Donald Trump: Difference between revisions

* [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] (2001–2009)

In 1977, Trump married Czech model [[Ivana Zelníčková]].{{sfn|Blair|2015|p=300}} They had three children: [[Donald Jr.]] (born 1977), [[Ivanka Trump|Ivanka]] (1981), and [[Eric Trump|Eric]] (1984). The couple divorced in 1990, following his affair with actress [[Marla Maples]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Baron |first=James |date=December 12, 1990 |title=Trumps Get Divorce; Next, Who Gets What? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/12/nyregion/trumps-get-divorce-next-who-gets-what.html |access-date=March 5, 2023 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> He and Maples married in 1993 and divorced in 1999. They have one daughter, [[Tiffany Trump|Tiffany]] (born 1993), who Maples raised in California.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hafner |first=Josh |date=July 19, 2016 |title=Get to know Donald's other daughter: Tiffany Trump |url=https://usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/07/19/who-is-tiffany-trump/87321708/ |access-date=July 10, 2022 |work=[[USA Today]]}}</ref> In 2005, he married Slovenian model [[Melania Knauss]].{{sfn|Kranish|Fisher|2017|p=266}} They have one son, [[Barron Trump|Barron]] (born 2006).<ref>{{cite news |date=July 2, 2021 |title=Donald Trump Fast Facts |url=https://cnn.com/2013/07/04/us/donald-trump-fast-facts/ |access-date=September 29, 2021 |publisher=CNN}}</ref>

*{{cite news |last1=Stoddard |first1=Ed |last2=Mfula |first2=Chris |date=January 12, 2018 |title=Africa calls Trump racist after 'shithole' remark |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-immigration-reaction/africa-calls-trump-racist-after-shithole-remark-idUSKBN1F11VC |access-date=October 1, 2019 |work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref> In national polling, about half of respondents said that he is racist; a greater proportion believed that he emboldened racists.<ref>{{cite web |date=July 3, 2018 |title=Harsh Words For U.S. Family Separation Policy, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Voters Have Dim View Of Trump, Dems On Immigration |url=https://poll.qu.edu/Poll-Release-Legacy?releaseid=2554 |access-date=July 5, 2018 |work=[[Quinnipiac University Polling Institute]]}}</ref> Several studies and surveys found that racist attitudes fueled his political ascent and were more important than economic factors in determining the allegiance of Trump voters.<ref>{{cite web |last=Lopez |first=German |date=December 15, 2017 |title=The past year of research has made it very clear: Trump won because of racial resentment |url=https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/12/15/16781222/trump-racism-economic-anxiety-study |access-date=January 14, 2018 |work=[[Vox (website)|Vox]]}}</ref> Racist and [[Islamophobic]] attitudes are a powerful indicator of support for Trump.{{sfn|Lajevardi|Oskooii|2018}}

In 2011, when he was reportedly considering a presidential run, Trump became the leading proponent of the racist [[Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories|"birther" conspiracy theory]], alleging that Barack Obama, the first black U.S. president, was not born in the U.S.<ref>{{cite web |last=John |first=Arit |date=June 23, 2020 |title=From birtherism to 'treason': Trump's false allegations against Obama |url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-06-23/trump-obamagate-birtherism-false-allegations |access-date=February 17, 2023 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> In April, he claimed credit for pressuring the White House to publish the "long-form" birth certificate, which he considered fraudulent, and later said this made him "very popular".<ref>{{cite web |last=Keneally |first=Meghan |date=September 18, 2015 |title=Donald Trump's History of Raising Birther Questions About President Obama |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/donald-trumps-history-raising-birther-questions-president-obama/story?id=33861832 |access-date=August 27, 2016 |work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]}}</ref> In September 2016, amid pressure, he acknowledged that Obama was born in the U.S.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Haberman |first1=Maggie |author-link1=Maggie Haberman |last2=Rappeport |first2=Alan |author-link2=Alan Rappeport |date=September 16, 2016 |title=Trump Drops False 'Birther' Theory, but Floats a New One: Clinton Started It |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/17/us/politics/donald-trump-birther-obama.html |access-date=October 12, 2021 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> In 2017, he reportedly expressed birther views privately.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Haberman |first1=Maggie |author-link1=Maggie Haberman |last2=Martin |first2=Jonathan |author-link2=Jonathan Martin (journalist) |date=November 28, 2017 |title=Trump Once Said the 'Access Hollywood' Tape Was Real. Now He's Not Sure. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/28/us/politics/trump-access-hollywood-tape.html |access-date=June 11, 2020 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>[[File:President Trump Gives a Statement on the Infrastructure Discussion.webm|thumb|start=13:11|Answering questions about the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville]]

Trump has a history of belittling women when speaking to the media and on social media.{{sfn|Rothe|Collins|2019}}<ref name="Shear">{{cite news |last1=Shear |first1=Michael D. |author-link1=Michael D. Shear |last2=Sullivan |first2=Eileen |author-link2=Eileen Sullivan |date=October 16, 2018 |title='Horseface,' 'Lowlife,' 'Fat, Ugly': How the President Demeans Women |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/16/us/politics/trump-women-insults.html |access-date=August 5, 2020 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> He made lewd comments, disparaged women's physical appearances, and referred to them using derogatory epithets.<ref name="Shear" /> At least 25 women publicly [[Donald Trump sexual misconduct allegations|accused him of sexual misconduct]], including rape, kissing without consent, groping, looking under women's skirts, and walking in on naked teenage pageant contestants. He has denied the allegations.<ref name="no26">{{cite news |last=Osborne |first=Lucy |date=September 17, 2020 |title='It felt like tentacles': the women who accuse Trump of sexual misconduct |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/17/amy-dorris-donald-trump-women-who-accuse-sexual-misconduct |access-date=June 6, 2024 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>

In 1988, Trump acquired the Plaza Hotel with a loan from a consortium of sixteen banks.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/04/business/company-news-trump-revises-plaza-loan.html|title=Trump Revises Plaza Loan|work=The New York Times|date=November 4, 1992|access-date=May 23, 2023}}</ref> The hotel filed for bankruptcy protection in 1992, and a reorganization plan was approved a month later, with the banks taking control of the property.<ref>{{cite news|title=Trump's Plaza Hotel Bankruptcy Plan Approved|work=The New York Times|date=December 12, 1992|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/12/business/company-news-trump-s-plaza-hotel-bankruptcy-plan-approved.html|agency=[[Reuters]]|access-date=May 24, 2023}}</ref> In 1995, he defaulted on over $3&nbsp;billion of bank loans, and the lenders seized the Plaza Hotel along with most of his other properties in a "vast and humiliating restructuring" that allowed him to avoid personal bankruptcy.<ref name="plaza">{{cite news|last=Segal|first=David|author-link=David Segal (reporter)|title=What Donald Trump's Plaza Deal Reveals About His White House Bid|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/17/business/what-donald-trumps-plaza-deal-reveals-about-his-white-house-bid.html|work=The New York Times|date=January 16, 2016|access-date=May 3, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/12/business/trump-is-selling-plaza-hotel-to-saudi-and-asian-investors.html|title=Trump Is Selling Plaza Hotel To Saudi and Asian Investors|work=The New York Times|first1=David|last1=Stout|author-link1=David Stout|first2=Kenneth N.|last2=Gilpin|date=April 12, 1995|access-date=July 18, 2019}}</ref> The lead bank's attorney said of the banks' decision that they "all agreed that he'd be better alive than dead".<ref name="plaza" />

From 1996 to 2015, Trump owned all or part of the [[Miss Universe]] pageants, including [[Miss USA]] and [[Miss Teen USA]].<ref name="pageantsaleWME">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/15/business/media/trump-sells-miss-universe-organization-to-wme-img-talent-agency.html|title=Trump Sells Miss Universe Organization to WME-IMG Talent Agency|date=September 14, 2015|first=John|last=Koblin|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 9, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-sells-miss-universe-img-2015-9|title=Donald Trump just sold off the entire Miss Universe Organization after buying it 3 days ago|date=September 14, 2015|first=Jethro|last=Nededog|work=[[Business Insider]]|access-date=May 6, 2016}}</ref> Due to disagreements with CBS about scheduling, he took both pageants to NBC in 2002.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/22/business/three-beauty-pageants-leaving-cbs-for-nbc.html|title=Three Beauty Pageants Leaving CBS for NBC|date=June 22, 2002|first=Jim|last=Rutenberg|author-link=Jim Rutenberg|access-date=August 14, 2016|work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2002/06/22/there-she-goes-pageants-move-to-nbc/2ba81b9a-bf67-4f3e-b8d6-1c2cc881ed19/|title=There She Goes: Pageants Move to NBC|date=June 22, 2002|first=Lisa|last=de Moraes|author-link=Lisa de Moraes|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=August 14, 2016}}</ref> In 2007, he received a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] for his work as producer of Miss Universe.<ref>{{cite news|last=Zara|first=Christopher|author-link=Christopher Zara|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/4023036/why-the-heck-does-donald-trump-have-a-walk-of-fame-star-anyway-its-not-the-reason-you-think|title=Why the heck does Donald Trump have a Walk of Fame star, anyway? It's not the reason you think|work=[[Fast Company]]|date=October 26, 2016|access-date=June 16, 2018}}</ref> NBC and Univision dropped the pageants in June 2015.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2015/06/29/nbc-dumps-trump/29471971/|title=NBC to Donald Trump: You're fired|work=[[USA Today]]|first=Maria|last=Puente|date=June 29, 2015|access-date=July 28, 2015}}</ref>

In 2013, the State of New York filed a $40&nbsp;million civil suit against Trump University, alleging that the company made false statements and defrauded consumers.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/02/27/donald-trumps-misleading-claim-that-hes-won-most-of-lawsuits-over-trump-university/|first=Michelle Ye Hee|last=Lee|title=Donald Trump's misleading claim that he's 'won most of' lawsuits over Trump University|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=February 27, 2016|access-date=February 27, 2016}}</ref> Additionally, two class actions were filed in federal court against Trump and his companies. Internal documents revealed that employees were instructed to use a hard-sell approach, and former employees testified that Trump University had defrauded or lied to its students.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/08/26/trump-entrepreneur-initiative-case/2700811/|title=Trump faces two-front legal fight over 'university'|work=[[USA Today]]|first=Kevin|last=McCoy|date=August 26, 2013|access-date=September 29, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/01/us/politics/donald-trump-university.html|title=Former Trump University Workers Call the School a 'Lie' and a 'Scheme' in Testimony|last1=Barbaro|first1=Michael|author-link1=Michael Barbaro|last2=Eder|first2=Steve|date=May 31, 2016|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 24, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2016/06/01/480279246/hard-sell-the-potential-political-consequences-of-the-trump-university-documents|title=Hard Sell: The Potential Political Consequences of the Trump University Documents|last=Montanaro|first=Domenico|date=June 1, 2016|work=[[NPR]]|access-date=June 2, 2016}}</ref> Shortly after he won the 2016 presidential election, he agreed to pay a total of $25&nbsp;million to settle the three cases.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/19/us/politics/trump-university.html|title=Donald Trump Agrees to Pay $25 Million in Trump University Settlement|last=Eder|first=Steve|date=November 18, 2016|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 18, 2016}}</ref>

In 2016, ''The Washington Post'' reported that the charity committed several potential legal and ethical violations, including alleged self-dealing and possible [[tax evasion]].<ref>{{cite news|first1=Chris|last1=Cillizza|author-link1=Chris Cillizza|first2=David A.|last2=Fahrenthold|author-link2=David Fahrenthold|title=Meet the reporter who's giving Donald Trump fits|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/09/15/how-the-reporter-behind-the-trump-foundation-stories-does-it/|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=September 15, 2016|access-date=June 26, 2021}}</ref> Also in 2016, the New York attorney general determined the foundation to be in violation of state law, for soliciting donations without submitting to required annual external audits, and ordered it to cease its fundraising activities in New York immediately.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=October 3, 2016|access-date=May 17, 2023|first=David A.|last=Fahrenthold|author-link=David Fahrenthold|title=Trump Foundation ordered to stop fundraising by N.Y. attorney general's office|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-foundation-ordered-to-stop-fundraising-by-ny-attorney-generals-office/2016/10/03/1d4d295a-8987-11e6-bff0-d53f592f176e_story.html}}</ref> Trump's team announced in December 2016 that the foundation would be dissolved.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/24/trump-university-shut-down-conflict-of-interest|title=Donald Trump to dissolve his charitable foundation after mounting complaints|last=Jacobs|first=Ben|author-link=Ben Jacobs (journalist)|date=December 24, 2016|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=December 25, 2016}}</ref>

According to a review of state and federal court files conducted by ''[[USA Today]]'' in 2018, Trump and his businesses had been involved in more than 4,000 state and federal legal actions.<ref>{{cite news|title=Donald Trump: Three decades, 4,095 lawsuits |work=[[USA Today]] |url=https://www.usatoday.com/pages/interactives/trump-lawsuits/ |access-date=April 17, 2018}}</ref> While he has not filed for [[personal bankruptcy]], his over-leveraged hotel and casino businesses in Atlantic City and New York filed for [[Chapter 11 bankruptcy]] protection six times between 1991 and 2009.<ref name="TW">{{cite news|last=Winter|first=Tom|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-bankruptcy-math-doesn-t-add-n598376|title=Trump Bankruptcy Math Doesn't Add Up|publisher=[[NBC News]]|date=June 24, 2016|access-date=February 26, 2020}}</ref> They continued to operate while the banks restructured debt and reduced his shares in the properties.<ref name="TW" />

During the 1980s, more than 70 banks had lent Trump $4&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{cite news|work=[[Reuters]]|date=July 17, 2016|first=Emily|last=Flitter|title=Art of the spin: Trump bankers question his portrayal of financial comeback|access-date=October 14, 2018|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-bankruptcies-insig/art-of-the-spin-trump-bankers-question-his-portrayal-of-financial-comeback-idUSKCN0ZX0GP}}</ref> After his corporate bankruptcies of the early 1990s, most major banks, with the exception of Deutsche Bank, declined to lend to him.<ref>{{cite news|work=[[Business Insider]]|date=December 8, 2017|first=Allan|last=Smith|title=Trump's long and winding history with Deutsche Bank could now be at the center of Robert Mueller's investigation|access-date=October 14, 2018|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-deutsche-bank-mueller-2017-12}}</ref> After the [[January 6 Capitol attack]], the bank decided not to do business with him or his company in the future.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Riley|first1=Charles|last2=Egan|first2=Matt|title=Deutsche Bank won't do any more business with Trump|url=https://cnn.com/2021/01/12/investing/deutsche-bank-trump/|access-date=September 14, 2022|publisher=CNN|date=January 12, 2021}}</ref>

