Donald Trump

Donald John Trump, born June 14, 1946, in New York City, is a real-estate businessman, television personality, and the 45th and 47th president of the United States. He served from 2017 to 2021 and returned to office in 2025, becoming only the second president elected to nonconsecutive terms. His career has been distinguished by an assertive public persona, intensive use of personal branding, a combative approach to opponents, and a willingness to challenge political and legal conventions. [S1] [S2] [S6] [S7]

Trump’s political importance extends beyond his time in office. The “Make America Great Again,” or MAGA, movement became a dominant force in Republican politics during the late 2010s and 2020s. Supporters embraced his attacks on established institutions, emphasis on immigration and trade, and promise to place American interests first. Critics associated his leadership with intensified division, xenophobia, weakened protections, norm-breaking, and political disorder. [S1] [S2]

His modern record combines developments rarely found in one American political career: two impeachments and two Senate acquittals, efforts to reverse an election defeat, a violent attack on the Capitol by supporters after one of his rallies, multiple criminal indictments, the first criminal conviction of a former president, and a subsequent return to the presidency. [S2] [S6] [S7]

Family background and early life

Trump was the fourth of five children born to Frederick Christ Trump and Mary Anne MacLeod Trump. His mother was born in Scotland and immigrated to the United States in 1930; his father was a New Yorker descended from German immigrants. The family lived in Jamaica Estates, an affluent neighborhood in Queens. [S2] [S3]

Fred Trump developed housing on a large scale, particularly in Queens and Brooklyn. His company, Elizabeth Trump & Son, concentrated on properties for middle-class white families in New York City’s outer boroughs. Donald and his brothers Fred Jr. and Robert worked at company offices and construction sites when they were young; Donald and Robert later joined the business as adults. [S2] [S3]

Fred Trump’s business history included government-supported construction and official scrutiny. He used federal loan guarantees to build thousands of apartment units and wartime housing. In 1954, the Senate Banking Committee investigated allegations that he had overstated construction costs to obtain oversized government-insured loans. He acknowledged that Brooklyn’s Beach Haven complex had cost $3.7 million less than its insured loan, but he was not criminally charged. A later New York investigation resulted in his returning $1.2 million to the state. [S2]

Donald Trump’s elder brother Fred Jr. became an airline pilot and died in 1981 at age 43 after struggling with alcoholism. Trump has cited that experience as the reason he abstains from alcohol. His brother Robert died in 2020, while his sister Maryanne Trump Barry—who served as a federal district and appellate judge—died in 2023. [S2] [S3]

Trump’s parents sent him to New York Military Academy at age 13 in an effort to impose discipline after behavioral difficulties. He attended the academy from 1959 to 1964, studied at Fordham University from 1964 to 1966, and then transferred to the University of Pennsylvania. He graduated in 1968 with a bachelor’s degree in economics from the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce. [S2] [S3]

During the Vietnam War, Trump received four educational deferments and then a medical exemption based on diagnosed bone spurs. When the United States introduced a draft lottery in 1969, his birthday received number 356 out of 366, and he was not called into military service. His time at the military academy therefore did not lead to service in the armed forces. [S2] [S3]

Building a real-estate identity

Trump began investing in Philadelphia real estate while in college and entered his father’s company full-time after graduating in 1968. He initially helped manage a rental-housing portfolio estimated at between 10,000 and 22,000 units. Sources differ slightly in describing his formal assumption of control: the White House Historical Association says he took over and renamed the company in 1971, while Britannica says he became president of the family conglomerate in 1974 and later named it the Trump Organization. The accounts agree that he moved into leadership during the early 1970s. [S2] [S3] [S7]

The business soon faced allegations of racial discrimination. In 1973, the U.S. Justice Department accused the Trump company of discriminating against prospective African American tenants. The company did not admit wrongdoing but settled and agreed to make more apartments available to Black renters. Trump-owned developments had also faced discrimination complaints during the 1960s and early 1970s. [S2] [S3]

