Donald Trump Info

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Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is the 45th and current President of the United States. Before entering politics he was a businessman and television personality.

Trump was born and raised in Queens, New York City, and earned an economics degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He then took charge of The Trump Organization, the real estate and construction firm founded by his paternal grandmother, which he ran for four and a half decades until 2017. During his real estate career, Trump has built, renovated, and managed numerous office towers, hotels, casinos, and golf courses. Besides real estate, he started several side ventures and has licensed the use of his name for the branding of various products and properties. He owned the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants from 1996 to 2015, and he hosted The Apprentice, a reality television series on NBC, from 2004 to 2015. His calculated net worth as of 2017 is $3.5 billion, making him the 544th richest person in the world.

Trump first publicly expressed interest in running for political office in 1987. He won two Reform Party presidential primaries in 2000, but withdrew his candidacy early on. In June 2015, he launched his campaign for the 2016 presidential election and quickly emerged as the front-runner among 17 candidates in the Republican primaries. His final opponents suspended their campaigns in May 2016, and in July he was formally nominated at the Republican National Convention along with Indiana governor Mike Pence as his running mate. Many of his campaign statements were controversial or false, generating much free media coverage.

Trump won the general election on November 8, 2016, in a surprise victory against Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. He became the oldest and wealthiest person to assume the presidency, the first without prior military or government service, and the fifth elected with less than a plurality of the national popular vote. His political positions have been described by scholars and commentators as populist, protectionist, and nationalist.

Contents [hide]
1 Early life
1.1 Ancestry
1.2 Education
2 Real estate business
2.1 Early Manhattan developments
2.2 Palm Beach estate
2.3 Atlantic City casinos
2.4 Legal affairs
2.5 Further New York buildings
2.6 Hotels beyond New York
2.7 Golf courses
2.8 Wealth
3 Side ventures
3.1 Sports events
3.2 Beauty pageants
3.3 Model management
3.4 Trump University
3.5 Branding and licensing
3.6 Foundation
4 Media career
4.1 The Apprentice
4.2 Professional wrestling
5 Political career up to 2015
5.1 Early involvement in politics
5.2 2000 presidential campaign
5.3 Political affiliations
6 2016 presidential campaign
6.1 State primaries
6.2 General election campaign
6.3 Presidential debates
6.4 Political positions
6.5 Foreign interference in election
6.6 Sexual misconduct allegations
6.7 Election to the presidency
6.8 Protests
7 Presidency
7.1 Transition
7.2 First 100 days
7.3 Domestic policy
7.4 Foreign policy
7.5 Indications of 2020 presidential campaign
8 Electoral history
9 Personal life
9.1 Family
9.2 Religion
9.3 Health
10 Awards, honors, and distinctions
11 See also
12 Notes
13 References
14 Bibliography
15 External links
Early life
Trump was born on June 14, 1946 at the Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, Queens, New York City. He was the fourth of five children born to Frederick Christ "Fred" Trump (1905–1999) and Mary Anne Trump (née MacLeod, 1912–2000).[2][3] His siblings are Maryanne (born 1937), Fred Jr. (1938–1981), Elizabeth (born 1942), and Robert (born 1948).

Ancestry
Further information: Trump family
Trump's ancestors originated from the village of Kallstadt, Palatinate, Germany on his father's side, and from the Outer Hebrides isles of Scotland on his mother's side. All his grandparents, and his mother, were born in Europe. His mother's grandfather was also christened "Donald".[4]

His paternal grandfather, Friedrich Trump, first emigrated to the United States in 1885 (aged 16), became a citizen in 1892, and amassed a fortune operating boom-town restaurants and boarding houses in the Seattle area and the Klondike region of Canada, during the gold rush.[5] On a visit to his home village, he met Elisabeth Christ and married her in 1902. After two years in New York City, the couple returned to Kallstadt but were ordered to leave in 1905 because the authorities said Friedrich had missed military service, so they settled in New York definitively.[6][7][8] He died from the flu pandemic of 1918 and Elizabeth incorporated the family real estate business, Elizabeth Trump and Son, which would later become The Trump Organization.