[[File:Donald Trump speaking at CPAC 2011 by Mark Taylor.jpg|thumb|right|Trump speaking at [[Conservative Political Action Conference|CPAC]] 2011|alt=Trump, leaning heavily onto a lectern, with his mouth open mid-speech and a woman clapping politely next to him]]In 1987, Trump placed full-page advertisements in three major newspapers,<ref name="hint">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/02/nyregion/trump-gives-a-vague-hint-of-candidacy.html|title=Trump Gives a Vague Hint of Candidacy|work=The New York Times|first=Michael|last=Oreskes|author-link=Michael Oreskes|date=September 2, 1987|access-date=February 17, 2016}}</ref> expressing his views on foreign policy and how to eliminate the federal budget deficit.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/18/us/trump-urged-to-head-gala-of-democrats.html|title=Trump Urged To Head Gala Of Democrats|work=The New York Times|date=November 18, 1987|access-date=October 1, 2021|first=Fox|last=Butterfield}}</ref> In 1988, he approached [[Lee Atwater]], asking to be put into consideration to be Republican nominee [[George H. W. Bush]]'s running mate. Bush found the request "strange and unbelievable".{{sfn|Meacham|2016|p=326}} Trump [[Donald Trump 2000 presidential campaign|was a candidate]] in the [[2000 Reform Party presidential primaries]] for three months, but withdrew from the race in February 2000.<ref>{{cite news|first=Richard|last=Winger|author-link=Richard Winger|title=Donald Trump Ran For President in 2000 in Several Reform Party Presidential Primaries|date=December 25, 2011|access-date=October 1, 2021|website=[[Ballot Access News]]|url=https://ballot-access.org/2011/12/25/donald-trump-ran-for-president-in-2000-in-several-reform-party-presidential-primaries/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Clift|first=Eleanor|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-last-time-trump-wrecked-a-party|title=The Last Time Trump Wrecked a Party|work=[[The Daily Beast]]|date=July 18, 2016|access-date=October 14, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Nagourney|first=Adam|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/politics/camp/021400wh-ref-trump.html|title=Reform Bid Said to Be a No-Go for Trump|work=The New York Times|date=February 14, 2000|access-date=December 26, 2020}}</ref>  In 2011, Trump speculated about running against President Barack Obama in [[2012 United States presidential election|the 2012 election]], making his first speaking appearance at the [[Conservative Political Action Conference]] (CPAC) in February and giving speeches in early primary states.<ref name="McA">{{cite news|last=MacAskill|first=Ewen|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/16/donald-trump-us-presidential-race|title=Donald Trump bows out of 2012 US presidential election race|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=May 16, 2011|access-date=February 28, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Bobic|first1=Igor|last2=Stein|first2=Sam|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-cpac_n_58adc0f4e4b03d80af7141cf|title=How CPAC Helped Launch Donald Trump's Political Career|work=[[HuffPost]]|date=February 22, 2017|access-date=February 28, 2020}}</ref> In May, he announced he would not run.<ref name="McA"/> His presidential ambitions were generally not taken seriously at the time.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-cpac-president-act_n_821923|title=Donald Trump Brings His 'Pretend To Run For President' Act To CPAC|work=[[HuffPost]]|access-date=September 14, 2022|first=Jason|last=Linkins|date=February 11, 2011}}</ref>

Trump's fame and provocative statements earned him an unprecedented amount of [[earned media|free media coverage]], elevating his standing in the Republican primaries.<ref name="Cillizza-160614">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/06/14/this-harvard-study-is-a-powerful-indictment-of-the-medias-role-in-donald-trumps-rise/|title=This Harvard study is a powerful indictment of the media's role in Donald Trump's rise|first=Chris|last=Cillizza|author-link=Chris Cillizza|date=June 14, 2016|access-date=October 1, 2021|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> He adopted the phrase "truthful hyperbole", coined by his ghostwriter Tony Schwartz, to describe his public speaking style.<ref name="JM" /><ref>{{cite news|first1=Emily|last1=Flitter|first2=James|last2=Oliphant|title=Best president ever! How Trump's love of hyperbole could backfire|date=August 28, 2015|access-date=October 1, 2021|work=[[Reuters]]|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-hyperbole-insight-idUSKCN0QX11X20150828}}</ref> His campaign statements were often opaque and suggestive,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2016/08/10/489476187/trump-s-second-amendment-comment-fit-a-pattern-of-ambiguous-speech|last=McCammon|first=Sarah|title=Donald Trump's controversial speech often walks the line|work=[[NPR]]|date=August 10, 2016|access-date=October 1, 2021}}</ref> and a record number were false.<ref name="whoppers">{{cite news|title=The 'King of Whoppers': Donald Trump|url=https://www.factcheck.org/2015/12/the-king-of-whoppers-donald-trump/|work=[[FactCheck.org]]|access-date=March 4, 2019|date=December 21, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2015/dec/21/2015-lie-year-donald-trump-campaign-misstatements/|title=2015 Lie of the Year: the campaign misstatements of Donald Trump|work=[[PolitiFact]]|date=December 21, 2015|access-date=October 1, 2021|first1=Angie Drobnic|last1=Holan|author-link1=Angie Drobnic Holan|first2=Linda|last2=Qiu}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Paul|last=Farhi|title=Think Trump's wrong? Fact checkers can tell you how often. (Hint: A lot.)|date=February 26, 2016|access-date=October 1, 2021|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-existential-crisis-of-professional-factcheckers-in-the-year-of-trump/2016/02/25/e994f210-db3e-11e5-81ae-7491b9b9e7df_story.html}}</ref> He said he disdained [[political correctness]] and frequently made claims of [[media bias]].<ref name="Walsh-160724">{{cite news|first=Kenneth T.|last=Walsh|author-link=Kenneth T. Walsh|title=Trump: Media Is 'Dishonest and Corrupt'|date=August 15, 2016|access-date=October 1, 2021|work=[[U.S. News & World Report]]|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-08-15/trump-media-is-dishonest-and-corrupt}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/07/06/donald-trumps-failing-war-on-political-correctness/|title=Donald Trump is waging war on political correctness. And he's losing.|first=Aaron|last=Blake|date=July 6, 2016|access-date=October 1, 2021|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> In October 2016, two days before the [[2016 United States presidential debates#Second presidential debate (Washington University in St. Louis)|second presidential debate]], a 2005 "[[hot mic]]" recording surfaced in which [[Donald Trump Access Hollywood tape|Trump bragged on ''Access Hollywood'']] about groping women and kissing them without their consent, saying that "when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. ... Grab 'em by the [[Pussy#Female genitalia|pussy]]".<ref>{{cite web |last=Timm |first=Jane C. |date=October 7, 2016 |title=Trump caught on hot mic making lewd comments about women in 2005 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/trump-hot-mic-when-you-re-star-you-can-do-n662116 |access-date=June 10, 2018 |work=[[NBC News]]}}</ref> The incident's widespread media exposure led to his first public apology during the campaign<ref>{{cite web |last1=Burns |first1=Alexander |author-link1=Alex Burns (journalist) |last2=Haberman |first2=Maggie |author-link2=Maggie Haberman |last3=Martin |first3=Jonathan |author-link3=Jonathan Martin (journalist) |date=October 7, 2016 |title=Donald Trump Apology Caps Day of Outrage Over Lewd Tape |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/08/us/politics/donald-trump-women.html |access-date=October 8, 2016 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> and caused outrage across the political spectrum.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}  

Trump's election victory [[Protests against Donald Trump#After the election|sparked protests]] in major U.S. cities.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Logan|first1=Brian|last2=Sanchez|first2=Chris|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/anti-donald-trump-protest-united-states-2016-11|title=Protests against Donald Trump break out nationwide|date=November 10, 2016|work=[[Business Insider]]|access-date=September 16, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last1=Mele|first1=Christopher|last2=Correal|first2=Annie|title='Not Our President': Protests Spread After Donald Trump's Election|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/10/us/trump-election-protests.html|work=The New York Times|date=November 9, 2016|access-date=May 10, 2024}}</ref> On the day after his inauguration, an estimated 2.6&nbsp;million people worldwide, including an estimated half million in Washington, D.C., protested against him in the [[2017 Women's March|Women's Marches]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/21/womens-march-aims-start-movement-trump-inauguration/96864158/|title=At 2.6 million strong, Women's Marches crush expectations|last1=Przybyla|first1=Heidi M.|last2=Schouten|first2=Fredreka|date=January 21, 2017|work=[[USA Today]]|access-date=January 22, 2017}}</ref>

Before being inaugurated, Trump moved his businesses into a [[revocable trust]],<ref>{{cite news|first=Marilyn|last=Geewax|title=Trump Has Revealed Assumptions About Handling Presidential Wealth, Businesses|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/01/20/576871315/trump-has-revealed-assumptions-about-handling-presidential-wealth-businesses|work=[[NPR]]|date=January 20, 2018|access-date=October 2, 2021}}</ref><ref name="BBC041817">{{cite news|title=Donald Trump: A list of potential conflicts of interest|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38069298|work=[[BBC]]|date=April 18, 2017|access-date=October 2, 2021}}</ref> rather than a [[blind trust]] or equivalent arrangement "to cleanly sever himself from his business interests".<ref>{{Cite news|first1=Karen|last1=Yourish|first2=Larry|last2=Buchanan|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/12/us/politics/ethics-experts-trumps-conflicts-of-interest.html|access-date=September 3, 2024|title=It 'Falls Short in Every Respect': Ethics Experts Pan Trump's Conflicts Plan|work=The New York Times|date=January 12, 2017}}</ref> He continued to profit from his businesses and to know how his administration's policies affected his businesses.<ref name="BBC041817"/><ref name="Venook">{{cite news|last=Venook|first=Jeremy|title=Trump's Interests vs. America's, Dubai Edition|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/08/donald-trump-conflicts-of-interests/508382/|work=[[The Atlantic]]|date=August 9, 2017|access-date=October 2, 2021}}</ref> Although he said he would eschew "new foreign deals", the Trump Organization pursued expansions of its operations in Scotland, Dubai, and the Dominican Republic.<ref name="BBC041817"/><ref name="Venook"/> Lobbyists, foreign government officials, and Trump donors and allies generated hundreds of millions of dollars for his resorts and hotels.<ref>{{cite news|last=Stone|first=Peter|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/19/donald-trump-businesses-hotels-conflict-of-interest|title=How Trump's businesses are booming with lobbyists, donors and governments|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=July 19, 2019|access-date=November 20, 2024}}</ref>

Trump is the only modern U.S. president to leave office with a smaller workforce than when he took office, by 3&nbsp;million people.<ref name=VanDam/><ref>{{Cite news|last=Burns|first=Dan|date=January 8, 2021|title=Trump ends his term like a growing number of Americans: out of a job|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN29D31G/|access-date=May 10, 2024|work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref>

Trump aimed to boost the production and exports of [[fossil fuel]]s.<ref>{{cite news|last=Gardner|first=Timothy|title=Senate confirms Brouillette, former Ford lobbyist, as energy secretary|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-energy-brouillette/senate-confirms-brouillette-former-ford-lobbyist-as-energy-secretary-idUSKBN1Y62E6|access-date=December 15, 2019|work=[[Reuters]]|date=December 3, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/article/mt-state-wire-climate-ap-top-news-climate-change-ca-state-wire-2b44ced0e892d7e988e40a486d875b5d|work=[[AP News]]|title=Trump's fossil fuel agenda gets pushback from federal judges|first=Matthew|last=Brown|date=September 15, 2020|access-date=October 3, 2021}}</ref> Natural gas expanded under Trump, but coal continued to decline.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lipton |first=Eric |author-link=Eric Lipton |date=October 5, 2020 |title='The Coal Industry Is Back,' Trump Proclaimed. It Wasn't. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/05/us/politics/trump-coal-industry.html |access-date=October 3, 2021 |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name=Subramaniam>{{cite news|first=Tara|last=Subramaniam|url=https://cnn.com/2021/01/30/politics/trump-broken-promises/|title=From building the wall to bringing back coal: Some of Trump's more notable broken promises|work=CNN|date=January 30, 2021|access-date=October 3, 2021}}</ref> He rolled back more than 100 federal environmental regulations, including those that curbed [[greenhouse gas emissions]], air and water pollution, and the use of toxic substances. He weakened protections for animals and environmental standards for federal infrastructure projects, and expanded permitted areas for drilling and resource extraction, such as allowing [[Arctic Refuge drilling controversy|drilling in the Arctic Refuge]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Popovich|first1=Nadja|last2=Albeck-Ripka|first2=Livia|last3=Pierre-Louis|first3=Kendra|title=The Trump Administration Rolled Back More Than 100 Environmental Rules. Here's the Full List.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/climate/trump-environment-rollbacks-list.html|work=The New York Times|date=January 20, 2021|access-date=December 21, 2023}}</ref>

Trump is a long-time advocate of capital punishment.<ref>{{cite news|last=Wolf|first=Zachary B.|title=Trump returns to the death penalty as Democrats turn against it|url=https://cnn.com/2019/07/27/politics/death-penalty-trump-democrats/|work=CNN|access-date=September 18, 2022|date=July 27, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Honderich|first=Holly|title=In Trump's final days, a rush of federal executions|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55236260|work=[[BBC]]|date=January 16, 2021|access-date=September 18, 2022}}</ref> Under his administration, the [[Capital punishment by the United States federal government|federal government executed]] 13 prisoners, more than in the previous 56 years combined, ending a 17-year moratorium.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Michael|last1=Tarm|first2=Michael|last2=Kunzelman|title=Trump administration carries out 13th and final execution|url=https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-wildlife-coronavirus-pandemic-crime-terre-haute-28e44cc5c026dc16472751bbde0ead50|work=[[AP News]]|date=January 15, 2021|access-date=January 30, 2022}}</ref> In 2016, he said he supported the use of interrogation torture methods such as [[waterboarding]].<ref>{{cite news|last=McCarthy|first=Tom|title=Donald Trump: I'd bring back 'a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/06/donald-trump-waterboarding-republican-debate-torture|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=February 7, 2016|access-date=February 8, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Ted Cruz, Donald Trump Advocate Bringing Back Waterboarding|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/ted-cruz-donald-trump-advocate-bringing-back-waterboarding-36764410|work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|date=February 6, 2016|access-date=February 9, 2016}}</ref>

In a January 2018 discussion of immigration legislation, Trump reportedly referred to El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, and African nations as "shithole countries".<ref>{{cite web |last=Beauchamp |first=Zack |date=January 11, 2018 |title=Trump's "shithole countries" comment exposes the core of Trumpism |url=https://www.vox.com/2018/1/11/16880804/trump-shithole-countries-racism |access-date=January 11, 2018 |work=[[Vox (website)|Vox]]}}</ref> His remarks were condemned as racist.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wintour |first1=Patrick |author-link1=Patrick Wintour |last2=Burke |first2=Jason |author-link2=Jason Burke |last3=Livsey |first3=Anna |date=January 13, 2018 |title='There's no other word but racist': Trump's global rebuke for 'shithole' remark |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/12/unkind-divisive-elitist-international-outcry-over-trumps-shithole-countries-remark |access-date=January 13, 2018 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>

In June 2020, during the [[George Floyd protests]], federal law-enforcement officials controversially used [[less lethal]] weapons to remove a largely peaceful crowd of lawful protesters from [[Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C.|Lafayette Square]], outside the [[White House]].<ref name="wb">{{cite news|last1=Leonnig|first1=Carol D.|author-link1=Carol D. Leonnig|last2=Zapotosky|first2=Matt|last3=Dawsey|first3=Josh|author-link3=Josh Dawsey|last4=Tan|first4=Rebecca|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/barr-personally-ordered-removal-of-protesters-near-white-house-leading-to-use-of-force-against-largely-peaceful-crowd/2020/06/02/0ca2417c-a4d5-11ea-b473-04905b1af82b_story.html|title=Barr personally ordered removal of protesters near White House, leading to use of force against largely peaceful crowd|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=June 2, 2020|access-date=June 3, 2020}}</ref><ref name="bumpline">{{cite news|last=Bump|first=Philip|date=June 2, 2020|title=Timeline: The clearing of Lafayette Square|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/06/02/timeline-clearing-lafayette-square/|access-date=June 6, 2020}}</ref> Trump then posed with a Bible for [[Donald Trump photo-op at St. John's Church|a photo-op]] at the nearby [[St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square|St. John's Episcopal Church]],<ref name="wb"/><ref>{{cite news|last1=Gittleson|first1=Ben|last2=Phelps|first2=Jordyn|title=Police use munitions to forcibly push back peaceful protesters for Trump church visit|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/national-guard-troops-deployed-white-house-trump-calls/story?id=71004151|access-date=June 29, 2021|work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|date=June 3, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=O'Neil|first=Luke|date=June 2, 2020|title=What do we know about Trump's love for the Bible?|work=[[The Guardian]]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/02/what-do-we-know-about-trumps-love-for-the-bible|access-date=June 11, 2020}}</ref> with religious leaders condemning both the treatment of protesters and the photo opportunity itself.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Stableford|first1=Dylan|last2=Wilson|first2=Christopher|title=Religious leaders condemn teargassing protesters to clear street for Trump|url=https://news.yahoo.com/religious-leaders-condemn-gassing-protesters-to-clear-street-for-trump-192800782.html|access-date=June 8, 2020|work=[[Yahoo! News]]|date=June 3, 2020}}</ref> Many retired military leaders and defense officials condemned his proposal to use the U.S. military against anti-police-brutality protesters.<ref>{{cite news|title=Scores of retired military leaders publicly denounce Trump|url=https://apnews.com/article/252914f8a989a740544be6d4992d044c|access-date=June 8, 2020|work=[[AP News]]|date=June 6, 2020}}</ref>