Trump sought to move beyond his father’s emphasis on outer-borough housing and establish himself in Manhattan. His first major step came in 1976 with a plan to redevelop the bankrupt Commodore Hotel site as the Grand Hyatt. Although the Trump Organization lacked sufficient funds to buy the property outright, Trump drew on his relationship with Hyatt and his father’s political influence to secure an unusual public-private arrangement, including a 40-year New York City property-tax abatement. Initially valued at about $4 million annually, the abatement’s total value reached approximately $400 million over its life. [S3]

During the 1980s, Trump established a conspicuous luxury brand. His projects included the 36-story Trump Plaza cooperative and Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, which combined luxury retail, his residence, and company headquarters. He also expanded into Atlantic City casinos through Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, Trump Castle, and the nearly $1 billion Trump Taj Mahal. [S3]

The brand eventually spread across buildings, casinos, airlines, educational ventures, food products, golf courses, hotels, resorts, and residential and commercial properties. Trump’s name itself became a central commercial asset, even as his companies were repeatedly involved in lawsuits and financial distress. [S2] [S7]

Debt, bankruptcy, and recovery

Trump’s rapid expansion depended heavily on borrowed money. By 1990, the financial pressure was so severe that Fred Trump bought more than $3 million in chips at Trump Castle, allowing the casino to make an interest payment. New Jersey authorities later treated the transaction as an illegal loan and imposed a $65,000 fine. The Trump Taj Mahal filed for bankruptcy in 1991, followed by the Trump Plaza Hotel in 1992. [S3]

Trump subsequently used bankruptcy protection to restructure the obligations of companies within the Trump Organization. Although this allowed debt payments to continue, the reorganizations also left him accumulating more debt at higher interest rates. An economic downturn forced him to surrender partial control of some properties to creditors, but his fortunes improved during the 1990s, after which he pursued further projects in New York and internationally. [S3] [S6]

These episodes complicate simple descriptions of Trump as either a uniquely successful magnate or merely a failed businessman. The supplied evidence shows both large, high-profile developments and repeated dependence on leverage, creditor negotiations, family assistance, public tax concessions, and corporate bankruptcy law. [S3] [S6]

Books, television, and celebrity politics

Trump published The Art of the Deal, the first of his many books, in 1987. In 2004, he became the host of the reality-television competition The Apprentice, where he popularized the dismissal phrase “You’re fired.” The program was reworked as The Celebrity Apprentice in 2008. Television transformed an already prominent New York developer into a nationally recognizable symbol of executive wealth and authority. [S6] [S7]

His transition into politics therefore rested on decades of public image-making. Trump leveraged his name, perceived wealth, television fame, and confrontational persona when seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. His enduring style has been characterized by the supplied sources as brash, brazen, pugnacious, bombastic, and unapologetic. [S1] [S2]

The 2016 campaign and first election victory

Trump secured the Republican nomination in July 2016 with Indiana governor Mike Pence as his running mate. Campaigning under “Make America Great Again,” he defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton on November 8, 2016. His victory represented an extraordinary passage from celebrity business and reality television to the presidency. [S1] [S6] [S7]

A key part of Trump’s political method was direct communication through social media, especially Twitter. He used the platform to broadcast priorities, opinions, and attacks without relying on traditional political or journalistic intermediaries. This contributed to what one supplied source calls “Twitter diplomacy” and reinforced the unconventional character of his presidency. [S1] [S7]

First presidency: domestic policy

During his first term, Trump signed major tax-reform legislation and pursued reductions in federal regulation. His administration adopted aggressive immigration and border-control measures and began constructing a security wall along the southern border. Other stated priorities included criminal-justice reform, lower prescription-drug prices, and increased military funding. [S6] [S7]

Trump also reshaped the federal judiciary. Three of his nominees were confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, and his administration secured more than 200 federal judicial appointments. These appointments gave his first term institutional consequences extending well beyond its four-year duration. [S6] [S7]