Trump's father Fred was born in the Bronx, and worked with his mother since he was 15 as a real estate developer, primarily in the New York boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn. He eventually built and sold thousands of houses, barracks and apartments.[8][9] Trump's mother Mary Anne emigrated in 1930 (aged 18) from her birthplace of Tong, Lewis, Scotland to New York, where she worked as a maid.[10] Fred and Mary were married in 1936 and raised their family in Queens.[10][11] Elizabeth's other son, John, became a physicist and inventor.[12]

Education
A black-and-white photograph of Donald Trump as a teenager, smiling and wearing a dark uniform with various badges and a light-colored stripe crossing his right shoulder. This image was taken while Trump was in the New York Military Academy in 1964.
Trump at New York Military Academy, 1964[13][14]
Trump grew up in the Jamaica Estates neighborhood of Queens, New York. He attended the Kew-Forest School from kindergarten through seventh grade,[15] riding the subway to school.[16] By age 13, Trump's rambunctious behavior prompted his parents to enroll him at the New York Military Academy, a boarding school in Cornwall, New York. “I was a wise guy, and they wanted to get me in line,” Trump said. “Thinking back, it was a very positive influence.”[15]

In August 1964, Trump entered Fordham University in the Bronx. After two years at Fordham, he transferred to the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, because it offered one of the few real estate studies departments in United States academia at the time.[17][18]

In addition to his father, other role models whom he sought to emulate included the Manhattan developer William Zeckendorf.[19][20][21] While at Wharton, he worked at the family's company, Elizabeth Trump & Son, named for his paternal grandmother.[22] He graduated from Penn in May 1968 with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics.[18][23][24]

Trump was not drafted during the Vietnam War.[25] While in college from 1964 to 1968, he obtained four student deferments.[26] In 1966, he was deemed fit for service based upon a military medical examination, and in 1968 was briefly classified as fit by a local draft board, but was given a 1-Y medical deferment in October 1968.[27] He attributed his medical deferment to heel spurs.[28] In 1969, he received a high number in the draft lottery, which made him unlikely to be called.[27][29][30]

Real estate business

Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan

Central Park's Wollman Rink, which was renovated by Trump
Main article: Business career of Donald Trump § Real estate
While a student at the University of Pennsylvania, Trump began his real estate career at his father's company,[31] Elizabeth Trump and Son.[32] The company focused on middle-class rental housing in the New York City boroughs outside Manhattan, but also had business elsewhere. For example, during his undergraduate study, Trump and his father Fred successfully revitalized the foreclosed Swifton Village apartment complex in Cincinnati, Ohio boosting the occupancy rate from 66 to 100.[33]

After being promoted to president of the company in the early 1970s (while his father became chairman of the board), he renamed it to The Trump Organization.[34][35] In 1973, he and his father drew wider attention when the Justice Department contended that the organization systematically discriminated against African Americans wishing to rent apartments, rather than merely screening out people based on low income as the Trumps stated. An agreement was later signed in which the Trumps made no admission of wrongdoing, and under which qualified minority applicants would be presented by the Urban League.[36][37] His adviser, publicist, and attorney during (and after) that period was Roy Cohn, who responded to attacks by counterattacking with maximum force, a tactic that Trump appreciated.[38]

Early Manhattan developments
In 1978, Trump consummated his first major real estate deal in Manhattan, purchasing a half-share in the decrepit Commodore Hotel, largely funded by a $70 million construction loan jointly guaranteed by Fred Trump and the Hyatt hotel chain. After remodeling, the hotel reopened as the Grand Hyatt Hotel, located next to Grand Central Terminal.[39][40]

Also in 1978, Trump finished negotiations to develop Trump Tower, a 58-story, 202-meter (663-foot) skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, which The New York Times attributed to his "persistence" and "skills as a negotiator."[41] The building was completed in 1983, and houses both the primary penthouse condominium residence of Trump and the headquarters of The Trump Organization.[42][43] Trump Tower was the setting of the NBC television show The Apprentice, and includes a fully functional television studio set.[44]

Repairs on the Wollman Rink (originally opened in 1949 in Central Park) were started in 1980 by a general contractor unconnected to Trump. Despite an expected ?2 1?2-year construction schedule, the repairs were not completed by 1986. Trump took over the project, completed it in three months for $750,000 less than the initial budget of $1.95 million, and operated the rink for one year with all profits going to charity in exchange for the rink's concession rights.[45]

Trump acquired the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan in 1988 for $400 million, and asked his then-wife Ivana to manage its operation and renovation.[46] The hotel was built in 1907, and Trump called it "the ultimate work of art." According to hotel expert Thomas McConnell, the Trumps boosted it from a three-star to a four-star ranking, and sold it in 1995, by which time Ivana was no longer involved.[47]

Palm Beach estate

The Mar-a-Lago residence, which Trump owns
Main article: Mar-a-Lago
Trump acquired the historic Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, in 1985 for $5 million, plus $3 million for the home's furnishings. It was built from 1924 to 1927 by heiress and socialite Marjorie Merriweather Post, who envisioned the house as a future winter retreat for American presidents.

