Donald Trump is undeniably a successful and interesting man. He has done a variety of things in his life, including owning a large real estate company, hosting a television show and authoring several books.
He is now running for the Republican nomination for president of the United States. He maintains significant leads in many polls, which makes his nomination a very possible reality. Many of us have heard of him, but few actually know his story and how he has come to be.
Donald John Trump was born June 14, 1946, in Queens, New York, to Fred Trump and Mary Anne Macleod, the fourth of five children. He was sent to a military academy at age 13 due to his assertive and energetic demeanor as a child. While at the military academy, he became a star athlete in multiple sports.
After the academy, Trump went to Fordham University for a short stint before moving to the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1968. Shortly after in 1977, Trump married Czechoslavkian model and athlete Ivana Winklmayr, whom he would have three children before divorce.
Trump’s father, Fred Trump, was a real estate developer who owned his own real estate company named Elizabeth Trump & Son. The young Donald worked for his father’s company while in college and joined the company full-time after graduation.
In 1971, Donald was given control of the company and renamed it the Trump Organization. Shortly after obtaining control of his father’s company, he moved to Manhattan, where he would make several smart property purchases and spearhead several large construction and renovation projects, including the renovation of the Commodore Hotel into what is now the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City. He continued to purchase several additional properties, including the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the world’s largest hotel and casino.
The 2016 presidential election cycle is not the first time Trump has considering throwing his name into the hat for the presidential race. In 2000, he formed an exploratory committee to seek the Reform Party’s nomination. However, he was quickly dismissed after having poor results during the California primary, leading to his withdrawal from the race.
Trump would not toy with the idea of running for president again for another 12 years. In 2012, he announced that he was again considering running for president but ultimately decided not to run. The decision has been considered to have been a result to his connection with the Birther Movement, which discredited President Barack Obama’s birth certificate and claimed he was born outside of the United States. His association with the Birther Movement made him appear less appealing as a candidate.
On June 16, 2015, Trump announced that he would seek the Republican nomination for president of the United States. He joined a very crowded field, currently standing at 14, but has maintained significant leads in nearly every major poll since he has announced. His campaign has been the source of much, if not the most, controversy and debate, including his plan to deport all illegal immigrants currently residing in the United States.
Another defining attribute in Trump’s campaign is his call to build a wall on the border of the United States and Mexico.
Trump has been a remarkably outspoken candidate on the campaign trail. His straightforward attitude and high degree of self-confidence makes him resonate well with voters. Despite all of his controversial statements and policies, his poll numbers remain strong making him somewhat of a political anomaly. He undoubtedly is making the 2016 presidential race interesting and, based on his continually high poll numbers and media attention, looks like he is here to stay.
