Donald John Trump has had a profound impact on US politics. His presidency is still, and perhaps forever, be remembered for bold statements and decisions he took. To explain who Donald Trump is and what makes him tick involves lots of metaphors. From “insomniac”, to “Godzilla” and a “Navy SEAL”, the 45th President of the United States has earned praises and brickbats from his countrymen.

Mr Trump, born into wealth and growing up in the heart of New York’s business world, rose to global prominence as POTUS. From real estate mogul to reality TV star to the most powerful political figure in America, his life has been anything but conventional. His presidency (2017-2021) saw major political upheaval, deeply polarising the nation. Even after his term ended, Trump continues to dominate the political conversation, and in a debate with Vice President and Democrat nominee Kamala Harris, he made a strong pitch why the US needs him in power.

Donald Trump Birth And Early Life

He was born on June 14, 1946, in Queens, New York City, to Frederick Christ Trump, a wealthy real estate developer, and Mary Anne MacLeod, a Scottish immigrant. He was the fourth of five children in a well-off family that built its fortune in the post-World War II construction boom.

Fred Trump was a powerful figure in real estate, particularly in Brooklyn and Queens, which profoundly influenced Donald’s ambitions. Raised with a competitive spirit and taught the value of success from a young age, Donald followed closely in his father’s footsteps. His early years were marked by privilege but also discipline. Trump’s parents sent him to the New York Military Academy at age 13 to channel his energy and focus on his studies.

Donald Trump Education

Trump attended the New York Military Academy before moving on to Fordham University for two years. He then transferred to the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a degree in economics in 1968.

Armed with a business education and the family fortune, Trump joined his father’s real estate business, eventually taking control in 1971 and renaming it The Trump Organisation. His early projects included transforming rundown buildings in Manhattan into luxury high-rises. Trump’s career was characterised by a knack for branding and a relentless pursuit of high-profile deals. Notably, he developed the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York and Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, both of which bolstered his reputation as a high-stakes real estate mogul.

In the 1980s, Trump expanded into the casino business with mixed success. His ventures, such as Trump Plaza and Trump Castle helped cement his image as a larger-than-life businessman, though financial trouble followed. Trump’s companies declared bankruptcy several times, but he consistently rebounded, largely due to his mastery of public relations and branding.

Donald Trump Marriages

Trump’s personal life, including his three marriages, has been as highly publicised as his professional one. His first marriage, to Ivana Zelnickova, a Czech model and businesswoman, lasted from 1977 to 1992, according to the BBC. Together, they had three children: Donald Jr, Ivanka and Eric Trump. The couple was a fixture in the New York social scene throughout the 1980s, though their relationship ended in a widely publicised divorce amid rumours of Trump’s infidelity.

In 1993, Trump married actress Marla Maples, with whom he had one daughter, Tiffany Trump. This marriage, too, ended in divorce, in 1999.

In 2005, Trump married Slovenian model Melania Knauss, with whom he has a son, Barron Trump. Melania would go on to become the First Lady during Trump’s presidency. Throughout his personal and professional life, Trump has kept his family close, with his children playing prominent roles in both his business empire and his political campaigns.

Donald Trump Net Worth

In May this year, Forbes released the answer to the question people were asking for decades – what’s Donald Trump really worth? As per the magazine, $7.5 billion. The figure includes the assets and businesses the former US President owns. Truth Social, the platform Trump owns, is alone worth $5.6 billion. His real estate business is worth $1.1 billion, while the clubs and resorts $0.81 billion. Mr Trump has $0.41 billion as cash and $0.1 billion in other assets, as per Forbes.

The outlet further said that he reached the $1 billion mark in 1988, but was out of Forbes’ 400 list from 1990 to 1995.

Donald Trump Age

At 78, Trump is still actively involved in politics and business. He maintains a high-profile presence, particularly through his social media platform, Truth Social.

Donald Trump Presidency

Though Trump flirted with politics for years, his serious plunge into the political arena came in 2015 when he announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for President. Few in the Republican Party believed when Trump launched his improbable White House bid that he’d still be a factor at the end of that year. But the billionaire topped national polls after entering the race, as per CNN.

Donald Trump quickly emerged as the frontrunner, gaining notoriety for his unfiltered rhetoric, often attacking rivals and the media. His promise to build a wall along the US-Mexico border and his tough stance on immigration became central themes of his campaign.

