The 2016 Presidential Candidates: Donald Trump
Donald John Trump is a 69 year old American real estate developer, television personality, author and candidate for the 2016 Republican nomination for President. He is the chairman and president of The Trump Organization, and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts. He is the son of Fred Trump, who was also a New York City real estate developer. Donald Trump worked for his father's firm, Elizabeth Trump & Son, while attending the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He officially joined the company in 1968 and in 1971, he was given control of the company, renaming it The Trump Organization. He has enhanced his business operations and has attained celebrity status through prominent media exposure.
On June 16, 2015, Trump formally announced his candidacy for president of the United States in the 2016 election. He is seeking the nomination of the Republican Party, but has also hinted that if unsuccessful, he may run for President as an Independent. Trump's performance has been better than most anticipated and since late July 2015, he has consistently been the front-runner in public opinion polls for the Republican Party nomination. Trump's status as the consistent frontrunner for the Republican nomination led to him being featured on the cover of Time magazine in August 2015, with the caption: "Deal with it."
Since 1988 presidential election, Trump's name has come up as a potential candidate for President in nearly every election. In October 1999, Trump declared himself a candidate for the Reform Party's presidential nomination, but he withdrew on February 14, 2000. Trump rejoined the Republican Party in 2009 and in early 2011, Trump performed well in polls among Republican candidates for the 2012 election. Trump announced in May 2011 that he would not be a candidate for the nomination and later endorsed the party's nominee Mitt Romney.
In 2013, Trump researched a possible run for President in 2016. In October 2013, New York Republicans suggested Trump should run for governor of the state in 2014, but he declined to do so. In February 2015, Trump did not renew his television contract for his show "The Apprentice", which raised speculation about his candidacy for president in 2016.
On June 16, 2015, Trump made a formal announcement of his candidacy for President. He made his announcement at a campaign rally at Trump Tower in New York City, where he said, "We are going to make our country great again." He told those in attendance that he would be the "greatest jobs president that God ever created." His 45-minute presidential campaign announcement speech included a pledge to restore the "American dream". He also said that he would keep Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and criticized negotiations that were taking place between the US and Iran. Trump also pledged he would fund Social Security (not cut it), renegotiate U.S. trade agreements, oppose federal Common Core education standards, and complete the Mexican border fence and make Mexico pay for it. Trump also said he would self fund his presidential campaign, and would not need to use money from donors and lobbyists.
During his announcement of his candidacy, Trump made a statement about illegal immigration that drew criticism. Trump stated in part, "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with them. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people." In response to criticism, Trump defended his remarks, and said that he intended his comments to be aimed solely at the government of Mexico, specifically for using the insecure border as a means of transferring criminals out of their own country. He said that he did not intend his comments to refer to immigrants in general.
A casting company sent emails to background actors explicitly asking them to cheer Trump in return for payment. Despite this, Trump's campaign manager denied that Trump paid any actors to cheer him at the event.
Immediately after his announcement in New York, Trump traveled to Iowa to campaign in the state. He has also campaigned extensively in New Hampshire, site of the first Republican primary. He kicked off a western swing in early July 2015, giving rallies and speeches in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. More than 9,000 people registered to attend Trump's Phoenix rally on July 11, 2015. An over-capacity crowd at the Phoenix Convention Center attended the event. His remarks were addressed illegal immigration. The event was hosted by the Maricopa County Republican Party, and Trump was introduced by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. In a reference to Richard Nixon, Trump said "the silent majority is back".
Trump's comments on illegal immigration were not supported by Arizona Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake but supported by former Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. At an event in Ames, Iowa, Trump said of McCain: "He’s not a war her. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured." This attracted more criticism, prompting Trump to respond, "If somebody’s a prisoner, I consider them a war hero" but he then criticized McCain for having "totally failed" on veterans issues and on securing the border. Trump declared his support for veterans and pledged to "build the finest and most modern veterans hospitals in the world." Trump stated that he did not owe McCain an apology. Trump received student deferments from the Vietnam draft while he was in college and a medical deferment for 18 months.
On July 21, Trump publicly gave out Senator Lindsey Graham's phone number during a speech in South Carolina as a response to Graham calling him a "jackass". Graham released a statement on Twitter which read "probably getting a new phone". Graham later released a video in which he destroyed his phone.
On July 22, the Federal election regulators released new details of Trump's wealth and financial holdings that he submitted when he became a Republican presidential candidate. Trump's campaign released a statement claiming his net worth to be over $10 billion, but Forbes Magazine estimates that it is US$4 billion.