Trump granted 237 requests for clemency, fewer than all presidents since 1900 with the exception of [[George H. W. Bush]] and [[George W. Bush]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Gramlich|first=John|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/01/22/trump-used-his-clemency-power-sparingly-despite-a-raft-of-late-pardons-and-commutations/|title=Trump used his clemency power sparingly despite a raft of late pardons and commutations|work=[[Pew Research Center]]|date=January 22, 2021|access-date=July 23, 2023}}</ref> Only 25 of them had been vetted by the Justice Department's [[Office of the Pardon Attorney]]; the others were granted to people with personal or political connections to him, his family, and his allies, or recommended by celebrities.<ref name="road">{{cite news|last=Vogel|first=Kenneth P.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/27/us/politics/trump-pardons.html|title=The Road to Clemency From Trump Was Closed to Most Who Sought It|work=The New York Times|date=March 21, 2021|access-date=July 23, 2023}}</ref><ref name="OloDaw">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-pardon-power-russia-probe-mueller/2020/12/24/c55000c8-45fd-11eb-b0e4-0f182923a025_story.html|date=December 24, 2020|access-date=October 3, 2021|title=Trump wields pardon power as political weapon, rewarding loyalists and undermining prosecutors|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|first1=Toluse|last1=Olorunnipa|first2=Josh|last2=Dawsey|author-link2=Josh Dawsey}}</ref> In his last full day in office, he granted 73 pardons and commuted 70 sentences.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Kevin|last1=Johnson|first2=David|last2=Jackson|first3=Dennis|last3=Wagner|url=https://usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/01/19/donald-trump-pardons-steve-bannon-white-house/4209763001/|title=Donald Trump grants clemency to 144 people (not himself or family members) in final hours|date=January 19, 2021|work=[[USA Today]]|access-date=July 23, 2023}}</ref> Several Trump allies were not eligible for pardons under Justice Department rules, and in other cases the department had opposed clemency.<ref name="road"/> The pardons of three military service members convicted of or charged with violent crimes were opposed by military leaders.<ref>{{cite news|last=Phillips|first=Dave|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/15/us/trump-pardons.html|title=Trump Clears Three Service Members in War Crimes Cases|work=The New York Times|date=November 22, 2019|access-date=April 18, 2024}}</ref>

As president, he frequently described illegal immigration as an "invasion" and conflated immigrants with the criminal gang [[MS-13]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2019/08/08/trump-immigrants-rhetoric-criticized-el-paso-dayton-shootings/1936742001/|title=A USA Today analysis found Trump used words like 'invasion' and 'killer' at rallies more than 500 times since 2017|last=Fritze|first=John|work=[[USA Today]]|access-date=August 9, 2019|date=August 8, 2019}}</ref> Trump drastically escalated immigration enforcement, including implementing harsher immigration enforcement policies against asylum seekers from Central America than any modern U.S. president.{{sfn|Johnson|2017a}}{{sfn|Johnson|Cuison-Villazor|2019}}

Following the [[2015 San Bernardino attack]], Trump proposed to ban [[Muslim]] foreigners from entering the U.S. until stronger vetting systems could be implemented.<ref>{{cite news|last=Pilkington|first=Ed|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/07/donald-trump-ban-all-muslims-entering-us-san-bernardino-shooting|title=Donald Trump: ban all Muslims entering US|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=December 8, 2015|access-date=October 10, 2020}}</ref> He later reframed the proposed ban to apply to countries with a "proven history of terrorism".<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=June 25, 2016|access-date=October 3, 2021|first=Jenna|last=Johnson|title=Trump now proposes only Muslims from terrorism-heavy countries would be banned from U.S.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/06/25/trump-now-says-muslim-ban-only-applies-to-those-from-terrorism-heavy-countries/}}</ref>

On January&nbsp;27, 2017, Trump signed [[Executive Order 13769]], which suspended admission of refugees for 120 days and denied entry to citizens of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen for 90 days, citing security concerns. The order took effect immediately and without warning, causing chaos at airports.<ref name="frontline">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/28/airports-us-immigration-ban-muslim-countries-trump|title=US airports on frontline as Donald Trump's travel ban causes chaos and protests|date=January 28, 2017|work=[[The Guardian]]|first1=Joanna|last1=Walters|first2=Edward|last2=Helmore|first3=Saeed Kamali|last3=Dehghan|access-date=July 19, 2017}}</ref><ref name="airport">{{cite news|title=Protests erupt at airports nationwide over immigration action|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/protests-airports-immigration-action-president-trump/|work=[[CBS News]]|date=January 28, 2017|access-date=March 22, 2021}}</ref> [[Protests against Executive Order 13769|Protests began at airports]] the next day,<ref name="frontline"/><ref name="airport"/> and [[Legal challenges to the Trump travel ban|legal challenges]] resulted in [[National injunctions|nationwide preliminary injunctions]].<ref>{{cite news|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=February 4, 2017|access-date=October 3, 2021|first1=Devlin|last1=Barrett|first2=Dan|last2=Frosch|title=Federal Judge Temporarily Halts Trump Order on Immigration, Refugees|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/legal-feud-over-trump-immigration-order-turns-to-visa-revocations-1486153216}}</ref> A March&nbsp;6 [[Executive Order 13780|revised order]], which excluded Iraq and gave other exemptions, again was blocked by federal judges in three states.<ref>{{cite news|work=[[Reuters]]|date=March 15, 2017|access-date=October 3, 2021|first1=Dan|last1=Levine|first2=Mica|last2=Rosenberg|title=Hawaii judge halts Trump's new travel ban before it can go into effect|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-court-idUSKBN16M17N}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Trump signs new travel ban directive|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-39183153|access-date=March 18, 2017|work=[[BBC News]]|date=March 6, 2017}}</ref> In a [[Int'l Refugee Assistance Project v. Trump|decision in June 2017]], the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] ruled that the ban could be enforced on visitors who lack a "credible claim of a ''bona fide'' relationship with a person or entity in the United States".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-travel-ban-supreme-court-20170626-story.html|title=Limited version of Trump's travel ban to take effect Thursday|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|first=Mark|last=Sherman|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=June 26, 2017|access-date=August 5, 2017}}</ref>

The temporary order was replaced by [[Presidential Proclamation 9645]] on September&nbsp;24, 2017, which restricted travel from the originally targeted countries except Iraq and Sudan, and further banned travelers from North Korea and Chad, along with certain Venezuelan officials.<ref>{{cite news|last=Laughland|first=Oliver|date=September 25, 2017|title=Trump travel ban extended to blocks on North Korea, Venezuela and Chad|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/25/trump-travel-ban-extended-to-blocks-on-north-korea-and-venezuela|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=October 13, 2017}}</ref> After lower courts partially blocked the new restrictions, the Supreme Court allowed the September version to go into full effect on December&nbsp;4, 2017,<ref>{{cite news|title=Supreme Court lets Trump's latest travel ban go into full effect|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-immigration/supreme-court-lets-trumps-latest-travel-ban-go-into-full-effect-idUSKBN1DY2NY|first=Lawrence|last=Hurley|date=December 4, 2017|access-date=October 3, 2021|work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref> and ultimately upheld the travel ban in a ruling in June 2019.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Wagner|first1=Meg|last2=Ries|first2=Brian|last3=Rocha|first3=Veronica|url=https://cnn.com/politics/live-news/supreme-court-travel-ban/|title=Supreme Court upholds travel ban|work=CNN|date=June 26, 2018|access-date=June 26, 2018}}</ref>

Although Trump originally argued that the separations could not be stopped by an executive order, he acceded to intense public objection and signed an executive order in June 2018, mandating that migrant families be detained together unless "there is a concern" of a risk to the child.<ref>{{cite news|last=Beckwith|first=Ryan Teague|title=Here's What President Trump's Immigration Order Actually Does|url=https://time.com/5317703/trump-family-separation-policy-executive-order/|access-date=May 30, 2020|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=June 20, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=The New York Times|date=June 20, 2018|first1=Michael D.|last1=Shear|author-link1=Michael D. Shear|first2=Abby|last2=Goodnough|first3=Maggie|last3=Haberman|author-link3=Maggie Haberman|title=Trump Retreats on Separating Families, but Thousands May Remain Apart|access-date=June 20, 2018|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/20/us/politics/trump-immigration-children-executive-order.html}}</ref> On June&nbsp;26, 2018, Judge [[Dana Sabraw]] concluded that the Trump administration had "no system in place to keep track of" the separated children, nor any effective measures for family communication and reunification;<ref>{{cite news|last=Hansler|first=Jennifer|title=Judge says government does a better job of tracking 'personal property' than separated kids|url=https://cnn.com/2018/06/27/politics/family-separation-federal-judge-personal-property-comment/|access-date=May 30, 2020|work=CNN|date=June 27, 2018}}</ref> Sabraw ordered for the families to be reunited and family separations stopped except in limited circumstances.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jun/27/us-immigration-must-reunite-families-separated-at-border-federal-judge-rules|title=Judge orders US to reunite families separated at border within 30 days|last=Walters|first=Joanna|date=June 27, 2018|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=May 30, 2020}}</ref> After the order, the administration separated more than a thousand migrant children from their families; the [[ACLU]] contended that the administration had abused its discretion and asked Sabraw to more narrowly define the circumstances warranting separation.<ref name="Spagat"/>

In 2018, Trump refused to sign any [[appropriations bill]] from Congress unless it allocated $5.6&nbsp;billion for the border wall,<ref>{{cite news|first1=Julie Hirschfeld|last1=Davis|author-link1=Julie Hirschfeld Davis|first2=Michael|last2=Tackett|author-link2=Michael Tackett|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/02/us/politics/trump-congress-shutdown.html|title=Trump and Democrats Dig in After Talks to Reopen Government Go Nowhere|work=The New York Times|date=January 2, 2019|access-date=January 3, 2019}}</ref> resulting in the federal government partially shutting down for 35 days from December 2018 to January 2019, the [[List of United States federal funding gaps|longest U.S. government shutdown in history]].<ref name=Gambino>{{cite news|last1=Gambino|first1=Lauren|last2=Walters|first2=Joanna|title=Trump signs bill to end $6bn shutdown and temporarily reopen government|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/25/shutdown-latest-news-trump-reopens-government-deal-democrats|access-date=May 31, 2020|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=January 26, 2019|agency=[[Reuters]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Pramuk|first=Jacob|title=Trump signs bill to temporarily reopen government after longest shutdown in history|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/25/senate-votes-to-reopen-government-and-end-shutdown-without-border-wall.html|access-date=May 31, 2020|work=[[CNBC]]|date=January 25, 2019}}</ref> Around 800,000 government employees were [[furlough]]ed or worked without pay.<ref>{{cite news|last=Fritze|first=John|title=By the numbers: How the government shutdown is affecting the US|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/01/24/government-shutdown-has-wide-impact-numbers/2666872002/|access-date=May 31, 2020|work=[[USA Today]]|date=January 24, 2019}}</ref> Trump and Congress ended the shutdown by approving temporary funding that provided delayed payments to government workers, but no funds for the wall.<ref name=Gambino/> The shutdown resulted in an estimated permanent loss of $3&nbsp;billion to the economy, according to the [[Congressional Budget Office]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/28/government-shutdown-cost-the-economy-11-billion-cbo.html|title=The government shutdown cost the economy $11 billion, including a permanent $3 billion loss, Congressional Budget Office says|last=Mui|first=Ylan|date=January 28, 2019|work=[[CNBC]]|access-date=May 31, 2020}}</ref> About half of those polled blamed Trump for the shutdown, and his approval ratings dropped.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bacon|first=Perry Jr.|title=Why Trump Blinked|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/government-shutdown-ends/|work=[[FiveThirtyEight]]|date=January 25, 2019|access-date=October 3, 2021}}</ref>

Trump described himself as a "nationalist"<ref>{{cite news|first=William|last=Cummings|title='I am a nationalist': Trump's embrace of controversial label sparks uproar|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/10/24/trump-says-hes-nationalist-what-means-why-its-controversial/1748521002/|work=[[USA Today]]|date=October 24, 2018|access-date=August 24, 2021}}</ref> and his foreign policy as "[[America First (policy)|America First]]".<ref name=Bennhold>{{cite news|first=Katrin|last=Bennhold|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/06/world/europe/germany-troop-withdrawal-america.html|work=The New York Times|title=Has 'America First' Become 'Trump First'? Germans Wonder|date=June 6, 2020|access-date=August 24, 2021}}</ref> He praised and supported [[populist]], [[neo-nationalist]], and authoritarian governments.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://carnegieendowment.org/2018/10/01/can-u.s.-democracy-policy-survive-trump-pub-77381|title=Can U.S. Democracy Policy Survive Trump?|last1=Carothers|first1=Thomas|last2=Brown|first2=Frances Z.|date=October 1, 2018|website=[[Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]]|access-date=October 19, 2019}}</ref> Hallmarks of foreign relations during his tenure included unpredictability, uncertainty, and inconsistency.<ref name=Bennhold/>{{sfn|McGurk|2020}} Tensions between the U.S. and its European allies were strained under Trump.<ref>{{cite news|first=Ana|last=Swanson|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/business/economy/trump-european-union-trade.html|title=Trump Administration Escalates Tensions With Europe as Crisis Looms|date=March 12, 2020|access-date=October 4, 2021|work=The New York Times}}</ref> He criticized [[Member states of NATO|NATO allies]] and privately suggested on multiple occasions that the U.S. should [[Withdrawal from NATO#United States|withdraw from NATO]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Baker|first=Peter|author-link=Peter Baker (journalist)|date=May 26, 2017 |access-date=October 4, 2021|title=Trump Says NATO Allies Don't Pay Their Share. Is That True?|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/26/world/europe/nato-trump-spending.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Barnes|first1=Julian E.|last2=Cooper|first2=Helene|author-link2=Helene Cooper|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/14/us/politics/nato-president-trump.html|title=Trump Discussed Pulling U.S. From NATO, Aides Say Amid New Concerns Over Russia|work=The New York Times|date=January 14, 2019 |access-date=April 5, 2021}}</ref>  

Trump withdrew the U.S. from the [[Trans-Pacific Partnership]] (TPP) negotiations,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://cnn.com/2017/01/23/politics/trump-tpp-things-to-know/|title=Trump's TPP withdrawal: 5 things to know|last=Bradner|first=Eric|date=January 23, 2017|work=CNN|access-date=March 12, 2018}}</ref> imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/mar/10/war-over-steel-trump-tips-global-trade-turmoil-tariffs|title=The war over steel: Trump tips global trade into new turmoil|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=March 10, 2018|access-date=March 15, 2018|last=Inman|first=Phillip}}</ref> and launched a [[China–United States trade war|trade war with China]] by sharply increasing tariffs on 818 categories (worth $50&nbsp;billion) of Chinese goods imported into the U.S.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-china-ministry/trump-sets-tariffs-on-50-billion-in-chinese-goods-beijing-strikes-back-idUSKBN1JB0KC|title=Trump sets tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese goods; Beijing strikes back|date=June 15, 2018|access-date=October 3, 2021|work=[[Reuters]]|first1=David|last1=Lawder|first2=Ben|last2=Blanchard}}</ref> While he said that import tariffs are paid by China into the [[U.S. Treasury]], they are paid by American companies that import goods from China.<ref>{{cite news|last=Singh|first=Rajesh Kumar|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-china-tariffs-explainer-idUSKCN1UR5YZ|title=Explainer: Trump's China tariffs – Paid by U.S. importers, not by China|work=[[Reuters]]|date=August 2, 2019|access-date=November 27, 2022}}</ref> Although he pledged during the campaign to significantly reduce the U.S.'s large [[trade deficits]], the trade deficit skyrocketed under Trump.<ref name="Palmer 2021">{{cite news|last1=Palmer|first1=Doug| title=America's trade gap soared under Trump, final figures show|work=[[Politico]]|date=February 5, 2021|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/05/2020-trade-figures-trump-failure-deficit-466116|access-date=June 1, 2024}}</ref> Following a 2017–2018 renegotiation, the [[United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement]] (USMCA) became effective in July 2020 as the successor to NAFTA.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rodriguez|first=Sabrina|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/24/north-american-trade-deal-to-take-effect-on-july-1-207402|title=North American trade deal to take effect on July 1|date=April 24, 2020|access-date=January 31, 2022|work=[[Politico]]}}</ref>