His trade program was protectionist. The administration imposed tariffs on steel, aluminum, and other products and renegotiated trade arrangements with Mexico, Canada, China, Japan, and South Korea. These policies embodied the economic side of his “America First” agenda. [S1] [S7]

Foreign policy

Trump moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and helped broker normalization agreements between Israel and several other countries. In 2018, he met Kim Jong Un, becoming the first sitting American president to meet a North Korean leader. [S7]

More broadly, Trump’s foreign-policy identity was associated with nationalism, protectionism, direct leader-to-leader engagement, and skepticism toward inherited international arrangements. Britannica reports that after returning to office in 2025, he moved quickly to alter international trade and America’s global posture while generating disputes involving Canada, Venezuela, Greenland, and Iran. [S2]

First impeachment

In 2019, the House of Representatives impeached Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The controversy concerned allegations that he withheld aid to Ukraine to pressure its government to investigate Joe Biden, then a political rival. The Senate acquitted Trump on both charges. [S6] [S7]

This impeachment was historically significant but did not remove him from office. It also foreshadowed the recurring pattern of Trump testing legal and institutional boundaries while retaining strong partisan support. [S2] [S6]

COVID-19 and the 2020 election

The first confirmed U.S. COVID-19 case was reported on January 20, 2020, and the pandemic dominated the remainder of Trump’s first term. Critics argued that his response was delayed and that he did not adequately promote public-health practices. At the same time, his administration’s Operation Warp Speed supported private-sector development of two approved vaccines. [S6] [S7]

Trump lost the 2020 election to former vice president Joe Biden. He then advanced unfounded claims that widespread voter fraud had changed the result and attempted to overturn the outcome. The electoral count was nevertheless ultimately certified. [S6] [S7]

January 6 and the second impeachment

On January 6, 2021, Trump supporters gathered in Washington for a “Save America” rally and later overwhelmed law enforcement, breached the U.S. Capitol, and interrupted Congress’s count of electoral votes. A bipartisan Senate report cited by the White House Historical Association concluded that seven people, including three law-enforcement officers, ultimately died and that the Capitol complex sustained millions of dollars in damage. [S6] [S7]

Trump was widely accused of encouraging the attack. On January 13, the House impeached him for “incitement of insurrection,” making him the first U.S. president impeached twice. The Senate again acquitted him, leaving Trump as the only president impeached and acquitted twice by Congress. His first term ended on January 20, 2021. [S6] [S7]

Legal cases after the presidency

In March 2023, Trump became the first serving or former U.S. president charged with a crime; three additional criminal indictments followed. Separate civil proceedings produced findings against him: a jury found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation in May 2023, and in early 2024 he was found liable in a business-fraud case and another defamation case. [S6]

In May 2024, a jury convicted Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, making him the first former president convicted of a crime. In January 2025, the judge imposed an unconditional discharge, meaning Trump received no imprisonment, probation, or fine. [S2] [S6]

Trump continued campaigning while his trials proceeded. On July 13, 2024, he was injured in an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. Soon afterward, he was formally nominated as the Republican presidential candidate. [S6]

Return to the White House

Trump had announced his new candidacy in November 2022. By early 2024, victories in numerous Republican primaries gave him enough delegates to secure the nomination. His campaign emphasized immigration and tax changes, tariffs intended to promote American manufacturing, and reductions in federal regulation and government agencies. [S6] [S7]

In November 2024, Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris. He won 312 electoral votes and a plurality of the popular vote, becoming the first president since Grover Cleveland—and the second in U.S. history—to win nonconsecutive terms. He consequently became the country’s 45th and 47th president. [S2] [S6] [S7]

The result demonstrated Trump’s unusual political durability. He regained the presidency despite two impeachments, the January 6 aftermath, civil judgments, four criminal indictments, and a felony conviction. Britannica characterizes this resilience, together with his MAGA movement, as central to his standing as one of the early 21st century’s most consequential political leaders. [S2] [S6]

