PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP
G'day folks,
He's on the news every single day, and like him or hate him, he's certainly an interesting character.
New York City real estate developer and reality TV
star Donald Trump (1946- ) was elected America’s 45th president in November
2016. The billionaire businessman ran as a Republican and scored an upset
victory over his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. 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.” He is the first person ever elected to the U.S. presidency without
any previous government or military experience.
Early Life and Education
Donald John Trump, the son
of Fred, a real estate developer, and his wife, Mary, a homemaker and Scottish
immigrant, was born on June 14, 1946, in Queens, New
York. The second youngest of five children, he attended private
school in Queens before enrolling in the New York Military Academy for eighth
grade through high school. Afterward, Trump studied for two years at New York
City’s Fordham University then transferred to the University of Pennsylvania’s
Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, where he earned an undergraduate degree
in 1968. During the Vietnam
War, he received four student deferments and one medical deferment
and wasn’t drafted for military service.
Business Career
After college, Trump joined
his father’s company, 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.
Also in the 1980s, Trump opened hotel-casinos in Atlantic City, New
Jersey; acquired Manhattan’s storied Plaza Hotel; and bought the
Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida,
which he renovated and turned into a private club. Among other ventures, he
briefly owned an airline and a professional football team in the short-lived
United States Football League. In 1987, “The Art of the Deal,” Trump’s memoir
and business-advice book, was published and became a best-seller. In 1989, his
net worth was $1.5 billion, according to Forbes, and he made his first
appearance on the cover of Time magazine.
However, in the
early 1990s, following an economic downturn and slump in the real estate
market, Trump was deeply in debt and several of his casinos filed for
bankruptcy. In 1995, he reported a nearly $1 billion loss on his taxes. Trump
eventually made a financial comeback, in part with a business model that
involved licensing his name for a wide variety of ventures ranging from condominiums
to steaks and neckties. He continued to acquire and develop real estate
properties, and in 2016, when he became the first billionaire elected to the White House, his empire included office buildings,
hotels and golf courses around the world.
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 that continues to operate.
Family
In 1977, Trump married
Czech model Ivana Zelnickova, with whom he went on to have three children,
Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric. The pair divorced in 1992 and the following year
Trump wed actress Marla Maples, with whom he has a daughter, Tiffany. After
Trump’s second marriage ended in 1999, he tied the knot with Slovenian model
Melania Knauss in 2005. The couple’s son, Barron, was born in 2006.
2016 Presidential Campaign
Before winning the U.S.
presidency, Trump never held any elected or appointed government office. He had
considered a presidential bid on at least several earlier occasions prior to
the 2016 race but ultimately opted not to run. In 2011, Trump began questioning
in TV interviews whether President Barack
Obama was born in the United States. In the following years, he
harnessed rumors about Obama’s birthplace to help grow his audience on social
media and gain notice in the world of conservative politics. (The White House
released the Hawaiian-born president’s short-form birth certificate in 2008 and
his long-form birth certificate in 2011.)
In the general election, Trump ran against Democrat Hillary Clinton, the first female presidential candidate from a major political party. The race was divisive, in part due to a number of inflammatory remarks and tweets made by Trump about minorities and other groups. While some members of the Republican establishment distanced themselves from the candidate, Trump’s supporters admired his outspokenness and business success, along with the fact that he wasn’t a politician.
As the election
neared, almost all national polls predicted a victory for the Democratic
nominee. However, on November 8, 2016, in what was viewed by many people as a
stunning upset, Trump and his vice-presidential running mate, Governor Mike
Pence of Indiana, defeated Clinton and her running
mate, Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia. Trump won reliably red states as
well as important swing states including Florida and Ohio, and racked up 306 electoral votes to
his rival’s 232 votes. Clinton won the popular vote.
Clancy's comment: Mm ...
I'm ...
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