The Trump administration weakened the toughest sanctions imposed by the U.S. against Russian entities after Russia's [[2014 annexation of Crimea]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Patricia|last=Zengerle|title=Bid to keep U.S. sanctions on Russia's Rusal fails in Senate|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-russia-sanctions/bid-to-keep-u-s-sanctions-on-russias-rusal-fails-in-senate-idUSKCN1PA2JB|work=[[Reuters]]|date=January 16, 2019|access-date=October 5, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Jeanne|last=Whalen|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/01/16/rare-rebuke-trump-administration-some-gop-lawmakers-advance-measure-oppose-lifting-russian-sanctions/|title=In rare rebuke of Trump administration, some GOP lawmakers advance measure to oppose lifting Russian sanctions|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=January 15, 2019|access-date=October 5, 2021}}</ref> Trump withdrew the U.S. from the [[Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty]], citing alleged Russian noncompliance,<ref>{{cite news|first=Shannon|last=Bugos|title=U.S. Completes INF Treaty Withdrawal|url=https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2019-09/news/us-completes-inf-treaty-withdrawal|website=[[Arms Control Association]]|date=September 2019|access-date=October 5, 2021}}</ref> and supported a potential return of Russia to the [[G7]].<ref name="G8">{{cite news|last=Panetta|first=Grace|date=June 14, 2018|title=Trump reportedly claimed to leaders at the G7 that Crimea is part of Russia because everyone there speaks Russian|work=[[Business Insider]]|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-claims-crimea-is-part-of-russia-since-people-speak-russian-g7-summit-2018-6|access-date=February 13, 2020}}</ref>

Trump repeatedly accused China of taking unfair advantage of the U.S.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-china-idUSKCN1UX1WO|title=Trump says China is 'killing us with unfair trade deals'|date=August 7, 2019|work=[[Reuters]]|access-date=August 24, 2019|first1=Nandita|last1=Bose|first2=Andrea|last2=Shalal}}</ref> He [[China–United States trade war|launched a trade war against China]] that was widely characterized as a failure,<ref>{{cite news|title=More pain than gain: How the US-China trade war hurt America|last1=Hass|first1=Ryan|last2=Denmark|first2=Abraham|url=https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2020/08/07/more-pain-than-gain-how-the-us-china-trade-war-hurt-america/|work=[[Brookings Institution]]|date=August 7, 2020 |access-date=October 4, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=How China Won Trump's Trade War and Got Americans to Foot the Bill|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-11/how-china-won-trump-s-good-and-easy-to-win-trade-war|work=[[Bloomberg News]]|date=January 11, 2021 |access-date=October 4, 2021}}</ref> sanctioned [[Huawei]] for alleged ties to Iran,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2019/05/21/huawei-why-facing-sanctions-and-who-get-hurt-most/3750738002/|title=Huawei sanctions: Who gets hurt in dispute?|work=[[USA Today]]|date=May 21, 2019|access-date=August 24, 2019|first1=Frank|last1=Bajak|first2=Michael|last2=Liedtke}}</ref> significantly increased visa restrictions on Chinese students and scholars,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://time.com/5600299/donald-trump-china-trade-war-students/|title=Trump's Trade War Targets Chinese Students at Elite U.S. Schools|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=June 3, 2019|access-date=August 24, 2019}}</ref> and classified China as a [[currency manipulator]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/06/trade-war-china-responds-to-us-after-claim-of-being-a-currency-manipulator.html|title=China responds to US after Treasury designates Beijing a 'currency manipulator'|last=Meredith|first=Sam|date=August 6, 2019|work=[[CNBC]]|access-date=August 6, 2019}}</ref> He also juxtaposed verbal attacks on China with praise of [[Chinese Communist Party]] leader [[Xi Jinping]],<ref>{{cite news|last=Sink|first=Justin|date=April 11, 2018|access-date=October 5, 2021|title=Trump Praises China's Xi's Trade Speech, Easing Tariff Tensions|work=[[IndustryWeek]]|url=https://www.industryweek.com/the-economy/article/22025453/trump-praises-chinas-xis-trade-speech-easing-tariff-tensions}}</ref> which was attributed to trade war negotiations.<ref>{{cite news|last=Nakamura|first=David|author-link=David Nakamura|date=August 23, 2019|title=Amid trade war, Trump drops pretense of friendship with China's Xi Jinping, calls him an 'enemy'|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/amid-trade-war-trump-drops-pretense-of-friendship-with-chinas-xi-jinping-calls-him-an-enemy/2019/08/23/2063e80e-c5bb-11e9-b5e4-54aa56d5b7ce_story.html|access-date=October 25, 2020}}</ref> After initially praising China for [[Chinese government response to COVID-19|its handling of COVID-19]],<ref>{{cite news|last=Ward|first=Myah|date=April 15, 2020|access-date=October 5, 2021|title=15 times Trump praised China as coronavirus was spreading across the globe|work=[[Politico]]|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/15/trump-china-coronavirus-188736}}</ref> he began a campaign of criticism starting in March 2020.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Jeff|last1=Mason|first2=Matt|last2=Spetalnick|first3=Alexandra|last3=Alper|date=March 18, 2020|title=Trump ratchets up criticism of China over coronavirus|work=[[Reuters]]|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-trump-china-idUSKBN2153N5|access-date=October 25, 2020}}</ref>

In 2017, when [[North Korea's nuclear weapons]] were increasingly seen as a serious threat,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Taylor|first1=Adam|last2=Meko|first2=Tim|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/12/21/what-made-north-koreas-weapons-programs-so-much-scarier-in-2017/|title=What made North Korea's weapons programs so much scarier in 2017|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=December 21, 2017|access-date=July 5, 2019}}</ref> Trump escalated his rhetoric, warning that North Korean aggression would be met with "fire and fury like the world has never seen".<ref name=Windrem>{{cite news|last1=Windrem|first1=Robert|last2=Siemaszko|first2=Corky|last3=Arkin|first3=Daniel|date=May 2, 2017|title=North Korea crisis: How events have unfolded under Trump|work=[[NBC News]]|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/north-korea-crisis-how-events-have-unfolded-under-trump-n753996|access-date=June 8, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Borger|first=Julian|author-link=Julian Borger|title=Donald Trump threatens to 'totally destroy' North Korea in UN speech|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/19/donald-trump-threatens-totally-destroy-north-korea-un-speech|access-date=June 8, 2020|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=September 19, 2017}}</ref> In 2017, he declared that he wanted North Korea's "complete denuclearization", and engaged in [[name-calling]] with leader [[Kim Jong Un]].<ref name=Windrem/><ref>{{cite news|last=McCausland|first=Phil|title=Kim Jong Un Calls President Trump 'Dotard' and 'Frightened Dog'|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/north-korea-s-kim-jong-un-calls-president-trump-frightened-n803631|access-date=June 8, 2020|work=[[NBC News]]|date=September 22, 2017}}</ref> After this period of tension, he and Kim exchanged at least 27 letters in which the two men described a warm personal friendship.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://cnn.com/2020/09/09/politics/transcripts-kim-jong-un-letters-trump/|work=CNN|date=September 9, 2020|access-date=October 5, 2021|title=Transcript: Kim Jong Un's letters to President Trump}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title='A magical force': New Trump-Kim letters provide window into their 'special friendship'|date=September 9, 2020|access-date=October 5, 2021|last1=Gangel|first1=Jamie|author-link1=Jamie Gangel|last2=Herb|first2=Jeremy|work=CNN|url=https://cnn.com/2020/09/09/politics/kim-jong-un-trump-letters-rage-book/}}</ref> In March 2019, he lifted some U.S. [[sanctions against North Korea]] against the advice of his Treasury Department.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/22/world/asia/north-korea-sanctions.html|work=The New York Times|date=March 22, 2019|access-date=September 30, 2021|title=Trump Overrules Own Experts on Sanctions, in Favor to North Korea|first=Alan|last=Rappeport|author-link=Alan Rappeport}}</ref>

Trump supported many of the policies of Israeli Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Sommer|first=Allison Kaplan|date=July 25, 2019|title=How Trump and Netanyahu Became Each Other's Most Effective Political Weapon|work=[[Haaretz]]|url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-how-trump-and-netanyahu-became-each-other-s-most-effective-political-weapon-1.7569757|access-date=August 2, 2019}}</ref> Under Trump, the U.S. [[United States recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel|recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Nelson|first1=Louis|last2=Nussbaum|first2=Matthew|date=December 6, 2017|title=Trump says U.S. recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital, despite global condemnation|work=[[Politico]]|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2017/12/06/trump-move-embassy-jerusalem-israel-reaction-281973|access-date=December 6, 2017}}</ref> and [[United States recognition of the Golan Heights as part of Israel|Israeli sovereignty]] over the [[Golan Heights]],<ref>{{cite news|last=Romo|first=Vanessa|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/03/25/706588932/trump-formally-recognizes-israeli-sovereignty-over-golan-heights?t=1617622343037|title=Trump Formally Recognizes Israeli Sovereignty Over Golan Heights|work=[[NPR]]|date=March 25, 2019 |access-date=April 5, 2021}}</ref> leading to international condemnation including from the [[UN General Assembly]], [[European Union]], and [[Arab League]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Gladstone|first1=Rick|last2=Landler|first2=Mark|author-link2=Mark Landler|date=December 21, 2017|title=Defying Trump, U.N. General Assembly Condemns U.S. Decree on Jerusalem|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/21/world/middleeast/trump-jerusalem-united-nations.html|access-date=December 21, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Huet|first=Natalie|date=March 22, 2019|access-date=October 4, 2021|title=Outcry as Trump backs Israeli sovereignty over Golan Heights|work=[[Euronews]]|agency=[[Reuters]]|url=https://www.euronews.com/2019/03/22/outcry-as-trump-backs-israeli-sovereignty-over-golan-heights}}</ref> In 2020, the White House hosted the signing of agreements, named [[Abraham Accords]], between Israel and the [[United Arab Emirates]] and [[Bahrain]] to normalize their foreign relations.<ref>{{cite news|last=Crowley|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Crowley (journalist)|date=September 15, 2020|title=Israel, U.A.E. and Bahrain Sign Accords, With an Eager Trump Playing Host|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/15/us/politics/trump-israel-peace-emirates-bahrain.html|access-date=February 9, 2024}}</ref>

Trump actively supported the [[Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen]] against the [[Houthis]] and in 2017 signed a $110&nbsp;billion agreement to sell arms to [[Saudi Arabia]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Phelps|first1=Jordyn|last2=Struyk|first2=Ryan|date=May 20, 2017|title=Trump signs $110 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia on 'a tremendous day'|work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-signs-110-billion-arms-deal-saudi-arabia/story?id=47531180|access-date=July 6, 2018}}</ref> In 2018, the U.S. provided limited intelligence and logistical support for the intervention.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Holland|first1=Steve|last2=Bayoumy|first2=Yara|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-saudi-idUSKBN1GW2CA|title=Trump praises U.S. military sales to Saudi as he welcomes crown prince|work=[[Reuters]]|date=March 20, 2018|access-date=June 2, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-saudi-whitehouse-idUSKBN1GX1PP/|first1=Doina|last1=Chiacu|first2=Idrees|last2=Ali|title=Trump, Saudi leader discuss Houthi 'threat' in Yemen: White House|work=[[Reuters]]|date=March 21, 2018|access-date=June 2, 2021}}</ref> Following the [[Abqaiq–Khurais attack|2019 attack on Saudi oil facilities]], which the U.S. and Saudi Arabia blamed on [[Iran]], he approved the deployment of 3,000 additional U.S. troops, including fighter squadrons, two [[MIM-104 Patriot|Patriot batteries]], and a [[Terminal High Altitude Area Defense]] system, to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Stewart|first1=Phil|last2=Ali|first2=Idrees|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-aramco-attacks-exclusive-idUSKBN1WQ21Z/ |title=U.S. says deploying more forces to Saudi Arabia to counter Iran threat|work=[[Reuters]]|date=October 11, 2019 |access-date=October 4, 2021}}</ref>

Trump ordered [[2017 Shayrat missile strike|missile strikes in April 2017]] and [[April 2018 missile strikes against Syria|April 2018]] against the Assad regime in Syria, in retaliation for the [[Khan Shaykhun chemical attack|Khan Shaykhun]] and [[Douma chemical attack]]s, respectively.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syria war: Trump's missile strike attracts US praise – and barbs|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-39529605|access-date=April 8, 2017|work=[[BBC News]]|date=April 7, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/us-strikes-syria-after-suspected-chemical-attack-by-assad-regime|first=Kathleen|last=Joyce|title=US strikes Syria after suspected chemical attack by Assad regime|date=April 14, 2018|work=[[Fox News]] |access-date=April 14, 2018}}</ref> In December 2018, he declared "we have won against ISIS", contradicting Department of Defense assessments, and ordered the withdrawal of all troops from Syria.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/19/us/politics/trump-syria-turkey-troop-withdrawal.html|title=Trump withdraws U.S. Forces From Syria, Declaring 'We Have Won Against ISIS'|first1=Mark|last1=Landler|author-link1=Mark Landler|first2=Helene|last2=Cooper|author-link2=Helene Cooper|first3=Eric|last3=Schmitt|author-link3=Eric P. Schmitt|date=December 19, 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=December 31, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Borger|first1=Julian|author-link1=Julian Borger|last2=Chulov|first2=Martin|title=Trump shocks allies and advisers with plan to pull US troops out of Syria|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/dec/19/us-troops-syria-withdrawal-trump|access-date=December 20, 2018|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=December 20, 2018}}</ref> The next day, Mattis resigned in protest, calling Trump's decision an abandonment of the U.S.'s [[Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria|Kurdish allies]] who played a key role in fighting ISIS.<ref>{{cite news|last=Cooper|first=Helene|author-link=Helene Cooper|title=Jim Mattis, Defense Secretary, Resigns in Rebuke of Trump's Worldview|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/20/us/politics/jim-mattis-defense-secretary-trump.html|access-date=December 21, 2018|work=The New York Times|date=December 20, 2018}}</ref> In October 2019, after Trump spoke to Turkish president [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]], [[US intervention in the Syrian civil war|U.S. troops in northern Syria]] were withdrawn from the area and Turkey [[2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria|invaded northern Syria]], attacking and [[Forced displacement|displacing]] American-allied [[Kurds in Syria|Kurds]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=McKernan|first1=Bethan|last2=Borger|first2=Julian|last3=Sabbagh|first3=Dan|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/09/turkey-launches-military-operation-in-northern-syria-erdogan|title=Turkey launches military operation in northern Syria|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=October 9, 2019 |access-date=September 28, 2021}}</ref> The U.S. House of Representatives voted 354–60 to condemn Trump's withdrawal of those U.S. troops from Syria.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/16/house-condemns-trumps-syria-pull-out-000286|title=House condemns Trump's Syria withdrawal|last=O'Brien|first=Connor|date=October 16, 2019|work=[[Politico]]|access-date=October 17, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/16/us/politics/house-vote-trump-syria.html|title=In Bipartisan Rebuke, House Majority Condemns Trump for Syria Withdrawal|last=Edmondson|first=Catie|date=October 16, 2019|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 17, 2019}}</ref>