On July 23, Trump visited the Mexican border to highlight his stance with regards to opposition towards illegal immigration. The border patrol union pulled out of the planned event.
At the Fox News Republican Candidates debate held on August 6, 2015, candidates were asked whether they would pledge to support the Republican party in the general election. Trump refused to rule out a third-party candidacy. When pressed, he also refused to say he would endorse the eventual Republican nominee. (Later, on September 3, Trump announced, after meeting with RNC Chairman Reince Priebus (chairman of the Republican National Committee) in New York, that he had signed the loyalty pledge.) During the debate Megyn Kelly asked about how he would respond to a Clinton campaign saying that he was waging a "war on women". He was also asked about having referred to women as pigs and other slurs. Trump was critical of Kelly for asking the question.
In a later interview with Don Lemon on CNN Tonight, Trump said that Kelly is a "lightweight" and had "blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever". Trump tweeted that his remark referred to Kelly's nose but critics took the comment to be a reference to menstruation. The Trump campaign issued a statement saying that anyone who thought Trump's comment was a reference to menstruation was "a deviant".
On August 21, 2015, the Federal Election Commission released the list of filings from Super PAC's backing candidates in the 2016 presidential race, which revealed that Trump is the only major presidential candidate among the GOP candidates who does not have a Super PAC supporting his candidacy.
The Veterans for a Strong America (VSA) organized an event for Trump on September 15, 2015. Following this, the IRS revoked the nonprofit status of the VSA, and its endorsement of Trump raised campaign finance questions as corporations are restricted to donating up to US$2,700 to a campaign, but the event exceeded that amount.
Following are some of the political positions espoused by Trump on the following issues:
Same-sex Marriage: Trump has stated that he supports traditional marriage and said that same-sex marriage should be decided by the states. He later said of the June 2015 supreme court ruling "it's an issue that been determined by the Supreme Court. And frankly, you know, I'm about jobs."
Gun Control: Trump said that he is opposed to gun control in general, but supports a ban on assault weapons and longer waiting periods for gun purchases.
Economic Issues: Trump wants to eliminate corporation tax. He also supports reduced taxation on U.S. workers and business and supports reduced business regulations (including reduced environmental regulation and employee protections). Trump has proposed a 1–5–10–15 income tax plan in order to simplify the tax code, where incomes of up to US$30,000 would pay 1%, incomes of US$30,000 to US$100,000 would pay 5%, incomes of US$100,000 to US$1 million would pay 10%, incomes of US$1 million and up would pay 15%. Further, his plan would eliminate inheritance tax, lower the capital gains tax, and apply a 20% import tariff and a 15% tax on outsourcing to foreign countries. Trump favors stronger trade negotiations with nations such as China, with a more level playing field on trade, applying tariffs when necessary.
Campaign finance: Trump has stated, “I love the idea of campaign finance reform". In the first Republican primary debate on Fox News, he accused his Republican opponents of being bound to their campaign financiers, and that anyone could buy their policies with donations. Trump has stated that it is wrong that as a rich person he can have more influence than people without money. He has called the system of US campaign finance a "disgrace". He has stated limits to contributions or spending would be acceptable.
Education: Trump favors school choice and local control for primary and secondary schools. He opposes the federally mandated Common Core State Standards Initiative for primary and secondary schools. He has called Common Core a disaster that must be ended.
Environment: Trump has called global warming "a total hoax" created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive". He says that "the EPA is an impediment to both growth and jobs". Trump supports increased fracking and has criticized sustainable wind power alternatives, stating that "windmills are destroying every country they touch" while producing "unreliable and terrible" energy.
Foreign affairs and national defense: Trump has called for a robust national defense. In the announcement of his candidacy, he said that the U.S. is getting weaker as a country and that its nuclear arsenal is old and does not work. In an interview with NBC News in Charlottesville, Virginia, on July 14, 2015, Trump called the newly announced nuclear deal with Iran "terrible", saying that the president negotiated the agreement "from desperation". He added, "First of all, we're giving them billions of dollars in this deal, which we shouldn't have given them. We should have kept the money. Second of all, we have four prisoners over there. We should have said 'Let the prisoners out.' They shouldn't be over there." Trump also said that any deal should stipulate that inspectors have 24-hour-a-day access immediately to all nuclear sites. On September 2, 2015, Trump told CNN he believed the Iran deal would compel the U.S. to side with Iran in the event of war: "There’s something in the Iran deal that people I don’t think really understand or know about, and nobody’s able to explain it, that if somebody attacks Iran, we have to come to their defense", he said. “So if Israel attacks Iran, according to that deal, I believe the way it reads that we have to fight with Iran against Israel". Speaking about the threat of ISIS with Anderson Cooper on CNN, Trump said he would "bomb the hell" out of Iraq's oil fields, which he believes are controlled by ISIS. "If I win, I would attack those oil sites that are controlled and owned, they are controlled by ISIS. I wouldn't send many troops because you won't need 'em by the time I'm done." Speaking with Jake Tapper on CNN, Trump stated that he doesn't care about Iraq's position on the bombing of their oil fields. "I don't care about the government of Iraq. They're corrupt. The government of Iraq is totally corrupt. Who cares?"
