According to Wikipedia, Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, businessman, and media personality who serves as the 47th president of the United States and previously served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Trump graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968 with a bachelor’s degree in economics.
Trump’s Real Estate and Media Ventures
Business and Media Career
In 1971, Trump became the president of his family’s real estate business, which he renamed the Trump Organization. According to Wikipedia, his business activities included building golf courses, casinos, hotels, and skyscrapers, as well as licensing the Trump name for various side ventures. He filed for six business bankruptcies during the 1990s and 2000s. Additionally, he hosted the reality television show The Apprentice from 2004 to 2015. The Trump Organization’s financial management and property valuations were later the subject of investigations by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
First Term Policy and Executive Actions
First Presidency
Trump won the 2016 presidential election against the Democratic Party nominee, Hillary Clinton.
- Imposed a travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries.
- Expanded the Mexico–United States border wall.
- Enforced a family separation policy on the border.
- Signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
- Appointed three Supreme Court justices.
- Rolled back business and environmental regulations.
- Started a trade war with China and withdrew the U.S. from trade and climate agreements.
The travel ban, enacted via Executive Order 13769, targeted citizens from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen; the administration’s legal defense of this order was upheld by the Supreme Court in the case Trump v. Hawaii. During his term, Trump appointed Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. The trade war, initiated through U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) investigations into Chinese intellectual property practices, resulted in a series of retaliatory tariffs from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, which targeted American agricultural exports.
In response to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Wikipedia states that Trump signed the CARES Act, though he downplayed the severity of the pandemic and contradicted health officials. The administration’s public health messaging frequently diverged from the clinical guidance provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Anthony Fauci, then director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, provided regular briefings that offered different assessments of viral transmission and treatment efficacy than those presented by the White House.
Impeachments and Criminal Legal Challenges
Legal Challenges and Impeachments
After losing the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden, Trump refused to concede and attempted to overturn the results, an effort that Wikipedia notes culminated in the January 6 Capitol attack in 2021. He was impeached twice: in 2019 for obstruction of Congress and abuse of power, and in 2021 for incitement of insurrection. The 2019 impeachment was led by the House of Representatives following an investigation by the House Judiciary Committee. The 2021 impeachment followed the events of the January 6 attack, with the House charging Trump with incitement of insurrection. He was acquitted by the Senate on both occasions.
Regarding civil and criminal law, Wikipedia reports that in 2023, Trump was found liable in New York state civil cases for defamation, sexual abuse, and business fraud. In the civil fraud case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, Judge Arthur Engoron found that Trump and his executives had inflated asset values to obtain favorable loan terms. Trump was also found liable for the sexual abuse and defamation of writer E. Jean Carroll in separate civil proceedings. In May 2024, he was found guilty in a New York state court on 34 counts of falsifying business records, making him the first U.S. president to be convicted of a felony. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg presented evidence that the falsification of records was intended to conceal information from voters during the 2016 election cycle.
The 2024 Election and Second Presidency
2024 Election and Second Presidency
Following his victory in the 2024 presidential election against Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump was given a no-penalty sentence. Two federal felony indictments involving the obstruction of the 2020 election and the retention of classified documents were dismissed without prejudice. The dismissal of these federal cases was ordered by Judge Aileen Cannon, who ruled that the appointment of Special Counsel Jack Smith violated the Appointments Clause of the Constitution.
Beginning his second presidency in 2025, Trump has initiated mass layoffs of federal workers and signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. According to Wikipedia, he has also imposed tariffs on nearly all countries at the highest level since the Great Depression. The implementation of these tariffs has prompted formal complaints from the European Commission and has been scrutinized by the World Trade Organization (WTO) regarding its impact on global trade stability. His administration’s actions—including the use of extensive executive orders, the restriction of transgender rights, the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, and the targeting of civil society and political opponents—have drawn more than 550 lawsuits challenging their legality. The mass deportation orders, directed through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), have been met with litigation from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and coalitions of state Attorneys General, who allege the administration’s use of executive orders to conduct deportations exceeds statutory authority.
