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Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946, in Queens, New York City) is an American businessman, media personality, and politician who has served as the 45th and 47th President of the United States. He held office from January 20, 2017 to January 20, 2021, and again from January 20, 2025 to the present, making him only the second president in American history to serve two non-consecutive terms, after Grover Cleveland. Before entering electoral politics, Trump built a career in real estate development, hospitality, and entertainment, and was the first person elected to the presidency with no prior government or military service. He is a member of the Republican Party, though he has at various times been registered with the Democratic Party, the Reform Party, and as an independent. He attended the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in economics.
Overview
Trump rose to national political prominence in June 2015 when he announced his candidacy for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, campaigning under the slogan “Make America Great Again.” He secured the Republican nomination in May 2016 after defeating sixteen other candidates, then won the general election by carrying the Electoral College while losing the national popular vote to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by approximately 2.9 million votes. His first term (2017–2021) was marked by significant legislative activity, including passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement into the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), two Supreme Court confirmation processes under his tenure, and a broadly deregulatory posture across executive agencies. He was impeached by the House of Representatives twice — on December 18, 2019, on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress related to his conduct toward Ukraine, and on January 13, 2021, on a charge of incitement of insurrection related to events of January 6, 2021 — and was acquitted by the Senate both times. He sought reelection in 2020, losing to Democratic nominee Joe Biden. He ran again in 2024, winning both the Republican primary and the general election against Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, and was inaugurated for a second term on January 20, 2025.
His second term has been defined by a broad exercise of executive authority, including a sweeping campaign of tariff actions undertaken under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and other statutes, major reductions in the federal workforce and regulatory apparatus, significant immigration enforcement actions, and the withdrawal or reversal of numerous Biden-era policies. Whether these actions represent appropriate exercises of presidential authority is disputed; see Donald Trump — Executive Power Debate.
In May 2024, Trump was convicted by a Manhattan jury on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 election, becoming the first former U.S. president to be convicted of a crime. He was sentenced on January 10, 2025 — ten days before his second inauguration — to an unconditional discharge, meaning no prison term, fines, or probation were imposed. His legal team has continued to pursue appeals of the conviction. Whether the prosecution and conviction were legally proper and politically motivated is disputed; see Donald Trump — Criminal Prosecutions Debate.
For a full account of Trump's life, career, and political history prior to 2025, see Donald Trump — History.
Consensus Status
There is no single broad expert consensus on the overall assessment of Trump's presidency or its consequences; scholarly and journalistic evaluations diverge sharply along interpretive lines. More narrow questions — such as factual records of legislative outcomes, electoral vote counts, and documented policy actions — are not in significant dispute within mainstream historical and political science literature.
Viewpoints
The following are the principal viewpoints represented in public and scholarly debate about Donald Trump:
Populist-Nationalist Viewpoint: Trump's presidency represents a legitimate and necessary response to elite capture of American institutions, economic globalization that harmed working-class Americans, and political establishments insufficiently responsive to popular sentiment. His “America First” framework is viewed by adherents as a principled reorientation of U.S. domestic and foreign policy.
Establishment Conservative Viewpoint: Trump's stated policy goals — lower taxes, deregulation, border enforcement, originalist judicial appointments — are broadly aligned with mainstream conservative priorities, but his governing style, rhetoric, and behavior have complicated or undermined those goals and strained democratic norms.
Liberal-Democratic Viewpoint: Trump's political movement represents a threat to constitutional governance, democratic institutions, and civil liberties. His conduct in office, his legal troubles, and his response to the 2020 election results are characterized by adherents of this view as disqualifying.
Libertarian Viewpoint: Trump's record is mixed from a libertarian standpoint: deregulation and certain judicial appointments are seen as broadly positive, while expansive use of executive orders, trade protectionism, deficit spending, and restrictions on immigration are assessed as contrary to limited-government principles.
Progressive Viewpoint: Trump's presidency is seen by this viewpoint as a manifestation of structural inequalities in American politics, with his policies characterized as harmful to racial and economic minorities, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and the environment, and his administration as one that entrenched plutocratic and ethnonationalist power at the expense of marginalized groups.
Left-Populist Viewpoint: From an anti-establishment left perspective, Trump is assessed primarily as a symptom of a political system captured by donor class interests and unresponsive to working-class needs — a failure that mainstream liberal opposition to Trump has done little to address. Adherents of this view are critical of Trump's record on civil liberties, war powers, and economic policy, while rejecting the liberal-democratic framing of Trump as a sui generis threat to democracy.
Related Pages
Footnotes
- Britannica, “Donald Trump,” accessed June 1, 2026. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump
- Wikipedia, “Donald Trump,” accessed June 1, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump
- Wikipedia, “Political career of Donald Trump,” accessed June 1, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_career_of_Donald_Trump
- Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia, “Donald Trump,” accessed June 1, 2026. https://millercenter.org/president/trump
- Ballotpedia, “Donald Trump's executive orders and actions, 2025–2026,” accessed June 1, 2026. https://ballotpedia.org/Donald_Trump%27s_executive_orders_and_actions,_2025
- NPR, “Trump gets unconditional discharge sentence for felony case,” January 10, 2025. https://www.npr.org/2025/01/10/nx-s1-5253927/trump-sentencing-new-york
- CBS News, “Trump sentenced in felony 'hush money' case, released with no restrictions,” January 10, 2025. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-sentencing-new-york-hush-money-case/
- Council on Foreign Relations, “Trade and Tariff Calendar 2025,” accessed June 1, 2026. https://www.cfr.org/articles/trade-calendar-2025