Healthcare and Social Security: Trump favors replacing the Affordable Care Act (commonly referred to as Obamacare) with a free market plan. This is a change of his earlier support for a single-payer system. He supports funding Social Security and Medicare rather than cutting them. He has previously expressed support for allowing people to privately invest their social security dollars. Trump believes that childhood vaccinations are related to autism
Abortion: Trump is pro-life, and would ban abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or health. He is in favor of cutting federal funding for Planned Parenthood.
Illegal immigration and border security: As earlier stated, Trump was very critical of Mexico in his announcement speech, which emphasized U.S. border security. Trump has stated he wants to build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico to prevent illegal immigrants from entering into the country. On July 6, 2015, Trump issued a written statement to clarify his position on illegal immigration which drew a reaction from critics. It read in part:
"The Mexican Government is forcing their most unwanted people into the United States. They are, in many cases, criminals, drug dealers, rapists, etc. This was evident just this week when, as an example, a young woman in San Francisco was viciously killed by a 5-time deported Mexican with a long criminal record, who was forced back into the United States because they didn’t want him in Mexico. This is merely one of thousands of similar incidents throughout the United States. In other words, the worst elements in Mexico are being pushed into the United States by the Mexican government. The largest suppliers of heroin, cocaine and other illicit drugs are Mexican cartels that arrange to have Mexican immigrants trying to cross the borders and smuggle in the drugs. The Border Patrol knows this. Likewise, tremendous infectious disease is pouring across the border. The United States has become a dumping ground for Mexico and, in fact, for many other parts of the world. On the other hand, many fabulous people come in from Mexico and our country is better for it. But these people are here legally, and are severely hurt by those coming in illegally. I am proud to say that I know many hard working Mexicans—many of them are working for and with me…and, just like our country, my organization is better for it."
On June 16, 2015, Trump formally announced his candidacy for president of the United States in the 2016 election. He is seeking the nomination of the Republican Party, but has also hinted that if unsuccessful, he may run for President as an Independent. Trump's performance has been better than most anticipated and since late July 2015, he has consistently been the front-runner in public opinion polls for the Republican Party nomination. Trump's status as the consistent frontrunner for the Republican nomination led to him being featured on the cover of Time magazine in August 2015, with the caption: "Deal with it."
Since 1988 presidential election, Trump's name has come up as a potential candidate for President in nearly every election. In October 1999, Trump declared himself a candidate for the Reform Party's presidential nomination, but he withdrew on February 14, 2000. Trump rejoined the Republican Party in 2009 and in early 2011, Trump performed well in polls among Republican candidates for the 2012 election. Trump announced in May 2011 that he would not be a candidate for the nomination and later endorsed the party's nominee Mitt Romney.
In 2013, Trump researched a possible run for President in 2016. In October 2013, New York Republicans suggested Trump should run for governor of the state in 2014, but he declined to do so. In February 2015, Trump did not renew his television contract for his show "The Apprentice", which raised speculation about his candidacy for president in 2016.
On June 16, 2015, Trump made a formal announcement of his candidacy for President. He made his announcement at a campaign rally at Trump Tower in New York City, where he said, "We are going to make our country great again." He told those in attendance that he would be the "greatest jobs president that God ever created." His 45-minute presidential campaign announcement speech included a pledge to restore the "American dream". He also said that he would keep Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and criticized negotiations that were taking place between the US and Iran. Trump also pledged he would fund Social Security (not cut it), renegotiate U.S. trade agreements, oppose federal Common Core education standards, and complete the Mexican border fence and make Mexico pay for it. Trump also said he would self fund his presidential campaign, and would not need to use money from donors and lobbyists.
