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Political career of Donald Trump

This article is part of
a series about
Donald Trump
Business and personal
45th President of the United States
Tenure
Policies
Appointments
Presidential campaigns
Impeachments
Prosecutions
Interactions involving Russia
COVID-19 pandemic

Donald Trump's signature

Seal of the President of the United States

From 2017 through 2021, Donald Trump was the 45th president of the United States; he is the only American president to have no political or military service prior to his presidency, as well as the first to be charged with a felony after leaving office. He is regarded by historians as one of the worst presidents in U.S. history.[1][2]

Trump has officially run as a candidate for president four times, in 2000, 2016, 2020, and 2024; he also "unofficially" campaigned in 2012 and mulled a run in 2004.[3] He won the 2016 general election through the Electoral College while losing the popular vote to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by 2.8 million votes, the greatest losing margin in the popular vote of any U.S. president;[4] he was thereby elected the 45th president of the United States on November 8, 2016, and inaugurated on January 20, 2017. He unsuccessfully sought reelection in the 2020 presidential election, losing by 7 million votes to Democratic nominee Joe Biden.[5] Trump is the only U.S. president to have been impeached twice, or to be impeached for incitement of insurrection against the United States for his role in the failed 2021 United States Capitol attack after losing the 2020 election. One representative survey of presidential experts rated Trump last in overall ability, background, integrity, intelligence, and executive appointments, and next to last in party leadership, relationship to congress, and ability to compromise.[6] Among the American public, Trump's average 41 percent approval rating was the lowest of any president since Gallup began polling, and he left office with a 34 percent approval rating and 62 percent disapproval rating in his final polls.[7]

Trump's overt political activity started with his publicly suggesting a run for president in the late 1980s. Ever since, Trump maintained a steady interest in politics, though he was not always considered a serious candidate. Trump has spoken at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) multiple times, with his first appearance in 2012; Trump gained increasing political notoriety with the public for his promotion of the racist Birtherism conspiracy theory during this period, which has been described as having had "essentially launched his current political career."[8][9] From 2013 to 2015, Trump continued to make political headlines but was still polling low and not taken seriously by analysts. Trump subsequently became the 2016 Republican nominee for president of the United States after beating sixteen other candidates during a controversial campaign that drew praise and support from foreign dictatorships, domestic white nationalists, and the global far right. The New Yorker said a key cause for Trump's victory in the GOP primary was that "Despite having demonstrated political cunning in the course of dispatching his sixteen rivals, he has managed to convince many Republican voters that he isn’t a politician at all."[10] He became president as a result of winning the 2016 presidential election's electoral college, making him the fifth person to be elected president but lose the popular vote. U.S. Intelligence officials later determined that the Government of the Russian Federation had illegally intervened in the election to aid Trump's victory.[11] Trump's presidency saw large levels of cabinet and staff turnover, to an extent unprecedented in modern American history.[12] He saw numerous allegations of misconduct that resulted in investigations by Congress and Special Council as well as two impeachments. Trump was president at the time of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On June 18, 2019, Trump announced that he would seek re-election in the 2020 presidential election. The election on November 3 was not called for either candidate for several days; on November 7, the Associated Press—along with major TV networks including CNN, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, and Fox News—called the race for Joe Biden. Trump refused to concede, despite the final election results not being close, and the administration did not begin cooperating with president-elect Biden's transition team until November 23. With one week remaining in his presidency, Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives for incitement of insurrection for his actions during the January 6 coup and attack on the United States Capitol, but was acquitted in the Republican-controlled Senate because the 57–43 vote in favor of convicting him fell short of the 2/3 supermajority (67 out of 100 senators) required for conviction.[13] Trump continues to push the false idea that he is still the true president of the United States, which has led to ongoing controversy within the Republican party.

There are currently four major ongoing criminal investigations into Trump's criminal activity while in office.[14] [15] The chairman of Trump's presidential campaign, Paul Manafort, his chief political strategist, Steve Bannon, and his campaign counsel, Michael Cohen, have all been since sentenced to prison for various criminal acts connected to Trump's campaign and presidency.[16] [17][18] At least 8 other members of Trump's campaign have been charged with the commission of federal crimes.[19]

  1. ^ "Total Scores/Overall Rankings | C-SPAN Survey on Presidents 2021 | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  2. ^ College, Siena. "Siena's 6th Presidential Expert Poll 1982 - 2018 – Siena College Research Institute". Scri.siena.edu. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference cnnnotrunning was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Donald Trump has lost the popular vote by more than any president in US history". Independent.co.uk. December 13, 2016.
  5. ^ "Official 2020 Presidential General Election Results" (PDF). fec.gov. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  6. ^ College, Siena. "Siena's 6th Presidential Expert Poll 1982 - 2018 – Siena College Research Institute". Scri.siena.edu. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  7. ^ "Last Trump Job Approval 34%; Average is Record-Low 41%". January 18, 2021.
  8. ^ "Trump is still reportedly pushing his racist "birther" conspiracy theory about Obama". November 29, 2017.
  9. ^ Barbaro, Michael (September 16, 2016). "Donald Trump Clung to 'Birther' Lie for Years, and Still Isn't Apologetic". The New York Times.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "Declassified report says Putin 'ordered' effort to undermine faith in U.S. election and help Trump". The Washington Post. January 6, 2017. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  12. ^ Tenpas, Kathryn Dunn (April 13, 2020). "And then there were ten: With 85% turnover across President Trump's A Team, who remains?". Brookings Institution. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  13. ^ Naylor, Brian (February 9, 2021). "Article of Impeachment Cites Trump's 'Incitement' of Capitol Insurrection". NPR.
  14. ^ "What you need to know about the 4 major criminal probes into Donald Trump". February 16, 2023.
  15. ^ "How big are Trump's legal problems?". April 29, 2022.
  16. ^ "Michael Cohen ends prison term after Trump-related crimes". Associated Press. November 22, 2021.
  17. ^ https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2019/03/manafort-sentenced-to-47-months/
  18. ^ "Steve Bannon sentenced to 4 months in prison for flouting House Jan. 6 panel". NPR. Archived from the original on July 5, 2023.
  19. ^ "Analysis: 11 Trump associates have now been charged with crimes. 11!".

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