Donald Trump is known for being flashy, for his penchant for hyperbole, and for his ability to stage a comeback.
A real estate mogul and reality TV star with three marriages and no former government experience, Trump took an unconventional path to the White House.
The second-youngest of five children, Donald John Trump started by following in the footsteps of his father, a hard-driving real estate developer in Queens.
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“My dad, Fred Trump, was the smartest and hardest-working man I ever knew,” Trump told the crowd at the 2016 Republican National Convention.
After earning an economics degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Trump joined his father’s company, where he was president by age 25.
He quickly made a name for himself by spearheading high-profile projects, like New York City hotels and Atlantic City casinos.
He sold himself to the public as a successful businessman, heavily promoting his book, “The Art of the Deal.”
But controversy started early for Trump. The Department of Justice sued Trump and his father in the 1970s for alleged racial discrimination at their housing developments.
In 1989, Trump was one of the loudest voices calling for the execution of the so-called Central Park Five, five Black and Latino teenagers accused of raping a white woman who have since been proven innocent.
“Of course I hate these people, and let’s all hate these people,” Trump told Larry King in an interview on CNN in 1989.
He courted further controversy for allegedly failing to pay contractors and other workers as his companies underwent a series of bankruptcies in the 1990s and early 2000s.
But amid these financial difficulties, he capitalized on his celebrity, finding success as the host of the popular reality TV show “The Apprentice.”
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The show and Trump’s famous catchphrase, “you’re fired,” elevated his notoriety even higher than the New York City skyscrapers that bore his name, expanding his persona nationwide.
Trump had long toyed with the idea of running for president, telling Oprah in 1988, “I think I’d win, I wouldn’t go in to lose.”
His first short-lived presidential campaign came as a Reform Party candidate in the 2000 race.
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But his big splash in the political world came when he spearheaded the birther movement, falsely questioning if President Obama was born in the United States.
“It’s not a birth certificate,” he told CNN in 2011 after Obama released his birth certificate.
A few years later, he announced what most considered a long-shot campaign; this time, running as a Republican.
“I am officially running for president of the United States,” he announced before a crowd at Trump Tower in June 2015.
In that speech, he promised to restrict immigration. “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists,” Trump said, referring to Mexican immigrants.
He also promised to restore law and order, later declaring in his inaugural address, “this American carnage stops right here and stops right now.”
His campaign was plagued with allegations of past sexual misconduct and questions about his tax history. But defying most polls, and despite losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton, he won the Electoral College and took office in January 2017.
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He changed tax law and reshaped the judiciary – appointing hundreds of conservative judges across the country – including three to the Supreme Court.
His presidency was also marked by what his critics considered a chaotic response to the Covid-19 pandemic; telling reporters in March 2020, “It will go away. Just stay calm.”
Trump’s tenure ended with an unprecedented insurrection at the Capitol after he refused to concede the 2020 election to Joe Biden, falsely claiming he was the true winner.
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“That was a rigged election,” he told supporters in January 2021.
He was impeached – and acquitted – twice – the first over allegedly seeking support from Ukraine in his election campaign and the second for his role in the January 6 riots.
Once he left office, a barrage of legal troubles dogged Trump – including allegations of fraud, election interference, and defamation. And last spring he was convicted of multiple felony counts related to hush-money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Through it all, Trump retained a solid base of supporters – holding large sway over the Republican party even without holding public office. Early on, he emerged as the Republican front-runner
“We are going to make our country greater than ever before,” he said on Super Tuesday in March 2024 after clinching the Republican nomination.
He survived two assassination attempts; during the first, he was shot and wounded in the upper ear at a rally in Pennsylvania in July 2024. A few days later, from the stage at the Republican National Convention, he told the crowd, “I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of almighty God.”
The second assassination attempt came in September, as a gunmen hid in the bushes while Trump was golfing in Florida.
Trump also weathered a historic switch of his Democratic opponent from Joe Biden to Kamala Harris.
“She’ll destroy our country if she’s elected,” Trump said at a rally in July 2024.
This past November, Trump defied expectations once again when he beat Harris, this time winning both the popular vote and the Electoral College.
“I want to thank the American people for the extraordinary honor of being elected your 47th president and your 45th president,” he said in his victory speech on November 6.
Donald Trump will be the only president besides Grover Cleveland to serve a second non-consecutive term – perhaps not surprising for a man who has, time and again, beaten the odds.