In May 2018, Trump [[United States withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action|withdrew the U.S.]] from the [[Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action]], the 2015 agreement that lifted most economic sanctions against Iran in return for restrictions on [[Iran's nuclear program]].<ref name="AP180508">{{cite news|last1=Lederman|first1=Josh|last2=Lucey|first2=Catherine|date=May 8, 2018|title=Trump declares US leaving 'horrible' Iran nuclear accord|work=[[AP News]]|url=https://apnews.com/article/cead755353a1455bbef08ef289448994/Trump-decides-to-exit-nuclear-accord-with-Iran|access-date=May 8, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/08/world/middleeast/trump-iran-nuclear-deal.html|title=Trump Abandons Iran Nuclear Deal He Long Scorned|first=Mark|last=Landler|author-link=Mark Landler|date=May 8, 2018|access-date=October 4, 2021|work=The New York Times}}</ref> In August 2020, his administration unsuccessfully attempted to use a section of the nuclear deal to have the UN reimpose sanctions against Iran.<ref>{{cite news|last=Nichols|first=Michelle|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-nuclear-un-idUSKBN2AI2Y9|title=U.S. rescinds Trump White House claim that all U.N. sanctions had been reimposed on Iran|work=[[Reuters]]|date=February 18, 2021 |access-date=December 14, 2021}}</ref> Analysts determined that, after the U.S. withdrawal, Iran moved closer to developing a nuclear weapon.<ref name="close">{{cite news|last=Hennigan|first=W.J.|title='They're Very Close.' U.S. General Says Iran Is Nearly Able to Build a Nuclear Weapon|url=https://time.com/6123380/iran-near-nuclear-weapon-capability/|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=November 24, 2021 |access-date=December 18, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Donevan |first1=Connor |last2=Dorning |first2=Courtney |last3=Kelly |first3=Mary Louise |date=May 30, 2023 |title=5 years after U.S. left Iran nuclear deal, more enriched Uranium and much less trust |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/05/30/1178919266/trump-abandoned-the-nuclear-deal-5-years-ago-could-the-u-s-stop-a-bomb-from-iran |access-date=November 3, 2024 |work=[[NPR]]}}</ref>

The Trump administration had a high turnover of personnel, particularly among White House staff. By the end of his first year in office, 34&nbsp;percent of his original staff had resigned, been fired, or been reassigned.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2017-12-28/trumps-white-house-has-highest-turnover-rate-in-40-years|title=Trump White House Has Highest Turnover in 40 Years|last=Trimble|first=Megan|date=December 28, 2017|work=[[U.S. News & World Report]]|access-date=March 16, 2018}}</ref> {{As of|2018|7|pre=early}}, 61&nbsp;percent of his senior aides had left<ref>{{cite news|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/395222-ap-trump-admin-sets-record-for-white-house-turnover|title=AP: Trump admin sets record for White House turnover|work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|date=July 2, 2018|access-date=July 3, 2018|last=Wise|first=Justin}}</ref> and 141 staffers had left in the previous year.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-white-house-sets-turnover-records-analysis-shows-n888396|title=Trump White House sets turnover records, analysis shows|work=[[NBC News]]|date=July 2, 2018|access-date=July 3, 2018|agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref> Both figures set a record for recent presidents—more change in the first 13 months than his four immediate predecessors saw in their first two years.<ref name="Keith">{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/03/07/591372397/white-house-staff-turnover-was-already-record-setting-then-more-advisers-left|title=White House Staff Turnover Was Already Record-Setting. Then More Advisers Left|last=Keith|first=Tamara|work=[[NPR]]|date=March 7, 2018|access-date=March 16, 2018}}</ref> Notable early departures included National Security Advisor [[Michael Flynn]] (after just 25 days), and Press Secretary [[Sean Spicer]].<ref name="Keith"/> Close personal aides to Trump including Bannon, [[Hope Hicks]], [[John McEntee (political aide)|John McEntee]], and [[Keith Schiller]] quit or were forced out.<ref name=Brookings>{{cite news|first1=Kathryn Dunn|last1=Tenpas|first2=Elaine|last2=Kamarck|first3=Nicholas W.|last3=Zeppos|url=https://www.brookings.edu/research/tracking-turnover-in-the-trump-administration/|title=Tracking Turnover in the Trump Administration|date=March 16, 2018|website=[[Brookings Institution]]|access-date=March 16, 2018}}</ref> Some later returned in different posts.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Rogers|first1=Katie|last2=Karni|first2=Annie|author-link2=Annie Karni|title=Home Alone at the White House: A Sour President, With TV His Constant Companion|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/23/us/politics/coronavirus-trump.html|access-date=May 5, 2020|work=The New York Times|date=April 23, 2020}}</ref> He publicly disparaged several of his former top officials, calling them incompetent, stupid, or crazy.<ref>{{cite news|last=Cillizza|first=Chris|author-link=Chris Cillizza|title=Donald Trump makes terrible hires, according to Donald Trump|url=https://cnn.com/2020/06/19/politics/trump-mulvaney-bolton-hiring/|access-date=June 24, 2020|work=CNN|date=June 19, 2020}}</ref>

Trump had four [[White House chiefs of staff]], marginalizing or pushing out several.<ref name=Keither>{{cite news|last=Keith|first=Tamara|date=March 6, 2020|access-date=October 5, 2021|title=Mick Mulvaney Out, Mark Meadows in As White House Chief Of Staff|work=[[NPR]]|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/03/06/766025774/mick-mulvaney-out-as-white-house-chief-of-staff}}</ref> [[Reince Priebus]] was replaced after seven months by retired Marine general [[John F. Kelly]].<ref>{{cite news|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/28/us/politics/reince-priebus-white-house-trump.html|title=Reince Priebus Pushed Out After Rocky Tenure as Trump Chief of Staff|first1=Peter|last1=Baker|author-link1=Peter Baker (journalist)|first2=Maggie|last2=Haberman|author-link2=Maggie Haberman|date=July 28, 2017|access-date=October 6, 2021}}</ref> Kelly resigned in December 2018 after a tumultuous tenure in which his influence waned, and Trump subsequently disparaged him.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Fritze|first1=John|last2=Subramanian|first2=Courtney|last3=Collins|first3=Michael|date=September 4, 2020|access-date=October 6, 2021|title=Trump says former chief of staff Gen. John Kelly couldn't 'handle the pressure' of the job|work=[[USA Today]]|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/09/04/trump-gen-john-kelly-couldnt-handle-pressure-chief-staff/5720974002/}}</ref> Kelly was succeeded by [[Mick Mulvaney]] as acting chief of staff; he was replaced in March 2020 by [[Mark Meadows]].<ref name=Keither/>

Trump initially ignored persistent public health warnings and calls for action from health officials within his administration and Secretary Azar.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-04-19/coronavirus-outbreak-president-trump-slow-response|title=How Trump let the U.S. fall behind the curve on coronavirus threat|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=April 19, 2020|access-date=April 21, 2020|first1=David S.|last1=Cloud|first2=Paul|last2=Pringle|author-link2=Paul Pringle|first3=Eli|last3=Stokols|author-link3=Eli Stokols}}</ref><ref name="NYT 4 11 20">{{cite news|first1=Eric|last1=Lipton|author-link1=Eric Lipton|first2=David E.|last2=Sanger|author-link2=David E. Sanger|first3=Maggie|last3=Haberman|author-link3=Maggie Haberman|first4=Michael D.|last4=Shear|author-link4=Michael D. Shear|first5=Mark|last5=Mazzetti|author-link5=Mark Mazzetti|first6=Julian E.|last6=Barnes|title=He Could Have Seen What Was Coming: Behind Trump's Failure on the Virus|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/11/us/politics/coronavirus-trump-response.html|access-date=April 11, 2020|work=The New York Times|date=April 11, 2020}}</ref> Throughout January and February he focused on economic and political considerations of the outbreak.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kelly|first=Caroline|date=March 21, 2020|title=Washington Post: US intelligence warned Trump in January and February as he dismissed coronavirus threat|work=CNN|url=https://cnn.com/2020/03/20/politics/us-intelligence-reports-trump-coronavirus/|access-date=April 21, 2020}}</ref> In February 2020 he publicly asserted that the outbreak in the U.S. was less deadly than [[influenza]], was "very much under control", and would soon be over.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/timeline-president-donald-trump-changing-statements-on-coronavirus/|title=A timeline of what Trump has said on coronavirus|last=Watson|first=Kathryn|date=April 3, 2020|work=[[CBS News]]|access-date=January 27, 2021}}</ref> On March&nbsp;19, 2020, he privately told [[Bob Woodward]] that he was deliberately "playing it down, because I don't want to create a panic".<ref>{{cite news|date=September 10, 2020|title=Trump deliberately played down virus, Woodward book says|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54094559|access-date=September 18, 2020|work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Gangel|first1=Jamie|author-link1=Jamie Gangel|last2=Herb|first2=Jeremy|last3=Stuart|first3=Elizabeth|date=September 9, 2020|title='Play it down': Trump admits to concealing the true threat of coronavirus in new Woodward book|url=https://cnn.com/2020/09/09/politics/bob-woodward-rage-book-trump-coronavirus|access-date=September 14, 2022|work=CNN}}</ref>

By mid-March, most global financial markets had [[2020 stock market crash|severely contracted]] in response to the pandemic.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Partington|first1=Richard|last2=Wearden|first2=Graeme|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/mar/09/global-stock-markets-post-biggest-falls-since-2008-financial-crisis|title=Global stock markets post biggest falls since 2008 financial crisis|date=March 9, 2020|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=March 15, 2020}}</ref> On March&nbsp;6, Trump signed the [[Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act]], which provided $8.3&nbsp;billion in emergency funding for federal agencies.<ref>{{cite news|title=Trump signs emergency coronavirus package, injecting $8.3 billion into efforts to fight the outbreak|url=https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/trump-signs-billion-emergency-funding-package-fight-coronavirus-legislation-covid19-020-3-1028972206|work=[[Business Insider]]|first=Gina|last=Heeb|date=March 6, 2020|access-date=October 6, 2021}}</ref> On March&nbsp;11, the [[World Health Organization]] (WHO) recognized COVID-19 as a [[pandemic]],<ref name="WHOpandemic2">{{cite news|url=https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020|title=WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 – 11 March 2020|date=March 11, 2020|work=[[World Health Organization]]|access-date=March 11, 2020}}</ref> and he announced partial travel restrictions for most of Europe, effective March&nbsp;13.<ref>{{cite news|title=Coronavirus: What you need to know about Trump's Europe travel ban|url=https://www.thelocal.dk/20200312/trump-imposes-travel-ban-from-europe-over-coronavirus-outbreak|work=[[The Local]]|date=March 12, 2020|access-date=October 6, 2021}}</ref> That same day, he gave his first serious assessment of the virus in a nationwide Oval Office address, calling the outbreak "horrible" but "a temporary moment" and saying there was no financial crisis.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-address.html|title=In Rare Oval Office Speech, Trump Voices New Concerns and Old Themes|last1=Karni|first1=Annie|author-link1=Annie Karni|last2=Haberman|first2=Maggie|author-link2=Maggie Haberman|date=March 12, 2020|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 18, 2020}}</ref> On March&nbsp;13, he declared a [[national emergency]], freeing up federal resources.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://cnn.com/2020/03/13/politics/donald-trump-emergency/|title=Trump declares national emergency – and denies responsibility for coronavirus testing failures|last=Liptak|first=Kevin|date=March 13, 2020|work=CNN|access-date=March 18, 2020}}</ref> He claimed that "anybody that wants a test can get a test", despite test availability being severely limited.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://khn.org/news/donald-trumps-wrong-claim-that-anybody-can-get-tested-for-coronavirus/|title=Donald Trump's Wrong Claim That 'Anybody' Can Get Tested For Coronavirus|last=Valverde|first=Miriam|date=March 12, 2020|work=[[Kaiser Health News]]|access-date=March 18, 2020}}</ref>

By early April, as the pandemic worsened and amid criticism of his administration's response, Trump refused to admit any mistakes in his handling of the outbreak, instead blaming the media, Democratic state governors, the previous administration, China, and the WHO.<ref>{{cite news|last=Lemire|first=Jonathan|title=As pandemic deepens, Trump cycles through targets to blame|url=https://apnews.com/article/58f1b869354970689d55ccae37c540f3|access-date=May 5, 2020|work=[[AP News]]|date=April 9, 2020}}</ref> The daily coronavirus task force briefings ended in late April, after a briefing at which he suggested the dangerous idea of injecting a disinfectant to treat COVID-19;<ref>{{cite news|title=Coronavirus: Outcry after Trump suggests injecting disinfectant as treatment|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52407177|access-date=August 11, 2020|work=[[BBC News]]|date=April 24, 2020}}</ref> the comment was widely condemned by medical professionals.<ref>{{cite news|last=Aratani|first=Lauren|title=Why is the White House winding down the coronavirus taskforce?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/05/white-house-coronavirus-taskforce-winding-down-why|access-date=June 8, 2020|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=May 5, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Coronavirus: Trump says virus task force to focus on reopening economy|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52563577|access-date=June 8, 2020|work=[[BBC News]]|date=May 6, 2020}}</ref>

In April 2020, Republican-connected groups organized [[Protests in the United States over responses to the COVID-19 pandemic|anti-lockdown protests]] against the measures state governments were taking to combat the pandemic;<ref>{{cite news|last=Wilson|first=Jason|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/17/far-right-coronavirus-protests-restrictions|title=The rightwing groups behind wave of protests against Covid-19 restrictions|date=April 17, 2020|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=April 18, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Andone|first=Dakin|url=https://cnn.com/2020/04/16/us/protests-coronavirus-stay-home-orders/|title=Protests Are Popping Up Across the US over Stay-at-Home Restrictions|date=April 16, 2020|access-date=October 7, 2021|work=CNN}}</ref> Trump encouraged the protests on Twitter,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Shear|first1=Michael D.|author-link1=Michael D. Shear|last2=Mervosh|first2=Sarah|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/17/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-governors.html|title=Trump Encourages Protest Against Governors Who Have Imposed Virus Restrictions|date=April 17, 2020|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 19, 2020}}</ref> although the targeted states did not meet his administration's guidelines for reopening.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/493701-trump-support-for-protests-threatens-to-undermine-social-distancing|title=Trump support for protests threatens to undermine social distancing rules|last1=Chalfant|first1=Morgan|last2=Samuels|first2=Brett|date=April 20, 2020|work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|access-date=July 10, 2020}}</ref> In April 2020, he first supported, then later criticized, [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] Governor [[Brian Kemp]]'s plan to reopen some nonessential businesses.<ref>{{cite news|title=Trump approved of Georgia's plan to reopen before bashing it|url=https://apnews.com/article/a031d395d414ffa655fdc65e6760d6a0|work=[[AP News]]|access-date=April 28, 2020|date=April 24, 2020|first1=Jonathan|last1=Lemire|first2=Ben|last2=Nadler}}</ref> Throughout the spring he increasingly pushed for ending the restrictions to reverse the damage to the country's economy.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/18/trump-reopening-economy-193885|title=Trump's unspoken factor on reopening the economy: Politics|last=Kumar|first=Anita|date=April 18, 2020|work=[[Politico]]|access-date=July 10, 2020}}</ref> He often refused to [[Face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic|mask]] at public events, contrary to his administration's April 2020 guidance to wear masks in public<ref name=99days>{{cite news|last=Danner|first=Chas|title=99 Days Later, Trump Finally Wears a Face Mask in Public|url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/07/trump-finally-wears-a-face-mask-in-public-covid-19.html|access-date=July 12, 2020|work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|date=July 11, 2020}}</ref> and despite nearly unanimous medical consensus that masks are important to preventing spread of the virus.<ref name="WAPost_Mask">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/06/25/trumps-dumbfounding-refusal-encourage-wearing-masks/|title=Trump's dumbfounding refusal to encourage wearing masks|last=Blake|first=Aaron|date=June 25, 2020|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=July 10, 2020}}</ref> By June, he had said masks were a "double-edged sword"; ridiculed Biden for wearing masks; continually emphasized that mask-wearing was optional; and suggested that wearing a mask was a political statement against him personally.<ref name="WAPost_Mask"/> His contradiction of medical recommendations weakened national efforts to mitigate the pandemic.<ref name=99days/><ref name="WAPost_Mask"/>

