President Donald J Trump

On the evening of November 8, 2016, Americans and the world looked on in astonishment as the election results defied almost all expectations. Donald J. Trump—a billionaire real estate mogul and reality television star with no prior political office—was declared the winner of the U.S. presidential race. It was one of the most extraordinary political upsets in American history. To Trump’s fervent supporters, many of whom felt ignored and left behind by the political establishment, it was a jubilant victory, a chance to “Make America Great Again” and shake up a status quo they despised. To his opponents, it was a moment of shock and alarm, as a man known for his brash, norm-breaking persona now prepared to occupy the Oval Office. Trump’s rise to the presidency marked a sharp break from political tradition and signaled a deeply polarized era ahead, with clashes over fundamental values that would test America’s institutions.

Donald John Trump was born on June 14, 1946, in Queens, New York City, into a life of privilege and blunt ambition. He was the fourth of five children of Fred Trump and Mary MacLeod Trump. Fred was a successful real estate developer who built middle-class housing in Brooklyn and Queens; Mary was a Scottish immigrant who had met Fred in New York. Young Donald grew up in a stately home in the Jamaica Estates neighborhood. As a boy, he was strong-willed and confident—to the point of being considered a troublemaker at times. At 13, after Donald got into some misbehavior (reportedly frequent bullying and possibly involvement in vandalizing a neighbor’s property), his father decided he would benefit from discipline and sent him to the New York Military Academy. There, Donald Trump thrived under the regimented lifestyle. He became a student leader, played multiple sports, and learned the value of projecting strength and winning—traits that would become central to his identity.

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