Donald Trump

From 1996 to 2015, Trump owned part of or all the pageants, including and . Due to disagreements with about scheduling, he took both pageants to for his work as producer of Miss Universe. talent agency.[181]

Trump University

In 2004, Trump co-founded a company called that sold real estate training courses priced at between $1,500 and $35,000.

In 2013, the State of New York filed a $40 million civil suit against Trump University; the suit alleged that the company made false statements and defrauded consumers. In addition, two class-action civil lawsuits were filed in federal court; they named Trump personally as well as his companies. Internal documents revealed that employees were instructed to use a hard-sell approach, and former employees said in depositions that Trump University had defrauded or lied to its students.

Foundation

The Donald J. Trump Foundation was a U.S.-based private foundation

The foundation's tax returns show that it has given to health care and sports-related charities, as well as conservative groups. ($100,000), the ($125,000), the ($156,000), and the ($100,000). From 2004 to 2014, the top donors to the foundation were Vince and Linda McMahon of , who donated $5 million to the foundation after Trump appeared at in 2007.[196]

In 2016, The Washington Post reported that the charity had committed several potential legal and ethical violations, including alleged self-dealing and possible tax evasion. A Trump spokesman called the Attorney General's investigation a "partisan hit job". According to an IRS filing in November 2017, the foundation intended to shut down and distribute its assets (about $970,000) to other charities. However, the New York Attorney General's office had to complete their ongoing investigation before the foundation could legally shut down, The suit names Trump himself as well as his adult children Donald Jr., Eric, and Ivanka.[207]

In December 2018, the foundation agreed to cease operation and disburse all its assets. Attorney General , who oversaw the investigation and lawsuit, said the investigation uncovered a "shocking pattern of illegality". Months later, a New York state judge ordered Trump to pay $2 million to a group of charities for "breaching his fiduciary duty to properly oversee the foundation that bears his name". The Foundation characterized the penalty as a "contribution", stating it was "pleased to donate an additional $2 million" to "worthy organizations". Trump acknowledged that a January 2016 fundraiser for veterans he organized had actually been a campaign event and the $2.8 million in raised funds were placed under the full control of his campaign.

Conflicts of interest

Before being inaugurated as president, Trump moved his businesses into a run by his eldest sons and a business associate. According to ethics experts, as long as Trump continues to profit from his businesses, the measures taken by Trump do not help to avoid conflicts of interest. While Trump said his organization would eschew "new foreign deals", the Trump Organization has since pursued expansions of its operations in Dubai, Scotland, and the Dominican Republic.[214]

Multiple lawsuits have been filed alleging that Trump is violating the of the , which forbids presidents from taking money from foreign governments, due to his business interests; they argue that these interests allow foreign governments to influence him. Previous presidents in the modern era have either divested their holdings or put them in blind trusts, According to The Guardian, "NBC News recently calculated that representatives of at least 22 foreign governments – including some facing charges of corruption or human rights abuses such as Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Turkey and the Philippines – seem to have spent funds at Trump properties while he has been president."

In 2015, Trump said he "makes a lot of money with" the and that "they pay me millions and hundreds of millions."

In December 2015, Trump said in a radio interview that he had a "conflict of interest" in dealing with and Turkish president because of his , saying "I have a little conflict of interest because I have a major, major building in Istanbul and it's a tremendously successful job ... It's called Trump Towers – two towers instead of one ... I've gotten to know Turkey very well".

Books

Trump's first book, (1987), topped the for 13 weeks, and remained on the list for 48 weeks., "The book expanded Trump's renown far beyond New York City, promoting an image of himself as a successful dealmaker and tycoon.", who is credited as co-author, later said he did all the writing, a claim backed by , then-head of , the book's publisher.[222]

Two further memoirs were published in 1990 and 1997. Writings credited to Trump then shifted to financial tips and political opinion.[223]

WWE

Trump has had a sporadic relationship with promotion since the late 1980s; in 1988 and 1989, and Convention Hall, were billed as taking place at the nearby . in 2007..[227]

, the CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, and his wife  – who later served under Trump as the  – donated toward his endeavors, including a total of $5 million to the after WWE performances in 2007 and 2009, and $6 million to his presidential campaign in 2016.[226]

The Apprentice

In 2003, Trump became the co-producer and host of The Apprentice, a in which contestants competed for a one-year management job with the Trump Organization, and Trump weeded out applicants with the "You're fired"., in which celebrities competed to win money for charities. Despite this, NBC planned a fifteenth season,

Acting

Trump has made in twelve films and 14 television series and performed a song as a character with at the in 2005. Trump receives a pension as a member of the .

Talk shows

Starting in the 1990s, Trump was a guest about 24 times on the nationally syndicated . He also had his own short-form talk radio program called (one to two minutes on weekdays) from 2004 to 2008. that continued until he started his presidential candidacy in 2015.

Political activities up to 2015

Trump's political party affiliation has changed numerous times. He registered as a Republican in Manhattan in 1987, switched to the Reform Party in 1999, the Democratic Party in 2001, and back to the Republican Party in 2009.