By July 2020, Trump's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic had become a major issue in the presidential election.<ref name="Election_NBCNews">{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/warning-signs-flash-trump-wisconsin-pandemic-response-fuels-disapproval-n1232646|title=Warning signs flash for Trump in Wisconsin as pandemic response fuels disapproval|date=July 5, 2020|work=[[NBC News]]|first=Adam|last=Edelman|access-date=September 14, 2020}}</ref> Biden sought to make the pandemic the central issue.<ref>{{cite news|last=Strauss|first=Daniel|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/14/joe-biden-donald-trump-coronavirus-covid-19|title=Biden aims to make election about Covid-19 as Trump steers focus elsewhere|date=September 7, 2020|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=November 4, 2021}}</ref> Polls suggested voters blamed Trump for his pandemic response<ref name="Election_NBCNews"/> and disbelieved his rhetoric concerning the virus, with an [[Ipsos]]/[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] poll indicating 65&nbsp;percent of respondents disapproved of his pandemic response.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/deep-skepticism-trumps-coronavirus-response-endures-poll/story?id=72974847|title=Deep skepticism for Trump's coronavirus response endures: POLL|date=September 13, 2020|work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|first=Kendall|last=Karson|access-date=September 14, 2020}}</ref> In the final months of the campaign, he repeatedly said that the U.S. was "rounding the turn" in managing the pandemic, despite increasing cases and deaths.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-us-rounding-turn-covid-trump-claims-1542145|title=Fact Check: Is U.S. 'Rounding the Turn' On COVID, as Trump Claims?|date=October 26, 2020|work=[[Newsweek]]|first=Matthew|last=Impelli|access-date=October 31, 2020}}</ref> A few days before the November&nbsp;3 election, the U.S. reported more than 100,000 cases in a single day for the first time.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-record/u-s-reports-world-record-of-more-than-100000-covid-19-cases-in-single-day-idUSKBN27G07S|title=U.S. reports world record of more than 100,000 COVID-19 cases in single day|date=October 31, 2020|work=[[Reuters]]|first=Anurag|last=Maan|access-date=October 31, 2020}}</ref>

Many suspicious<ref>{{cite news|last=Harding|first=Luke|title=How Trump walked into Putin's web|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=November 15, 2017|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/15/how-trump-walked-into-putins-web-luke|access-date=May 22, 2019}}</ref> [[links between Trump associates and Russian officials and spies]] were discovered and the relationships between Russians and "team Trump", including Manafort, Flynn, and Stone, were widely reported by the press.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/13/donald-trump-russia-vladimir-putin-us-election-hack|title=Trump's relationship with Russia – what we know and what comes next|last=McCarthy|first=Tom|date=December 13, 2016|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=March 11, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/03/03/the-web-of-relationships-between-team-trump-and-russia/|title=The web of relationships between Team Trump and Russia|last=Bump|first=Philip|date=March 3, 2017|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=March 11, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://time.com/4433880/donald-trump-ties-to-russia/|title=Donald Trump's Many, Many, Many, Many Ties to Russia|last=Nesbit|first=Jeff|date=August 2, 2016|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=February 28, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/08/19/paul-manaforts-complicated-ties-to-ukraine-explained/|title=Paul Manafort's complicated ties to Ukraine, explained|last=Phillips|first=Amber|date=August 19, 2016|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=June 14, 2017}}</ref> Members of Trump's campaign and his White House staff, particularly Flynn, were in contact with Russian officials both before and after the election.<ref>{{cite news|title=We Still Don't Know What Happened Between Trump and Russia|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/11/we-still-dont-know-what-happened-between-trump-and-russia/602116/|work=[[The Atlantic]]|date=November 15, 2019|access-date=October 7, 2021|first=David A.|last=Graham}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-contacts-idUSKCN18E106|title=Exclusive: Trump campaign had at least 18 undisclosed contacts with Russians: sources|last1=Parker|first1=Ned|last2=Landay|first2=Jonathan|last3=Strobel|first3=Warren|date=May 18, 2017|access-date=May 19, 2017|work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref> On December&nbsp;29, 2016, Flynn talked with Russian Ambassador [[Sergey Kislyak]] about sanctions that were imposed that same day; Flynn later resigned in the midst of controversy over whether he misled Pence.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://cnn.com/2017/02/13/politics/michael-flynn-white-house-national-security-adviser/|title=Flynn resigns amid controversy over Russia contacts|last1=Murray|first1=Sara|author-link1=Sara Murray (journalist)|last2=Borger|first2=Gloria|author-link2=Gloria Borger|last3=Diamond|first3=Jeremy|author-link3=Jeremy Diamond (journalist)|date=February 14, 2017|access-date=March 2, 2017|work=CNN}}</ref> Trump told Kislyak and [[Sergei Lavrov]] in May 2017 he was unconcerned about Russian interference in U.S. elections.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/trump-told-russian-officials-in-2017-he-wasnt-concerned-about-moscows-interference-in-us-election/2019/09/27/b20a8bc8-e159-11e9-b199-f638bf2c340f_story.html|title=Trump told Russian officials in 2017 he wasn't concerned about Moscow's interference in U.S. election|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=September 27, 2019|access-date=October 8, 2021|first1=Shane|last1=Harris|author-link1=Shane Harris|first2=Josh|last2=Dawsey|author-link2=Josh Dawsey|first3=Ellen|last3=Nakashima|author-link3=Ellen Nakashima}}</ref>

In July 2016, the FBI launched an investigation, codenamed [[Crossfire Hurricane (FBI investigation)|Crossfire Hurricane]], into possible links between Russia and the Trump campaign.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Apuzzo |first1=Matt |author-link=Matt Apuzzo |last2=Goldman |first2=Adam |author-link2=Adam Goldman |last3=Fandos |first3=Nicholas |author-link3=Nicholas Fandos |date=May 16, 2018 |title=Code Name Crossfire Hurricane: The Secret Origins of the Trump Investigation |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/16/us/politics/crossfire-hurricane-trump-russia-fbi-mueller-investigation.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 21, 2023 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> After Trump fired FBI director James Comey in May 2017, the FBI opened a counterintelligence investigation into Trump's personal and [[Business projects of Donald Trump in Russia|business dealings with Russia]].<ref>{{cite news|work=[[NBC News]]|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/fbi-agent-who-helped-launch-russia-investigation-says-trump-was-n1239442|title=FBI agent who helped launch Russia investigation says Trump was 'compromised'|access-date=December 21, 2023|first=Ken|last=Dilanian|date=September 7, 2020}}</ref> Crossfire Hurricane was transferred to the Mueller investigation,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.9news.com.au/world/crossfire-hurricane-trump-russia-investigation-started-with-alexander-downer-interview/16121e23-bdfc-4f32-9822-e4a7f841e3e4|work=[[Nine News]]|title=Crossfire Hurricane: Trump Russia investigation started with Alexander Downer interview|first=Nick|last=Pearson|date=May 17, 2018|access-date=December 21, 2023}}</ref> but Deputy Attorney General [[Rod Rosenstein]] ended the investigation into Trump's direct ties to Russia while giving the bureau the false impression that the [[Robert Mueller]]'s special counsel investigation would pursue the matter.<ref name="never">{{Cite news |last=Schmidt |first=Michael S. |author-link=Michael S. Schmidt |date=August 30, 2020 |title=Justice Dept. Never Fully Examined Trump's Ties to Russia, Ex-Officials Say |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/30/us/politics/trump-russia-justice-department.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 8, 2021 |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-rosenstein-idUSKBN23330H|title=Rosenstein to testify in Senate on Trump-Russia probe|work=[[Reuters]]|date=May 27, 2020|access-date=October 19, 2021}}</ref>

A redacted version of the report, publicly released in April 2019, found that Russia interfered in 2016 to favor Trump.<ref>{{cite news|title=Main points of Mueller report|date=January 16, 2012 |url=https://www.afp.com/en/news/15/main-points-mueller-report-doc-1fr5vv1|agency=[[Agence France-Presse]]|access-date=April 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420143436/https://www.afp.com/en/news/15/main-points-mueller-report-doc-1fr5vv1|archive-date=April 20, 2019}}</ref> Despite "numerous links between the Russian government and the Trump campaign", the report found that the prevailing evidence "did not establish" that Trump campaign members conspired or coordinated with Russian interference.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ostriker|first1=Rebecca|last2=Puzzanghera|first2=Jim|last3=Finucane|first3=Martin|last4=Datar|first4=Saurabh|last5=Uraizee|first5=Irfan|last6=Garvin|first6=Patrick|title=What the Mueller report says about Trump and more|url=https://apps.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/graphics/2019/03/mueller-report/|work=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=April 18, 2019|access-date=April 22, 2019}}</ref><ref name="takeaways">{{cite news|last=Law|first=Tara|title=Here Are the Biggest Takeaways From the Mueller Report|date=April 18, 2019|url=https://time.com/5567077/mueller-report-release/|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=April 22, 2019}}</ref> The report revealed sweeping Russian interference<ref name="takeaways"/> and detailed how Trump and his campaign welcomed and encouraged it, believing it would benefit them electorally.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lynch|first1=Sarah N.|last2=Sullivan|first2=Andy|date=April 18, 2018|title=In unflattering detail, Mueller report reveals Trump actions to impede inquiry|work=[[Reuters]]|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-idUSKCN1RU0DN |access-date=July 10, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=The New York Times|date=July 24, 2019|first=Mark|last=Mazzetti|author-link=Mark Mazzetti|title=Mueller Warns of Russian Sabotage and Rejects Trump's 'Witch Hunt' Claims|access-date=March 4, 2020|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/24/us/politics/trump-mueller-testimony.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=May 30, 2019|last=Bump|first=Philip|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/05/30/trump-briefly-acknowledges-that-russia-aided-his-election-falsely-says-he-didnt-help-effort/|access-date=March 5, 2020|title=Trump briefly acknowledges that Russia aided his election – and falsely says he didn't help the effort}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Polantz|first1=Katelyn|last2=Kaufman|first2=Ellie|last3=Murray|first3=Sara|url=https://cnn.com/2020/06/19/politics/mueller-report-rerelease-fewer-redactions/|title=Mueller raised possibility Trump lied to him, newly unsealed report reveals|work=CNN|date=June 19, 2020|access-date=October 30, 2022}}</ref>

On February&nbsp;13, following a [[Second impeachment trial of Donald Trump|five-day Senate trial]], Trump was acquitted when the Senate vote fell ten votes short of the two-thirds majority required to convict; seven Republicans joined every Democrat in voting to convict, the most bipartisan support in any Senate impeachment trial of a president or former president.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Levine|first1=Sam|last2=Gambino|first2=Lauren|date=February 13, 2021|title=Donald Trump acquitted in impeachment trial|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/13/donald-trump-acquitted-impeachment-trial|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=February 13, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Fandos|first=Nicholas|author-link=Nicholas Fandos|date=February 13, 2021|title=Trump Acquitted of Inciting Insurrection, Even as Bipartisan Majority Votes 'Guilty'|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/13/us/politics/trump-impeachment.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 14, 2021}}</ref> Most Republicans voted to acquit him, although some held him responsible but felt the Senate did not have jurisdiction over former presidents (he had left office on January&nbsp;20; the Senate voted 56–44 that the trial was constitutional).<ref>{{cite news|last1=Watson|first1=Kathryn|last2=Quinn|first2=Melissa|last3=Segers|first3=Grace|last4=Becket|first4=Stefan|date=February 10, 2021|title=Senate finds Trump impeachment trial constitutional on first day of proceedings|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/trump-impeachment-trial-senate-constitutional-day-1/|work=[[CBS News]]|access-date=February 18, 2021}}</ref>

At 2 a.m. the morning after the election, with the results still unclear, Trump declared victory.<ref>{{cite news |date=November 4, 2020 |title=With results from key states unclear, Trump declares victory |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-election-trump-statement/with-results-from-key-states-unclear-trump-declares-victory-idUKKBN27K0U3 |access-date=November 10, 2020 |work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref> After Biden was projected the winner days later, Trump stated that "this election is far from over" and baselessly alleged election fraud.<ref>{{cite news |last=King |first=Ledyard |date=November 7, 2020 |title=Trump revives baseless claims of election fraud after Biden wins presidential race |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/11/07/joe-biden-victory-president-trump-claims-election-far-over/6202892002/ |access-date=November 7, 2020 |work=[[USA Today]]}}</ref> He and his allies filed many [[Post-election lawsuits related to the 2020 United States presidential election|legal challenges to the results]], which were rejected by at least 86 judges in both the [[State court (United States)|state]] and [[United States federal courts|federal courts]], including by federal judges appointed by Trump himself, finding no factual or legal basis.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Helderman |first1=Rosalind S. |author-link1=Rosalind S. Helderman |last2=Viebeck |first2=Elise |date=December 12, 2020 |title='The last wall': How dozens of judges across the political spectrum rejected Trump's efforts to overturn the election |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/judges-trump-election-lawsuits/2020/12/12/e3a57224-3a72-11eb-98c4-25dc9f4987e8_story.html |access-date=October 9, 2021 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Blake |first=Aaron |date=December 14, 2020 |title=The most remarkable rebukes of Trump's legal case: From the judges he hand-picked |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/12/14/most-remarkable-rebukes-trumps-legal-case-judges-he-hand-picked/ |access-date=October 9, 2021 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> His allegations were also refuted by state election officials.<ref>{{cite news |last=Woodward |first=Calvin |date=November 16, 2020 |title=AP Fact Check: Trump conclusively lost, denies the evidence |url=https://apnews.com/article/ap-fact-check-trump-conclusively-lost-bbb9d8c808021ed65d91aee003a7bc64 |access-date=November 17, 2020 |work=[[AP News]]}}</ref> After [[Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency]] director [[Chris Krebs]] contradicted Trump's fraud allegations, Trump dismissed him on November&nbsp;17.<ref name="BBC_election">{{cite news |date=November 18, 2020 |title=Trump fires election security official who contradicted him |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54982360 |access-date=November 18, 2020 |work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> On December&nbsp;11, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear [[Texas v. Pennsylvania|a case from the Texas attorney general]] that asked the court to overturn the election results in four states won by Biden.<ref>{{cite news |last=Liptak |first=Adam |author-link=Adam Liptak |date=December 11, 2020 |title=Supreme Court Rejects Texas Suit Seeking to Subvert Election |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/11/us/politics/supreme-court-election-texas.html |access-date=October 9, 2021 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>

Trump withdrew from public activities in the weeks following the election.<ref>{{cite news |last=Smith |first=David |date=November 21, 2020 |title=Trump's monumental sulk: president retreats from public eye as Covid ravages US |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/nov/21/trump-monumental-sulk-president-retreats-from-public-eye-covid-ravages-us |access-date=October 9, 2021 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> He initially blocked government officials from cooperating in [[presidential transition of Joe Biden|Biden's presidential transition]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lamire |first1=Jonathan |last2=Miller |first2=Zeke |author-link2=Zeke Miller |date=November 9, 2020 |title=Refusing to concede, Trump blocks cooperation on transition |url=https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-donald-trump-virus-outbreak-elections-voting-fraud-and-irregularities-2d39186996f69de245e59c966d4d140f |access-date=November 10, 2020 |work=[[AP News]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Timm |first1=Jane C. |last2=Smith |first2=Allan |date=November 14, 2020 |title=Trump is stonewalling Biden's transition. Here's why it matters. |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/trump-stonewalling-biden-s-transition-here-s-why-it-matters-n1247768 |access-date=November 26, 2020 |work=[[NBC News]]}}</ref> After three weeks, the administrator of the [[General Services Administration]] declared Biden the "apparent winner" of the election, allowing the disbursement of transition resources to his team.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rein |first=Lisa |date=November 23, 2020 |title=Under pressure, Trump appointee Emily Murphy approves transition in unusually personal letter to Biden |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gsa-emily-murphy-transition-biden/2020/11/23/c0f43e84-2de0-11eb-96c2-aac3f162215d_story.html |access-date=November 24, 2020 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> Trump still did not formally concede while claiming he recommended the GSA begin transition protocols.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Naylor |first1=Brian |last2=Wise |first2=Alana |date=November 23, 2020 |title=President-Elect Biden To Begin Formal Transition Process After Agency OK |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/biden-transition-updates/2020/11/23/937956178/trump-administration-to-begin-biden-transition-protocols |access-date=December 11, 2020 |work=[[NPR]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Ordoñez |first1=Franco |last2=Rampton |first2=Roberta |date=November 26, 2020 |title=Trump Is In No Mood To Concede, But Says Will Leave White House |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/biden-transition-updates/2020/11/26/939386434/trump-is-in-no-mood-to-concede-but-says-will-leave-white-house |access-date=December 11, 2020 |work=[[NPR]]}}</ref>