In addition to using the home for this purpose, Trump also turned it into a private club with membership fees of $150,000. Soon thereafter, he acquired a condominium complex in Palm Beach with Lee Iacocca that became Trump Plaza of the Palm Beaches.[48]

Atlantic City casinos
Harrah's at Trump Plaza opened in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1984. The hotel/casino was built by Trump with financing by Holiday Corporation,[49] and operated by the Harrah's gambling unit of Holiday Corp. Renamed simply "Trump Plaza", the casino's poor results exacerbated disagreements between Trump and Holiday Corp., which led to Trump paying $70 million in May 1986 to buy out Harrah's interest in the property.[50][51] Trump also acquired a partially completed building in Atlantic City from the Hilton Corporation for $320 million. When completed in 1985, the hotel/casino became Trump Castle. Trump's wife, Ivana, managed the property.[52]

The entrance of the Trump Taj Mahal, a casino in Atlantic City. It has motifs evocative of the Taj Mahal in India.
Entrance of the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City
Later in 1988, Trump acquired the Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City in a transaction with Merv Griffin and Resorts International.[53] The casino was opened in April 1990, and was built at a total cost of $1.1 billion, which at the time made it the most expensive casino ever built.[54][55] Financed with $675 million in junk bonds[56] at a 14 interest rate, the project entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy the following year.[57] Banks and bondholders, facing potential losses of hundreds of millions of dollars, opted to restructure the debt.

The Taj Mahal emerged from bankruptcy on October 5, 1991, with Trump ceding 50 percent ownership in the casino to the bondholders in exchange for lowered interest rates and more time to pay off the debt.[58] He also sold his financially challenged Trump Shuttle airline and his 282-foot (86 m) megayacht, the Trump Princess.[56][59][60]

The Taj Mahal was repurchased in 1996 and consolidated, along with Trump Plaza and Trump Castle, into Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts (THCR), which filed for bankruptcy in 2004 with $1.8 billion in debt, filing again for bankruptcy five years later with $50 million in assets and $500 million in debt. The restructuring ultimately left Trump with 10 ownership in the Trump Taj Mahal and other Trump casino properties.[60] Trump served as chairman of the publicly-traded THCR organization, which was renamed Trump Entertainment Resorts, from mid-1995 until early 2009, and served as CEO from mid-2000 to mid-2005.[61]

During the 1990s, Trump's casino ventures faced competition from the Native-American owned Foxwoods casino in Connecticut. In 1993, Trump made controversial comments in his testimony to a Congressional committee, famously stating that the casino owners did not look like real Indians.[62][63] But despite that well-publicized quote which related to the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, Trump became a key investor who backed the Paucatuck Eastern Pequots who were seeking state recognition.[64]

Legal affairs
Main article: Legal affairs of Donald Trump
As of 2016, Trump and his businesses had been involved in more than 3,500 state and federal legal actions. Trump or one of his companies was the plaintiff in 1,900 cases and the defendant in 1,450. As plaintiff, more than half have been against gamblers at his casinos who had failed to pay off their debts. As a defendant, the most common type involved personal injury cases at his hotels. In cases where there was a clear resolution, Trump's side won 451 times and lost 38.[65][66]

Business bankruptcies
Trump has never filed for personal bankruptcy, but his hotel and casino businesses have been declared bankrupt six times between 1991 and 2009 in order to re-negotiate debt with banks and owners of stock and bonds.[67][68] Because the businesses used Chapter 11 bankruptcy, they were allowed to operate while negotiations proceeded. Trump was quoted by Newsweek in 2011 saying, "I do play with the bankruptcy laws – they're very good for me" as a tool for trimming debt.[69][70]

The six bankruptcies were the result of over-leveraged hotel and casino businesses in Atlantic City and New York: Trump Taj Mahal (1991), Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino (1992), Plaza Hotel (1992), Trump Castle Hotel and Casino (1992), Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts (2004), and Trump Entertainment Resorts (2009).[71][72][73] Trump said, "I've used the laws of this country to pare debt ... We'll have the company. We'll throw it into a chapter. We'll negotiate with the banks. We'll make a fantastic deal. You know, it's like on The Apprentice. It's not personal. It's just business."[57]

A 2016 analysis of Trump's business career by The Economist concluded that his "… performance [from 1985 to 2016] has been mediocre compared with the stock market and property in New York", noting both his successes and bankruptcies.[74] A subsequent analysis by The Washington Post concluded that "Trump is a mix of braggadocio, business failures, and real success."[75]

This is a satirical website. Don't take it Seriously. It's a joke.