Political style and defining traits

Trump’s public method combines confrontation, repetition, direct communication, personal branding, and an insistence on loyalty. He presents politics as a struggle between his supporters and hostile institutions or elites, helping make MAGA a strongly tribal political identity. His disregard for many established conventions has enabled rapid agenda-setting while also producing persistent conflict and institutional stress. [S1] [S2] [S7]

His supporters have viewed his boundary-pushing as a response to institutions that no longer represent them. Critics argue that the same behavior has amplified division, encouraged xenophobia, eroded protections, and contributed to political chaos. These rival interpretations help explain why Trump can simultaneously command an intensely devoted constituency and remain profoundly polarizing. [S1] [S2]

Family and personal relationships

Trump married Ivana Zelníčková Winklmayr in 1977; they divorced in 1992. He married Marla Maples in 1993, and that marriage ended in divorce in 1999. He married Melania Knauss in 2005. Trump has five children: Donald Jr., Ivanka, Eric, Tiffany, and Barron. Donald Jr. and Ivanka played important roles during his first presidency. [S6] [S7]

Historical assessment and legacy

In C-SPAN’s 2021 survey of presidential historians, Trump received an overall score of 312 and ranked 41st among 44 presidents assessed. He placed above Franklin Pierce, Andrew Johnson, and James Buchanan, with Pierce receiving the same numerical score but ranking one position lower. This survey evaluated only Trump’s first term and therefore cannot measure his complete presidency or eventual historical standing. [S5]

Trump’s broader legacy is already visible in the Republican Party’s transformation around MAGA, the normalization of candidate-to-voter communication through social media, a more protectionist trade outlook, stricter immigration politics, and a federal judiciary reshaped by his appointments. His elections also showed that scandal, impeachment, civil liability, and even criminal conviction did not prevent a major-party candidate from returning to national power. [S2] [S6] [S7]

Any definitive assessment must hold two realities together. Trump achieved an exceptional political comeback and generated enduring policy and institutional consequences; he also left a record inseparable from election denial, January 6, two impeachments, legal judgments, criminal conviction, and extreme partisan division. The combination—not either side alone—explains his status as a defining and controversial figure in modern American history. [S1] [S2] [S6] [S7]

Concise FAQ

When and where was Donald Trump born?

He was born on June 14, 1946, in New York City and grew up in Jamaica Estates in Queens. [S2] [S3]

How did he enter business?

Trump worked in his father Fred Trump’s real-estate operation, joined it full-time after graduating in 1968, and moved into leadership during the early 1970s. He later expanded its activities into Manhattan luxury properties, casinos, resorts, golf courses, and international projects. [S2] [S3] [S7]

How did he become nationally famous before politics?

His conspicuous real-estate branding and books made him a public figure, but The Apprentice, launched in 2004, brought him broad television recognition and popularized his “You’re fired” persona. [S6] [S7]

What were the central features of his first presidency?

They included tax reform, deregulation, restrictive immigration policies, protectionist tariffs, border-wall construction, three Supreme Court appointments, more than 200 other judicial appointments, direct social-media communication, and an “America First” foreign-policy posture. [S1] [S6] [S7]

Why was Trump impeached twice?

The House first impeached him in 2019 for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in the Ukraine affair. It impeached him again in January 2021 for incitement of insurrection following the Capitol attack. The Senate acquitted him both times. [S6] [S7]

Was Trump criminally convicted?

Yes. In May 2024, a jury convicted him of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He received an unconditional discharge in January 2025, carrying no prison term, probation, or fine. [S6]

What made his 2024 victory historically unusual?

Trump returned after losing reelection in 2020 and became only the second U.S. president, after Grover Cleveland, elected to nonconsecutive terms. He is therefore identified as both the 45th and 47th president. [S2] [S6] [S7]