impeached Andrew Johnson in 1868, and Bill Clinton in 1998. Like Trump, neither were removed from office.
Running For Second Term
During the spring of 2020, Trump began actively campaigning for asecond term in office. This time, he was running against Democrat Joe Biden, who served as Barack Obama’s vice president during his two terms in office. The 2020 election was unlike any other in US history in that it took the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. Both Trump and Biden had to try to run their campaigns while a highly contagious, deadly disease spread across the country. Trump decided to appear at rallies attended by hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people. In contrast, Biden chose to stay socially distant and speak to his supporters during online campaign events. In early October 2020, both Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for coronavirus. They recovered quickly, and Trump resumed campaigning for re-election by the middle of the month. The pandemic was a key issue that both candidates had to address, as well as the high unemployment rate caused by the crisis. Voters were also concerned about racial tensions across the country after high-profile shootings of Black people by police officers, as well as healthcare, a topic that had been much discussed during Trump’s term in office.
2020 Election Results And Donald Trump
Concerned about catching and spreading COVID-19, many voters chose to vote by mail during the presidential election. That meant that determining the election results took longer than it had in previous years. But once all the votes had been counted, Biden was declared the winner. He won about 81 million votes to Trump’s approximately 74 million, winning the popular vote by 51.4 percent. In the electoral college, Biden won 306 votes to Trump’s 232. On December 14, 2020, the electoral college formally elected Biden as the next president of the United States, making Trump the 10th incumbent commander-in-chief to become a one-term president.
Trump and Russian Hacking in the 2016 Election
Throughout the 2016 presidential election, Trump vehemently denied allegations he had a relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and was tied to the hacking of the DNC emails. In January 2017, a US intelligence report prepared by the CIA, FBI and NSA concluded that Putin had ordered a campaign to influence the US election. “Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency. We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump,” the report said. Prior to the release of the report, President-elect Trump had cast doubt on Russian interference and the intelligence community’s assessment. Trump received an intelligence briefing on the matter, and in his first press conference as president-elect on January 11, he acknowledged Russia’s interference.
In March 2018, the Trump administration formally acknowledged the charges by issuing sanctions on 19 Russians for interference in the 2016 presidential election and alleged cyber-attacks. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin delivered the announcement, with the president remaining silent on the matter. In July, days before Trump was to meet with Putin in Finland, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced additional charges against 12 Russian intelligence officers accused of hacking the DNC and the Clinton Campaign.
Trump Launches Third Presidential Campaign
On November 15, 2022, Trump announced he was launching a third bid for the US presidency. Speaking from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Trump announced “America’s comeback starts right now.” Only one US president, Grover Cleveland, has served non-consecutive terms as president when he became both the 22nd and the 24th president.
On March 30, 2023, Trump became the first former US president to face criminal charges after a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict him.Trump pleaded not guilty tothe charges, which included 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
Charges, Lawsuits And Investigations
Currently, Donald Trump is facing serious charges which has tarnished his image and credibility.
The details are as follows:
1. The decision by the Manhattan District Attorney to charge Trump for hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign stands first and foremost allegation levelled against him.
2. The state of Georgia’s Prosecutor is investigating Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat in that state.
The investigation focuses in part on a phone call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, on Jan 2, 2021. Trump asked Raffensperger to “find” enough votes needed to overturn Trump’s election loss in Georgia.Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney and a Democrat who will ultimately decide whether to pursue charges against Trump or anyone else, told a judge on Jan 24 that a special grand jury had completed its investigation task and that decisions were “imminent.”
Reacting to charges at Donald Trump, the Legal experts opine that he may have violated at least three Georgia criminal election laws including conspiracy to commit election fraud, criminal solicitation to commit election fraud and intentional interference with performance of election duties.
3. Donald Trump is also facing US Justice Department’s ongoing investigations on his actions in the 2020 election and his retention of highly classified documents after departing the White House in 2021. He has accused the FBI, without evidence, of launching the probes as political retribution.
4. He is also facing investigation by a special House of Representatives committee on the deadly Jan 6, 2021assault by Trump supporters to Capitol. The committee urged the Justice Department to charge Trump with corruption of an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to make a false statement and inciting or aiding an insurrection.
5. US Attorney General Merrick Garland also appointed Smith to investigate whether Trump improperly retained classified records at his Mar-a-Lago Florida estate after he left office in 2021 and then tried to obstruct a federal investigation.
6. In Trump’s case, the FBI seized 13,000 documents from Mar-a-Lago in an Aug 8 search. About 100 documents were marked classified; some were designated top secret, the highest level of classification.
7. New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Trump and his Trump Organization last September for fraud.James said her office found more than 200 examples of misleading asset valuations between 2011 and 2021, and that Trump inflated his net worth by billions of dollars.
8. The civil lawsuit seeks to permanently bar Trump and three of his adult children from running companies in New York state, and recoup at least $250 million obtained through fraud.A New York judge ordered an independent monitor to oversee the Trump Organization before the scheduled October 2023 trial.
9. E. Jean Carroll, a former Elle magazine columnist, has filed two lawsuits accusing Trump of defaming her by denying he raped her in New York’s Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in late 1995 or early 1996.
10. The second lawsuit arose from an October 2022 social media post where Trump called the rape claim a “hoax,” “lie,” “con job” and “complete scam.”
Trump and Carroll are awaiting a decision from a Washington, D.C., appeals court on whether, under local law, Trump should be immune from Carroll’s first lawsuit.
It is likely that the second lawsuit could go to trial on April 25, after a US judge in January called Trump’s bid to dismiss it “absurd.” Lastly, whatever the final judgments may be, Donald Trump remains in the news for his bold and blunt vocal style, mischievous mindset, unruly temper, aggressive nature, scandals, statements and unconventional gestures.