Trump lives at his Mar-a-Lago club, having established an office there as provided for by the [[Former Presidents Act]].<ref name=moved/><ref>{{cite web|last=Wolfe|first=Jan|title=Explainer: Why Trump's post-presidency perks, like a pension and office, are safe for the rest of his life|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-impeachment-benefits-explai-idUSKBN29W238|work=[[Reuters]]|date=January 27, 2021 |access-date=February 2, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Quinn|first=Melissa|title=Trump opens 'Office of the Former President' in Florida|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-office-former-president-florida/|work=[[CBS News]]|date=January 27, 2021 |access-date=February 2, 2021}}</ref> He is entitled to live there legally as a club employee.<ref>{{cite web|last=Spencer|first=Terry|title=Palm Beach considers options as Trump remains at Mar-a-Lago|url=https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-fort-lauderdale-florida-mar-a-lago-melania-trump-fd4fd80c6a2d7ef23a274c0597700730|work=[[AP News]]|date=January 28, 2021 |access-date=February 2, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Durkee|first=Allison|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2021/05/07/trump-can-legally-live-at-mar-a-lago-palm-beach-says/|title=Trump Can Legally Live At Mar-A-Lago, Palm Beach Says|work=[[Forbes]]|date=May 7, 2021|access-date=March 7, 2024}}</ref>

Unlike other former presidents, Trump continued to dominate his party; he has been described as a modern [[party boss]]. He continued fundraising, raising more than twice as much as the Republican Party itself, and profited from fundraisers many Republican candidates held at Mar-a-Lago. Much of his focus was on how elections are run and on ousting election officials who had resisted his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results. In the [[2022 midterm elections]] he endorsed over 200 candidates for various offices, [[2022 United States elections#Democracy|most of whom supported]] his false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.<ref>{{cite web|last=Goldmacher|first=Shane|title=Mar-a-Lago Machine: Trump as a Modern-Day Party Boss|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/17/us/politics/trump-mar-a-lago.html|access-date=July 31, 2022|work=The New York Times|date=April 17, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Paybarah|first=Azi|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/02/us/politics/trump-endorsements-midterm-primary-election.html|title=Where Trump's Endorsement Record Stands Halfway through Primary Season|work=The New York Times|date=August 2, 2022|access-date=August 3, 2022}}</ref><ref name="lat">{{cite web|last1=Castleman|first1=Terry|last2=Mason|first2=Melanie|url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2022-05-03/trump-endorsements-2022-election|title=Tracking Trump's endorsement record in the 2022 primary elections|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=August 5, 2022|access-date=August 6, 2022}}</ref>

In February 2021, Trump registered a new company, [[Trump Media & Technology Group]] (TMTG), for providing "social networking services" to U.S. customers.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lyons |first=Kim|url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/6/22820389/sec-trump-spac-deal-investigation-truth-social-media-platform-public|title=SEC investigating Trump SPAC deal to take his social media platform public |work=[[The Verge]] |date=December 6, 2021 |access-date=December 30, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/1934403D:US|title=Trump Media & Technology Group Corp |work=[[Bloomberg News]] |access-date=December 30, 2021}}</ref> In March 2024, TMTG merged with [[special-purpose acquisition company]] [[Digital World Acquisition Corp.|Digital World Acquisition]] and became a [[public company]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Harwell |first=Drew|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/03/25/truth-social-trump-media-stock-market-billions/|title=Trump Media soars in first day of public tradings|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=March 26, 2024 |access-date=March 28, 2024}}</ref> In February 2022, TMTG launched [[Truth Social]], a social media platform.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bhuyian|first=Johana|date=February 21, 2022|title=Donald Trump's social media app launches on Apple store|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/feb/21/donald-trumps-social-media-app-truth-social-launches-on-apple-store|access-date=May 7, 2023|work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> {{as of|2023|3|lc=n}}, Trump Media, which had taken $8&nbsp;million from Russia-connected entities, was being investigated by federal prosecutors for possible money laundering.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lowell|first=Hugo|date=March 15, 2023|title=Federal investigators examined Trump Media for possible money laundering, sources say|work=[[The Guardian]]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/15/trump-media-investigated-possible-money-laundering|access-date=April 5, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Durkee |first=Alison |title=Trump's Media Company Reportedly Under Federal Investigation For Money Laundering Linked To Russia |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2023/03/15/trumps-media-company-reportedly-under-federal-investigation-for-money-laundering-linked-to-russia/ |date=March 15, 2023 |access-date=March 15, 2023 |website=[[Forbes]]}}</ref>

In June 2023, following a [[Smith special counsel investigation|special counsel investigation]], a [[federal grand jury]] in Miami indicted Trump on 31 counts of "willfully retaining national defense information" under the [[Espionage Act]], one count of [[making false statements]], and one count each of conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding government documents, corruptly concealing records, concealing a document in a federal investigation and scheming to conceal their efforts.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Barrett|first1=Devlin|last2=Dawsey|first2=Josh|author-link2=Josh Dawsey|last3=Stein|first3=Perry|last4=Alemany|first4=Jacqueline|author-link4=Jacqueline Alemany|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/06/09/trump-tape-classified-documents/|title=Trump Put National Secrets at Risk, Prosecutors Say in Historic Indictment|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=June 9, 2023|access-date=June 10, 2023}}</ref> He pleaded not guilty.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Greve|first1=Joan E.|last2=Lowell|first2=Hugo|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/13/trump-arraignment-not-guilty-charges-mar-a-lago-documents-court|title=Trump pleads not guilty to 37 federal criminal counts in Mar-a-Lago case|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=June 14, 2023|access-date=June 14, 2023}}</ref> A superseding indictment the following month added three charges.<ref>{{cite news|title=5 revelations from new Trump charges |first=Zach |last=Schonfeld |url=https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4124168-revelations-from-new-trump-charges/ |access-date=August 4, 2023 |work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|date=July 28, 2023 }}</ref> The judge assigned to the case, [[Aileen Cannon]], was appointed to the bench by Trump and had previously issued rulings favorable to him in a [[Trump v. United States (2022)|past civil case]], some of which were overturned by an appellate court.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/09/us/politics/trump-documents-judge-aileen-cannon.html|title=A Trump-Appointed Judge Who Showed Him Favor Gets the Documents Case|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 9, 2023 |first=Charlie |last=Savage |author-link=Charlie Savage (author)}}</ref> She moved slowly on the case, indefinitely postponed the trial in May 2024, and dismissed it on July 15, ruling that the special counsel's appointment was unconstitutional.<ref>{{cite news|last=Tucker|first=Eric|url=https://apnews.com/article/trump-classified-documents-smith-c66d5ffb7ba86c1b991f95e89bdeba0c|title=Federal judge dismisses Trump classified documents case over concerns with prosecutor's appointment|work=[[AP News]]|date=July 15, 2024|access-date=July 15, 2024}}</ref> On August&nbsp;26, Special Counsel Smith appealed the dismissal.<ref>{{cite news|last=Mallin|first=Alexander|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/26/us/politics/trump-documents-appeal-jack-smith.html|title=Prosecutors Appeal Dismissal of Trump Documents Case|work=The New York Times|date=August 26, 2024|access-date=August 27, 2024}}</ref> On November 25, the prosecution asked to remove Trump as a co-defendant from the appeal, citing Department of Justice policy prohibiting the prosecution of a sitting president.<ref name="dismiss"/>   

Later in August, a [[Fulton County, Georgia]], grand jury indicted Trump on 13 charges, including racketeering, for his efforts to subvert the election outcome in Georgia; multiple Trump campaign officials were also indicted.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lowell|first1=Hugo|last2=Wicker|first2=Jewel|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/14/donald-trump-georgia-indictment-2020-election|title=Donald Trump and allies indicted in Georgia over bid to reverse 2020 election loss|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=August 15, 2023|access-date=December 22, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Drenon|first=Brandon|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66503668|title=What are the charges in Trump's Georgia indictment?|work=[[BBC News]]|date=August 25, 2023|access-date=December 22, 2023}}</ref> He surrendered, [[Mug shot of Donald Trump|was processed]] at Fulton County Jail, and was released on bail pending trial.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Pereira|first1=Ivan|last2=Barr|first2=Luke|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-mug-shot-released-georgia-sheriffs-office/story?id=102544727|title=Trump mug shot released by Fulton County Sheriff's Office|work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|date=August 25, 2023|access-date=August 25, 2023}}</ref> He pleaded not guilty.<ref>{{cite web|last=Rabinowitz|first=Hannah|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/31/politics/trump-not-guilty-plea-fulton-county/index.html|title=Trump pleads not guilty in Georgia election subversion case|work=CNN|date=August 31, 2023|access-date=August 31, 2023}}</ref> On March&nbsp;13, 2024, the judge dismissed three of the 13 charges against him.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bailey|first=Holly|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/03/13/trump-georgia-election-case-charges-dropped/|title=Georgia judge dismisses six charges in Trump election interference case|date=March 13, 2024|access-date=March 14, 2024|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>

During the 2016 presidential election campaign, [[American Media, Inc.]] (AMI), publisher of the ''[[National Enquirer]]'',<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ellison|first1=Sarah|author-link1=Sarah Ellison|last2=Farhi|first2=Paul|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/publisher-of-the-national-enquirer-admits-to-hush-money-payments-made-on-trumps-behalf/2018/12/12/ebf24b76-fe49-11e8-83c0-b06139e540e5_story.html|title=Publisher of the National Enquirer admits to hush-money payments made on Trump's behalf|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=December 12, 2018|access-date=January 17, 2021}}</ref> and a company set up by Cohen paid ''[[Playboy]]'' model [[Karen McDougal]] and adult film actress [[Stormy Daniels]] for keeping silent about their alleged affairs with Trump between 2006 and 2007.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/08/21/how-the-campaign-finance-charges-against-michael-cohen-may-implicate-trump|title=How the campaign finance charges against Michael Cohen implicate Trump|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|first=Philip|last=Bump|date=August 21, 2018|access-date=July 25, 2019}}</ref> Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to breaking campaign finance laws, saying he had arranged both payments at Trump's direction to influence the presidential election.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/74aaf72511d64fceb1d64529207bde64|title=Cohen pleads guilty, implicates Trump in hush-money scheme|last1=Neumeister|first1=Larry|last2=Hays|first2=Tom|date=August 22, 2018|access-date=October 7, 2021|work=[[AP News]]}}</ref> Trump denied the affairs and said he was not aware of Cohen's payment to Daniels, but he reimbursed him in 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/07/trump-stormy-daniels-payment-444133|title=White House on Stormy Daniels: Trump 'denied all these allegations'|last=Nelson|first=Louis|date=March 7, 2018|work=[[Politico]]|access-date=March 16, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-insists-he-learned-of-michael-cohen-payments-later-on-in-fox-friends-exclusive|title=Trump insists he learned of Michael Cohen payments 'later on', in 'Fox & Friends' exclusive|last=Singman|first=Brooke|access-date=August 23, 2018|work=[[Fox News]]|date=August 22, 2018}}</ref> Federal prosecutors asserted that Trump had been involved in discussions regarding nondisclosure payments as early as 2014.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/federal-prosecutors-recommend-substantial-prison-term-for-former-trump-lawyer-michael-cohen/2018/12/07/e144f248-f7f3-11e8-8c9a-860ce2a8148f_story.html|title=Court filings directly implicate Trump in efforts to buy women's silence, reveal new contact between inner circle and Russian|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|last1=Barrett|first1=Devlin|last2=Zapotosky|first2=Matt|date=December 7, 2018|access-date=December 7, 2018}}</ref> Court documents showed that the FBI believed he was directly involved in the payment to Daniels, based on calls he had with Cohen in October 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-cohen/documents-detail-trump-teams-efforts-to-arrange-payment-to-porn-star-idUSKCN1UD18D|title=FBI documents point to Trump role in hush money for porn star Daniels|last1=Allen|first1=Jonathan|last2=Stempel|first2=Jonathan|work=[[Reuters]]|date=July 18, 2019|access-date=July 22, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/2d4138abfd0b4e71a63c94d3203e435a|title=Records detail frenetic effort to bury stories about Trump|last=Mustian|first=Jim|work=[[AP News]]|date=July 19, 2019|access-date=July 22, 2019}}</ref> Federal prosecutors closed the investigation in 2019,<ref>{{cite web|work=[[AP News]]|date=July 19, 2019|access-date=October 7, 2021|first=Jim|last=Mustian|title=Why no hush-money charges against Trump? Feds are silent|url=https://apnews.com/article/0543a381b39a42d09c27567274477983}}</ref> but in 2021, the [[Attorney General of New York|New York State Attorney General's Office]] and [[Manhattan District Attorney's Office]] opened a criminal investigations into his business activities.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Harding|first1=Luke|last2=Holpuch|first2=Amanda|date=May 19, 2021|title=New York attorney general opens criminal investigation into Trump Organization|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/19/new-york-investigation-into-trump-organization-now-criminal-says-attorney-general|work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=May 19, 2021}}</ref> The Manhattan DA's Office subpoenaed the Trump Organization and AMI for records related to the payments<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/01/nyregion/trump-cohen-stormy-daniels-vance.html|title=Manhattan D.A. Subpoenas Trump Organization Over Stormy Daniels Hush Money|first1=Ben|last1=Protess|first2=William K.|last2=Rashbaum|work=The New York Times|date=August 1, 2019|access-date=August 2, 2019}}</ref> and Trump and the Trump Organization for eight years of tax returns.<ref>{{cite web|work=The New York Times|date=September 16, 2019|first1=William K.|last1=Rashbaum|first2=Ben|last2=Protess|title=8 Years of Trump Tax Returns Are Subpoenaed by Manhattan D.A.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/16/nyregion/trump-tax-returns-cy-vance.html|access-date=October 7, 2021}}</ref>

In May 2023, a New York jury in a federal lawsuit brought by journalist [[E. Jean Carroll]] in 2022 ("Carroll II") found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation and ordered him to pay her $5&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Sullivan|first1=Becky|last2=Bernstein|first2=Andrea|last3=Marritz|first3=Ilya|last4=Lawrence|first4=Quil|title=A jury finds Trump liable for battery and defamation in E. Jean Carroll trial|url=https://www.npr.org/2023/05/09/1174975870/trump-carroll-verdict|work=[[NPR]]|date=May 9, 2023|access-date=May 10, 2023}}</ref> He asked for a new trial or a reduction of the award, arguing that the jury had not found him liable for rape. He also separately countersued Carroll for defamation. The judge for the two lawsuits ruled against him,<ref name="bid">{{cite web|last=Orden|first=Erica|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/19/trump-loses-bid-new-trial-carroll-00107025|title=Trump loses bid for new trial in E. Jean Carroll case|work=[[Politico]]|date=July 19, 2023|access-date=August 13, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Scannell |first=Kara |date=August 7, 2023 |title=Judge dismisses Trump's defamation lawsuit against Carroll for statements she made on CNN |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/07/politics/e-jean-carroll-trump-defamation-lawsuit-dismissed/index.html |access-date=August 7, 2023 |work=CNN}}</ref> writing that Carroll's accusation of "rape" is "substantially true".<ref name="Reiss_Gregorian_8/7/2023">{{cite web|last1=Reiss|first1=Adam|last2=Gregorian|first2=Dareh|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/judge-tosses-trumps-counterclaim-e-jean-carroll-finding-rape-claim-sub-rcna98577|title=Judge tosses Trump's counterclaim against E. Jean Carroll, finding rape claim is 'substantially true'|work=[[NBC News]]|date=August 7, 2023|access-date=August 13, 2023}}</ref> He appealed both decisions.<ref name="bid"/><ref>{{cite web|last=Stempel|first=Jonathan|url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/trump-appeals-dismissal-defamation-claim-against-e-jean-carroll-2023-08-10/|title=Trump appeals dismissal of defamation claim against E. Jean Carroll|work=[[Reuters]]|date=August 10, 2023|access-date=August 17, 2023}}</ref> In January 2024, the jury in the defamation case brought by Carroll in 2019 ("Carroll I") ordered him to pay Carroll $83.3&nbsp;million in damages. In March, he posted a $91.6&nbsp;million bond and appealed.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kates|first=Graham|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-posts-bond-e-jean-carroll-case-91-million/|title=Trump posts $91 million bond to appeal E. Jean Carroll defamation verdict|work=[[CBS News]]|date=March 8, 2024|access-date=April 8, 2024}}</ref>