In November 2016, Trump defied pollsters and political analysts by defeating Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in one of the most shocking political upsets in US history. His electoral victory, largely fuelled by wins in key swing states, underscored the deep divides in American society.

Trump’s presidency was marked by a series of unconventional and controversial actions, from his combative relationship with the press to his unpredictable foreign policy moves. Domestically, Trump implemented tax cuts, rolled back regulations, and installed conservative judges at a record pace, including three Supreme Court Justices, reshaping the judiciary for decades.

Donald Trump political career

One of the Trump administration’s defining moments came in 2020 with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump’s handling of the crisis received heavy criticism, with detractors accusing him of downplaying the severity of the virus and mishandling the federal response. His administration’s policies on immigration, trade and race relations also ignited fierce debates and further polarised the country.

Trump’s foreign policy approach was similarly contentious. He withdrew the US from several international agreements, including the Paris Climate Accord and the Iran Nuclear Deal, while also seeking a more assertive stance against China. Trump’s “America First” policy, which often alienated traditional US allies, further underscored his unorthodox approach to global affairs.

In December 2019, Trump became the third US president to be impeached by the House of Representatives, accused of abusing his power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden. The Senate ultimately acquitted him in February 2020. He was impeached for the second time by the House of Representatives on January 13, 2021, one week before his term expired for incitement of insurrection. He is the only US President to be impeached twice.

Four months before US President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump face off at the polls, they will wage political battle Thursday in the first televised debate of the 2024 election.

The candidates are polling neck and neck ahead of the November 5 vote as they attempt to woo any Americans still fine-tuning their decision.

Here are some of the major biographical details to know about Trump, a Republican whose supporters remain wildly devoted despite his multiple criminal charges and the first felony conviction against a former president.

Political experience

The bombastic 78-year-old billionaire was a political novice when he successfully ran for president in 2016 against former secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

Until that point, Trump had never been up for election in any race involving a popular vote.

However, he had often repeated that he might run for the White House, an assertion that was widely considered a publicity stunt.

Family and religion

Trump was born in 1946 to a wealthy New York family. Contrary to legend, he is not a self-made man, but rather followed in the footsteps of his father, who built a family empire constructing buildings in the area.

Trump was handed the reins to the family business in the 1970s, and later became a fixture in US households via his reality TV show “The Apprentice,” which first aired in 2004.

The father of five children via three different wives is hardly a model of Christian piety, yet he has deftly wooed America’s evangelical right.

Constantly praising family and religious values, Trump landed conservative Christians a resounding victory with the appointment of Supreme Court justices who helped overturn the national right to an abortion.

Wealth

Trump’s finances have been the subject of much speculation over the years. However a judge ruled earlier this year that Trump and his company had unlawfully inflated his wealth and manipulated the value of properties to obtain favorable bank loans or insurance terms.

That said, Trump remains exceedingly rich: He is worth no less than several billion dollars according to Forbes magazine, thanks to his real estate empire and the Trump Media and Technology Group, which includes his social media platform Truth Social.

Vibe

Pugnacious, angry and a populist, Trump stunned the world when he was elected president in 2016.

Worshiped by supporters, he is considered by detractors to be a danger to American democracy and to the country’s traditional international alliances.

The former president is combatively thin-skinned, yet relentlessly mocks his political rivals with rhetoric that has become increasingly belligerent as the election approaches.

He labels his opponents “fascists,” while saying immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.”

And he still claims, falsely, to have won the 2020 election.

Legal Troubles

Trump’s life is awash with substantial legal allegations, convictions and rulings.

Most recently in May he was convicted in New York on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to hide a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels during the heat of the 2016 election.

That made Trump the first ever former US president convicted of a felony. He is due for sentencing on July 11.

Trump faces three other pending criminal cases, including charges related to his unprecedented attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden, both at the federal level and in Georgia — where he asked officials to “find” enough votes to reverse Biden’s victory in the state.

He is additionally accused of illegally retaining secret nuclear and defense documents after leaving the White House at his Florida estate.

Apart from the criminal cases, Trump was found liable in a civil case for sexually abusing former magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996 and defaming her, with a judge ordering him to pay her $88 million.

He was also fined $355 million plus interest by a New York judge for manipulating the value of properties to obtain favorable loans.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)