In 1987, Trump spent $94,801 (equivalent to $213,344 in 2019) to place full-page advertisements in three major newspapers, proclaiming "America should stop paying to defend countries that can afford to defend themselves."". (Democrat from Massachusetts), of Texas, and Arkansas congressman to host a fundraising dinner for Democratic congressional candidates and to switch parties. Anthony told The New York Times that "the message Trump has been preaching is a Democratic message." Asked whether the rumors were true, Trump denied being a candidate, but said, "I believe that if I did run for President, I'd win." poll in December 1988, Trump was the tenth most admired man in America.

2000 presidential campaign

In 1999, Trump filed an to seek the nomination of the for the 2000 presidential election. A July 1999 poll matching him against likely Republican nominee and likely Democratic nominee showed Trump with seven percent support., , and . In 2008, he endorsed Republican for president.[260]

2012 presidential speculation

Trump publicly speculated about running for president in , and made his first speaking appearance at the (CPAC) in February 2011. The speech is credited for helping kick-start his political career within the Republican Party.[261]
On May 16, 2011, Trump announced he would not run for president in the 2012 election. for president.[263]

Trump's presidential ambitions were generally not taken seriously at the time. Before the 2016 election, The New York Times speculated that Trump "accelerated his ferocious efforts to gain stature within the political world" after Obama lampooned him at the Dinner in April 2011.[267]

In 2011, according to Evan Jones, the headmaster of the New York Military Academy at the time, the then-superintendent Jeffrey Coverdale had demanded Trump's academic records, to hand them over to "prominent, wealthy alumni of the school who were Mr. Trump's friends" at their request. Coverdale said he had refused to hand over Trump's records to trustees of the school, and instead sealed Trump's records on campus. Jones said: "It was the only time in my education career that I ever heard of someone's record being removed," while Coverdale further said: "It's the only time I ever moved an alumnus's records." The incident reportedly happened days after Trump demanded President Barack Obama's academic records.[268]

2013–2015

In 2013, Trump spoke at CPAC again;

In October 2013, New York Republicans circulated a memo suggesting Trump should run for governor of the state in 2014 against . Trump responded that while New York had problems and its taxes were too high, he was not interested in the governorship.

2016 presidential campaign

Republican primaries

On June 16, 2015, Trump announced his candidacy for President of the United States at Trump Tower in Manhattan. In the speech, Trump discussed , of American jobs, the , and , which all remained large priorities during the campaign. He also announced his campaign slogan: "". Trump said his wealth would make him immune to pressure from campaign donors. but according to The Atlantic, "Trump's claims of self-funding have always been dubious at best and actively misleading at worst."[279]

In the primaries, Trump was one of seventeen candidates for the 2016 Republican nomination. This was the largest presidential field in American history.

On , Trump received the most votes, and he remained the front-runner throughout the primaries. By March 2016, Trump was poised to win the Republican nomination. on May 3, 2016 – which prompted the remaining candidates Cruz and to suspend their presidential campaigns – chairman declared Trump the presumptive Republican nominee.[283]

General election campaign

After becoming the presumptive Republican nominee, Trump shifted his focus to the . Trump began campaigning against Hillary Clinton, who became the presumptive Democratic nominee on June 6, 2016.

Clinton had established a significant lead over Trump in throughout most of 2016. In early July, Clinton's lead narrowed in national polling averages following the FBI's re-opening of its investigation into her ongoing .[286]

On July 15, 2016, Trump announced his selection of Indiana governor as his running mate. The list of convention speakers and attendees included former presidential nominee , but the other prior nominees did not attend.

On September 26, 2016, Trump and Clinton faced off in , which was held at in . was held at in Saint Louis, Missouri. The beginning of that debate was dominated by references to a recently leaked tape of , which Trump countered by referring to alleged sexual misconduct on the part of Bill Clinton. Prior to the debate, Trump had invited four women who had accused Bill Clinton of impropriety to a press conference. The was held on October 19 at the . Trump's refusal to say whether he would accept the result of the election, regardless of the outcome, drew particular attention, with some saying it undermined democracy.

Political positions

Trump's campaign platform emphasized renegotiating and free trade agreements such as and the , strongly enforcing immigration laws, and building along the U.S.–Mexico border. His other campaign positions included pursuing while opposing climate change regulations such as the and the , modernizing and expediting , repealing and replacing the , abolishing education standards, , simplifying the while reducing taxes for all economic classes, and imposing on imports by companies that offshore jobs. During the campaign, he also advocated a largely approach to foreign policy while increasing military spending, extreme vetting or banning immigrants from Muslim-majority countries. During the campaign Trump repeatedly called "obsolete".

His political positions have been described as , consistent with Republican Party policies, along with significant infrastructure investment,, Trump may be a "fairly conventional American populist when it comes to his policy views", but he attracts , sometimes by making outrageous comments.[304]

Trump has supported or leaned toward varying political positions over time. has described his positions as "eclectic, improvisational and often contradictory",

Campaign rhetoric

In his campaign, Trump said he disdained ; he also said the media had intentionally misinterpreted his words, and he made other claims of adverse . during his run for the presidency, which elevated his standing in the Republican primaries.[313]

Fact-checking organizations have denounced Trump for making a record number of false statements compared to other candidates. – have pointed out lies or falsehoods in his campaign statements, with the Los Angeles Times saying that "Never in modern presidential politics has a major candidate made false statements as routinely as Trump has". said Trump's campaign statements were often opaque or suggestive.[318]