During his announcement of his candidacy, Trump made a statement about illegal immigration that drew criticism. Trump stated in part, "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with them. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people." In response to criticism, Trump defended his remarks, and said that he intended his comments to be aimed solely at the government of Mexico, specifically for using the insecure border as a means of transferring criminals out of their own country. He said that he did not intend his comments to refer to immigrants in general.
A casting company sent emails to background actors explicitly asking them to cheer Trump in return for payment. Despite this, Trump's campaign manager denied that Trump paid any actors to cheer him at the event.
Immediately after his announcement in New York, Trump traveled to Iowa to campaign in the state. He has also campaigned extensively in New Hampshire, site of the first Republican primary. He kicked off a western swing in early July 2015, giving rallies and speeches in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. More than 9,000 people registered to attend Trump's Phoenix rally on July 11, 2015. An over-capacity crowd at the Phoenix Convention Center attended the event. His remarks were addressed illegal immigration. The event was hosted by the Maricopa County Republican Party, and Trump was introduced by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. In a reference to Richard Nixon, Trump said "the silent majority is back".
Trump's comments on illegal immigration were not supported by Arizona Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake but supported by former Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. At an event in Ames, Iowa, Trump said of McCain: "He’s not a war her. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured." This attracted more criticism, prompting Trump to respond, "If somebody’s a prisoner, I consider them a war hero" but he then criticized McCain for having "totally failed" on veterans issues and on securing the border. Trump declared his support for veterans and pledged to "build the finest and most modern veterans hospitals in the world." Trump stated that he did not owe McCain an apology. Trump received student deferments from the Vietnam draft while he was in college and a medical deferment for 18 months.
On July 21, Trump publicly gave out Senator Lindsey Graham's phone number during a speech in South Carolina as a response to Graham calling him a "jackass". Graham released a statement on Twitter which read "probably getting a new phone". Graham later released a video in which he destroyed his phone.
On July 22, the Federal election regulators released new details of Trump's wealth and financial holdings that he submitted when he became a Republican presidential candidate. Trump's campaign released a statement claiming his net worth to be over $10 billion, but Forbes Magazine estimates that it is US$4 billion.
On July 23, Trump visited the Mexican border to highlight his stance with regards to opposition towards illegal immigration. The border patrol union pulled out of the planned event.
At the Fox News Republican Candidates debate held on August 6, 2015, candidates were asked whether they would pledge to support the Republican party in the general election. Trump refused to rule out a third-party candidacy. When pressed, he also refused to say he would endorse the eventual Republican nominee. (Later, on September 3, Trump announced, after meeting with RNC Chairman Reince Priebus (chairman of the Republican National Committee) in New York, that he had signed the loyalty pledge.) During the debate Megyn Kelly asked about how he would respond to a Clinton campaign saying that he was waging a "war on women". He was also asked about having referred to women as pigs and other slurs. Trump was critical of Kelly for asking the question.
In a later interview with Don Lemon on CNN Tonight, Trump said that Kelly is a "lightweight" and had "blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever". Trump tweeted that his remark referred to Kelly's nose but critics took the comment to be a reference to menstruation. The Trump campaign issued a statement saying that anyone who thought Trump's comment was a reference to menstruation was "a deviant".
On August 21, 2015, the Federal Election Commission released the list of filings from Super PAC's backing candidates in the 2016 presidential race, which revealed that Trump is the only major presidential candidate among the GOP candidates who does not have a Super PAC supporting his candidacy.
The Veterans for a Strong America (VSA) organized an event for Trump on September 15, 2015. Following this, the IRS revoked the nonprofit status of the VSA, and its endorsement of Trump raised campaign finance questions as corporations are restricted to donating up to US$2,700 to a campaign, but the event exceeded that amount.
Following are some of the political positions espoused by Trump on the following issues:
Same-sex Marriage: Trump has stated that he supports traditional marriage and said that same-sex marriage should be decided by the states. He later said of the June 2015 supreme court ruling "it's an issue that been determined by the Supreme Court. And frankly, you know, I'm about jobs."
Gun Control: Trump said that he is opposed to gun control in general, but supports a ban on assault weapons and longer waiting periods for gun purchases.
Economic Issues: Trump wants to eliminate corporation tax. He also supports reduced taxation on U.S. workers and business and supports reduced business regulations (including reduced environmental regulation and employee protections). Trump has proposed a 1–5–10–15 income tax plan in order to simplify the tax code, where incomes of up to US$30,000 would pay 1%, incomes of US$30,000 to US$100,000 would pay 5%, incomes of US$100,000 to US$1 million would pay 10%, incomes of US$1 million and up would pay 15%. Further, his plan would eliminate inheritance tax, lower the capital gains tax, and apply a 20% import tariff and a 15% tax on outsourcing to foreign countries. Trump favors stronger trade negotiations with nations such as China, with a more level playing field on trade, applying tariffs when necessary.
