Donald Trump

Timeline of Donald Trump, 45th president of the USA. From businessman to president. Overview of his achievements and struggles both in his career and in politics.

14 June 1946

The Birth of Donald Trump

Donald John Trump was born in Queens, New York on June 14, 1946. He is the son of Fred Trump and Mary Trump. 

3 August 1959

Trump Attends New York Military Academy

Donald Trump attended the New York Military Academy in 1959.

1 August 1966

Wharton School of Finance Years

Before attending the Wharton School of Finance, Donald Trump attended Fordham University. He then transferred to the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania. He graduated in 1968 with a Bachelor of Science in Economics. While studying at the University of Pennsylvania, Donald Trump started to invest in real estate.

1 January 1970

Real Estate Investment with His Father

After graduating from Wharton School of Finance, Trump began working with his father on apartment complexes. The areas that they did most of their development was Brooklyn and Queens.

1 January 1976

The Hyatt Corporation Deal

In 1976, Donald Trump and his father made a historic partnership with the Hyatt Corporation. This deal included the purchase of an aging Manhattan property called the Commodore Hotel. The property undergoes a serious makeover and is then reopened four years later as the Grand Hyatt Hotel. It was this project that launched Trump’s career as a Manhattan developer. 

1 November 1987

Trump Releases His First Book

In 1987, Donald Trump published his first book, Trump: The Art of the Deal. This book became a best seller. Trump made a commitment to donate a portion of the profits from the book to charities. To do this, he established the Donald J. Trump Foundation.

1 January 1990

Trump Faces $1 Billion Debt

Trump faced a serious personal debt of $1 billion in 1990. He was able to avoid filing for personal bankruptcy by making an agreement with bankers. 

7 October 1999

Donald Trump Plans to Challenge Pat Buchanan

Donald J. Trump shared with Larry King of CNN that he had plans to form a presidential exploratory committee. In forming this committee, Trump had intentions of challenging Pat Buchanan for the Reform Party nomination.

14 February 2000

Trump Abandons Bid for Presidency

Trump announced that he would no longer be vying for the presidency of the United States of America. He shared that he abandoned his bid because of the abundance of discord within the Reform party.

23 May 2005

The Birth of Trump University

Trump established Trump University in 2005. The institution was designed to offer seminars in real estate investment. The university is later closed amid lawsuits from students and the New York attorney general.

17 March 2011

Trump Questions Obama’s Place of Birth

Donald Trump first publicly voiced his doubts about Barack Obama being born in the United States of America on ABC’s “Good Morning America” during an interview.

16 June 2015

Trump Announces Presidential Campaign

During a speech at the Trump Tower, Donald Trump announced that he will be running for president. In his speech, he shared that he will be boosting the economy by introducing strategic policies. He also shared that he had plans to get more stringent with immigration. He made comments about Mexicans that later attracted much criticism.

28 June 2015

Trump Leaves ‘The Apprentice’

On June 28, 2015, Donald Trump shared that he will be leaving the show, ‘The Apprentice’ to pursue the office of the president of the United States of America. 

29 June 2015

NBC Cuts Ties with Trump Over Immigration Remarks

NBCUniversal decided to discontinue its business relationship with Donald Trump. This was a response to Trump’s controversial remarks about immigration. NBC also decided to seize from airing the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants because of the controversial comments made by Donald Trump.

22 July 2015

Trump’s Financial Disclosure

On this day, Trump’s financial disclosure report was released into the public domain by the Federal Election Commission.

11 September 2015

Trump Purchases NBC’s Shares in the Miss Universe Organization

Following the response of NBC to discontinue airing and supporting Miss USA and Miss Universe, Donald Trump bought out NBC’s half of the Miss Universe Organization. The organization was responsible for organizing the annual Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants.

26 May 2016

Trump Clinches Republican Party Nomination

An announcement was made on May 26, 2016, to declare that Donald John Trump had secured enough delegates to secure the Republican Party nomination. 

16 July 2016

Trump Selects Mike Pence as Running Mate

On July 16, 2016, Donald Trump announced that Indiana Governor Mike Pence has been selected as his running mate. 

7 October 2016

Access Hollywood Tape Controversy

Unreleased footage from 2005 of Trump talking about trying to have sexual relationships with married women and groping women surfaced. The footage was obtained by the Washington Post. Trump is heard off-camera saying very vulgar things about women during a taping of ‘Access Hollywood’. Trump later apologized for his comments and behavior.

8 November 2016

Trump Becomes President

On November 8, 2016, Donald John Trump became the 45th president of the United States of America. Trump also became the first president who has never held an elected office, a top government post or a qualified military rank.

20 January 2017

Trump Participates in Inauguration Ceremony

On January 20, 2017, Donald J. Trump took the oath of office from Chief Justice John Roberts. This was done during an inauguration ceremony at the Capitol. Donald Trump, as president of the United States of America, went on to give a speech on the themes that served as the foundation of his candidacy.

19 December 2018

Trump-led U.S. Defeats ISIS

An announcement was made on December 19, 2018, that the United States of America had defeated ISIS. The Trump administration then ordered a complete withdrawal of the US military from Syria.

30 June 2019

Trump Becomes the First President to Enter North Korea

Trump became the first President of the United States to enter North Korea on June 30, 2019. He took 20 steps beyond the border to shake hands with the leader of the Hermit Kingdom, Kim.

18 December 2019

House of Representatives Votes to Impeach Trump

The House of Representatives decided to impeach Donald J. Trump. They charged the president with high crimes and misdemeanors. This was the third time in history that the House of Representatives has made such a decision against a president. 

5 February 2020

Senate Acquits Trump

The Senate voted to acquit Donald Trump on two articles of impeachment.

19 July 2020

Trump Becomes Republican Party Nominee

Trump was announced as the official Republican Party nominee on July 19, 2016.

24 August 2020

Trump Nominationed for 2020 Presidential Election

The Republican Party nominated Donald Trump for the 2020 presidential candidacy. Donald Trump accepted the nomination. The race between Donald Trump and Joe Biden has started.