Campaign finance: Trump has stated, “I love the idea of campaign finance reform". In the first Republican primary debate on Fox News, he accused his Republican opponents of being bound to their campaign financiers, and that anyone could buy their policies with donations. Trump has stated that it is wrong that as a rich person he can have more influence than people without money. He has called the system of US campaign finance a "disgrace". He has stated limits to contributions or spending would be acceptable.
Education: Trump favors school choice and local control for primary and secondary schools. He opposes the federally mandated Common Core State Standards Initiative for primary and secondary schools. He has called Common Core a disaster that must be ended.
Environment: Trump has called global warming "a total hoax" created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive". He says that "the EPA is an impediment to both growth and jobs". Trump supports increased fracking and has criticized sustainable wind power alternatives, stating that "windmills are destroying every country they touch" while producing "unreliable and terrible" energy.
Foreign affairs and national defense: Trump has called for a robust national defense. In the announcement of his candidacy, he said that the U.S. is getting weaker as a country and that its nuclear arsenal is old and does not work. In an interview with NBC News in Charlottesville, Virginia, on July 14, 2015, Trump called the newly announced nuclear deal with Iran "terrible", saying that the president negotiated the agreement "from desperation". He added, "First of all, we're giving them billions of dollars in this deal, which we shouldn't have given them. We should have kept the money. Second of all, we have four prisoners over there. We should have said 'Let the prisoners out.' They shouldn't be over there." Trump also said that any deal should stipulate that inspectors have 24-hour-a-day access immediately to all nuclear sites. On September 2, 2015, Trump told CNN he believed the Iran deal would compel the U.S. to side with Iran in the event of war: "There’s something in the Iran deal that people I don’t think really understand or know about, and nobody’s able to explain it, that if somebody attacks Iran, we have to come to their defense", he said. “So if Israel attacks Iran, according to that deal, I believe the way it reads that we have to fight with Iran against Israel". Speaking about the threat of ISIS with Anderson Cooper on CNN, Trump said he would "bomb the hell" out of Iraq's oil fields, which he believes are controlled by ISIS. "If I win, I would attack those oil sites that are controlled and owned, they are controlled by ISIS. I wouldn't send many troops because you won't need 'em by the time I'm done." Speaking with Jake Tapper on CNN, Trump stated that he doesn't care about Iraq's position on the bombing of their oil fields. "I don't care about the government of Iraq. They're corrupt. The government of Iraq is totally corrupt. Who cares?"
Healthcare and Social Security: Trump favors replacing the Affordable Care Act (commonly referred to as Obamacare) with a free market plan. This is a change of his earlier support for a single-payer system. He supports funding Social Security and Medicare rather than cutting them. He has previously expressed support for allowing people to privately invest their social security dollars. Trump believes that childhood vaccinations are related to autism
Abortion: Trump is pro-life, and would ban abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or health. He is in favor of cutting federal funding for Planned Parenthood.
Illegal immigration and border security: As earlier stated, Trump was very critical of Mexico in his announcement speech, which emphasized U.S. border security. Trump has stated he wants to build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico to prevent illegal immigrants from entering into the country. On July 6, 2015, Trump issued a written statement to clarify his position on illegal immigration which drew a reaction from critics. It read in part:
"The Mexican Government is forcing their most unwanted people into the United States. They are, in many cases, criminals, drug dealers, rapists, etc. This was evident just this week when, as an example, a young woman in San Francisco was viciously killed by a 5-time deported Mexican with a long criminal record, who was forced back into the United States because they didn’t want him in Mexico. This is merely one of thousands of similar incidents throughout the United States. In other words, the worst elements in Mexico are being pushed into the United States by the Mexican government. The largest suppliers of heroin, cocaine and other illicit drugs are Mexican cartels that arrange to have Mexican immigrants trying to cross the borders and smuggle in the drugs. The Border Patrol knows this. Likewise, tremendous infectious disease is pouring across the border. The United States has become a dumping ground for Mexico and, in fact, for many other parts of the world. On the other hand, many fabulous people come in from Mexico and our country is better for it. But these people are here legally, and are severely hurt by those coming in illegally. I am proud to say that I know many hard working Mexicans—many of them are working for and with me…and, just like our country, my organization is better for it."