In December 2023, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled Trump disqualified for the Colorado Republican primary for his role in inciting the January&nbsp;6, 2021, attack on Congress. In March 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court [[Trump v. Anderson|restored his name to the ballot]] in a unanimous decision, ruling that Colorado lacks the authority to enforce [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution#Section 3: Disqualification from office for insurrection or rebellion|Section 3 of the 14th Amendment]], which bars insurrectionists from holding federal office.<ref>{{cite news |last=Levine |first=Sam |date=March 4, 2024 |title=Trump was wrongly removed from Colorado ballot, US supreme court rules |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/04/trump-scotus-colorado-ruling |access-date=June 23, 2024 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>

During the campaign, Trump made increasingly violent and authoritarian statements.<ref name="NYT Authoritarian Bent">{{cite news |last1=Bender |first1=Michael C. |author-link1=Michael C. Bender |last2=Gold |first2=Michael |date=November 20, 2023 |title=Trump's Dire Words Raise New Fears About His Authoritarian Bent |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/20/us/politics/trump-rhetoric-fascism.html |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Stone |first=Peter |date=November 22, 2023 |title='Openly authoritarian campaign': Trump's threats of revenge fuel alarm |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/nov/22/trump-revenge-game-plan-alarm |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Colvin |first1=Jill |last2=Barrow |first2=Bill |date=December 7, 2023 |title=Trump's vow to only be a dictator on 'day one' follows growing worry over his authoritarian rhetoric |url=https://apnews.com/article/trump-hannity-dictator-authoritarian-presidential-election-f27e7e9d7c13fabbe3ae7dd7f1235c72 |work=[[AP News]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=LeVine |first=Marianne |date=November 12, 2023 |title=Trump calls political enemies 'vermin,' echoing dictators Hitler, Mussolini |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/12/trump-rally-vermin-political-opponents |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> He also said that he would weaponize the FBI and the Justice Department against his political opponents<ref>{{Cite news |last=Levine |first=Sam |date=November 10, 2023 |title=Trump suggests he would use FBI to go after political rivals if elected in 2024 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/nov/10/trump-fbi-rivals-2024-election |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Vazquez |first=Maegan |date=November 10, 2023 |title=Trump says on Univision he could weaponize FBI, DOJ against his enemies |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/09/trump-interview-univision/ |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> and use the military to go after Democratic politicians and those that do not support his candidacy.<ref>{{cite news |last=Stracqualursi |first=Veronica |date=October 14, 2024 |title=Trump suggests using military against 'enemy from within' on Election Day |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2024/10/13/politics/trump-military-enemy-from-within-election-day/index.html |work=CNN}}</ref><ref name="Lerer 10152024">{{cite news |last1=Lerer |first1=Lisa |last2=Gold |first2=Michael |date=October 15, 2024 |title=Trump Escalates Threats to Political Opponents He Deems the 'Enemy' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/15/us/politics/trump-opponents-enemy-within.html |work=The New York Times}}</ref> He used harsher, more dehumanizing anti-immigrant rhetoric than during his presidency.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Gold |first1=Michael |last2=Huynh |first2=Anjali |date=April 2, 2024 |title=Trump Again Invokes 'Blood Bath' and Dehumanizes Migrants in Border Remarks |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/02/us/politics/trump-border-blood-bath.html |access-date=April 3, 2024 |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Savage |first1=Charlie |author-link1=Charlie Savage (author) |last2=Haberman |first2=Maggie |author-link2=Maggie Haberman |last3=Swan |first3=Jonathan |author-link3=Jonathan Swan |date=November 11, 2023 |title=Sweeping Raids, Giant Camps and Mass Deportations: Inside Trump's 2025 Immigration Plans |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/11/us/politics/trump-2025-immigration-agenda.html |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Layne |first1=Nathan |last2=Slattery |first2=Gram |last3=Reid |first3=Tim |date=April 3, 2024 |title=Trump calls migrants 'animals', intensifying focus on illegal immigration |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-expected-highlight-murder-michigan-woman-immigration-speech-2024-04-02/ |access-date=April 3, 2024 |work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Philbrick |first1=Ian Prasad |last2=Bentahar |first2=Lyna |date=December 5, 2023 |title=Donald Trump's 2024 Campaign, in His Own Menacing Words |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/05/us/politics/trump-2024-president-campaign.html |access-date=May 10, 2024 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> His harsher rhetoric against his political enemies has been described by some historians and scholars as authoritarian, [[Donald Trump and fascism|fascist]],{{Efn|name=Fascist|Attributed to multiple references:<ref name="Axios Fascist">{{cite news|title=Trump campaign defends "vermin" speech amid fascist comparisons|url=https://www.axios.com/2023/11/13/trump-vermin-fascist-language-speech|work=[[Axios (website)]]|date=November 13, 2023|last=Basu|first=Zachary|access-date=December 8, 2023}}</ref><ref name="The Atlantic Fascist">{{cite news|last=Browning|first=Christopher R.|date=July 25, 2023|title=A New Kind of Fascism|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/07/trump-second-term-isolationist-fascism/674791/|work=[[The Atlantic]]|access-date=December 8, 2023}}</ref><ref name="ABC News Vermin">{{cite news|title=Trump compares political opponents to 'vermin' who he will 'root out,' alarming historians|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-compares-political-opponents-vermin-root-alarming-historians/story?id=104847748|work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|date=November 13, 2023|last1=Kim|first1=Soo Rin|last2=Ibssa|first2=Lalee|access-date=December 8, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Ward|first=Myah|date=October 12, 2024|title=We watched 20 Trump rallies. His racist, anti-immigrant messaging is getting darker.|work=[[Politico]]|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/12/trump-racist-rhetoric-immigrants-00183537|access-date=October 12, 2024}}</ref>}} and unlike anything a political candidate has ever said in American history.<ref name="NYMag Never Sounded Like This">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/27/magazine/trump-rallies-rhetoric.html|title=Donald Trump Has Never Sounded Like This|work=[[The New York Times Magazine]]|date=April 27, 2024|access-date=April 27, 2024|last1=Homans|first1=Charles}}</ref><ref name="Lerer 10152024" /><ref name="Applebaum18">{{Cite news|last=Applebaum|first=Anne|date=October 18, 2024|title=Trump Is Speaking Like Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini|work=[[The Atlantic]]|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/10/trump-authoritarian-rhetoric-hitler-mussolini/680296/|access-date=October 18, 2024}}</ref> [[Age and health concerns about Donald Trump|Age and health concerns]] also arose during the campaign, with several medical experts cited by ''The New York Times'' highlighting an increase in rambling, [[tangential speech]] and [[Disinhibition|behavioral disinhibition]].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |last2=Freedman |first2=Dylan |date=October 6, 2024 |title=Trump's Speeches, Increasingly Angry and Rambling, Reignite the Question of Age |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/06/us/politics/trump-speeches-age-cognitive-decline.html |access-date=November 6, 2024 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>

Trump mentioned "rigged election" and "election interference" earlier and more frequently than in the 2016 and 2020 campaigns and refused to commit to accepting the 2024 election results.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lane |first1=Nathan |last2=Ulmer |first2=Alexandra |date=May 16, 2024 |title=Trump, allies are laying the groundwork to contest potential election loss |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-allies-are-laying-groundwork-contest-potential-election-loss-2024-05-16/ |access-date=September 12, 2024 |work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref><ref name="NYTDoubts" /> Analysts for ''The New York Times'' described this as an intensification of his "heads I win; tails you cheated" rhetorical strategy; the paper said the claim of a rigged election had become the backbone of the campaign.<ref name="NYTDoubts" />

Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States in November 2024, defeating incumbent vice president Kamala Harris,<ref>{{Cite news|title=2024 Presidential Election Results|url=https://apnews.com/projects/election-results-2024/|date=November 25, 2024|access-date=November 25, 2024 |work=[[AP News]]}}</ref> the second president in U.S. history after [[Grover Cleveland]] to be elected to a nonconsecutive second term.<ref>{{cite news|last=Treisman|first=Rachel|date=November 4, 2024|title=Trump is hoping to win non-consecutive terms. Only one president has done it|url=https://www.npr.org/2024/11/04/g-s1-32048/grover-cleveland-trump-non-consecutive-terms|access-date=November 9, 2024|work=[[NPR]]}}</ref> The [[Associated Press]] and [[BBC News]] described it as an extraordinary comeback.<ref name="TPO_2">{{cite news |last1=Sheerin |first1=Jude |last2=Murphy |first2=Matt |date=November 6, 2024 |title=Trump pulls off historic White House comeback |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62l5zdv7zko |access-date=November 9, 2024 |website=[[BBC]] |quote=Projections suggest he is likely to win the overall popular vote nationally}}</ref><ref name="TWT_1">{{cite news |last1=Miller |first1=Zeke |author-link1=Zeke Miller |last2=Price |first2=Michelle L. |last3=Weissert |first3=Will |last4=Colvin |first4=Jill |date=November 6, 2024 |title=Trump wins the White House in political comeback rooted in appeals to frustrated voters |url=https://apnews.com/article/election-day-trump-harris-white-house-83c8e246ab97f5b97be45cdc156af4e2 |access-date=November 9, 2024 |work=[[AP News]] |quote=an extraordinary comeback for a former president}}</ref> The first Republican to win the popular vote since 2004, Trump did so with 49.9% of the popular vote and a margin of 1.6% over his opponent, the third-smallest since 1888.<ref>{{cite news |last=FitzGerald |first=James |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn5w9w160xdo |title=Just how big was Donald Trump's election victory? |work=[[BBC]] |date=November 23, 2024 |access-date=November 25, 2024}}</ref>

Beginning with his 2016 campaign, Trump's politics and rhetoric led to the creation of a [[political movement]] known as [[Trumpism]].<ref>{{cite news|last=O'Brien|first=Timothy L.|author-link=Timothy L. O'Brien|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-11-01/trumpism-has-deep-roots-in-american-history-and-it-will-outlast-trump|title=The Peculiarly American Roots of Trumpism|work=[[Bloomberg News]]|date=November 1, 2024|access-date=November 26, 2024}}</ref> Professor Mary Stuckey identified his rhetoric as using vitriol: "demeaning language, [[false equivalency]], and exclusion".{{sfn|Stuckey|2020|p=366}} Professor [[Gary Jacobson]] found he used [[fearmongering]] about immigrants and minorities{{sfn|Jacobson|2020|p=25}} that other researchers found were essential to his support.{{sfn|Mason|Wronski|Kane|2021}} His political base has been compared to a [[Cult of personality#Donald Trump|cult of personality]].{{efn|name=Cult|Attributed to multiple sources:{{sfn|Sundahl|2022|loc="[In] a model for distinguishing between popularity and personality cults based on three parameters covering a representational and social practice dimension... Trump and Putin belong in the domain of personality cults"}}{{sfn|Franks|Hesami|2021|loc="Results of the current study... may lend credence to accusations that some Trump supporters have a cult-like loyalty to the 45th president"}}{{sfn|Adams|2021|p=256}}{{sfn|Reyes|2020|p=869}}{{sfn|Diamond|2023|p=96|loc="The cult of Trumpism fosters and exploits paranoia and allegiance to an all-powerful, charismatic figure, contributing to a social milieu at risk for the erosion of democratic principles and the rise of fascism"}}{{sfn|Hassan|2019|p=xviii|loc="...Trump employs many of the same techniques as prominent cult leaders"}}<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ben-Ghiat|first=Ruth|author-link=Ruth Ben-Ghiat|date=December 19, 2020|title=Op-Ed: Trump's formula for building a lasting personality cult|url=https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-12-09/donald-trump-strongman-personality-cult|access-date=October 4, 2023|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref>}}  

Trump's political positions have been described as [[right-wing populist]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2020/10/31/the-republican-party-has-lurched-towards-populism-and-illiberalism|title=The Republican Party has lurched towards populism and illiberalism|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|date=October 31, 2020|access-date=October 14, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Borger|first=Julian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/26/republican-party-autocratic-hungary-turkey-study-trump|title=Republicans closely resemble autocratic parties in Hungary and Turkey – study|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=October 26, 2021|access-date=October 14, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Chotiner|first=Isaac|url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/redefining-populism|title=Redefining Populism|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]|date=July 29, 2021|access-date=October 14, 2021}}</ref> ''[[Politico]]'' described them as "eclectic, improvisational and often contradictory".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/will-the-real-donald-trump-please-stand-up-120607|title=Will the real Donald Trump please stand up?|last=Noah|first=Timothy|author-link=Timothy Noah|date=July 26, 2015|access-date=October 1, 2021|work=[[Politico]]}}</ref> He helped bring far-right fringe ideas and organizations into the mainstream.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bierman|first=Noah|date=August 22, 2016|title=Donald Trump helps bring far-right media's edgier elements into the mainstream|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-media-20160820-snap-story.html|access-date=October 7, 2021}}</ref> The [[alt-right]] movement coalesced around and supported his candidacy, due in part to its [[opposition to multiculturalism]] and [[Opposition to immigration|immigration]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Weigel|first=David|author-link=David Weigel|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/racial-realists-are-cheered-by-trumps-latest-strategy/2016/08/20/cd71e858-6636-11e6-96c0-37533479f3f5_story.html|title='Racialists' are cheered by Trump's latest strategy|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=August 20, 2016|access-date=June 23, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://cnn.com/2016/08/25/politics/alt-right-explained-hillary-clinton-donald-trump/|title=Clinton is attacking the 'Alt-Right' – What is it?|first=Gregory|last=Krieg|access-date=August 25, 2016|date=August 25, 2016|work=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Pierce|first=Matt|title=Q&A: What is President Trump's relationship with far-right and white supremacist groups?|url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-09-30/la-na-pol-2020-trump-white-supremacy|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=September 20, 2020|access-date=October 7, 2021}}</ref>

As a candidate and as president, Trump frequently made false statements in public remarks<ref name="finnegan">{{cite news |last=Finnegan |first=Michael |date=September 25, 2016 |title=Scope of Trump's falsehoods unprecedented for a modern presidential candidate |url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-false-statements-20160925-snap-story.html |access-date=October 10, 2021 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref><ref name="whoppers"/> to an extent unprecedented in [[American politics]].<ref name="finnegan"/><ref name="glasser">{{cite web |last=Glasser |first=Susan B. |author-link=Susan Glasser |date=August 3, 2018 |title=It's True: Trump Is Lying More, and He's Doing It on Purpose |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/trumps-escalating-war-on-the-truth-is-on-purpose |access-date=January 10, 2019 |magazine=[[The New Yorker]]}}</ref><ref name="Konnikova">{{cite web |last=Konnikova |first=Maria |author-link=Maria Konnikova |date=January 20, 2017 |title=Trump's Lies vs. Your Brain |url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/01/donald-trump-lies-liar-effect-brain-214658 |access-date=March 31, 2018 |work=[[Politico]]}}</ref> His falsehoods are a distinctive part of his political identity<ref name="glasser"/> and have been described as [[firehose of falsehood|firehosing]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kakutani |first1=Michiko |title=The Death of Truth: Notes on Falsehood in the Age of Trump |date=2018 |publisher=[[Crown/Archetype]] |isbn=9780525574842 |pages=94–104 |chapter=The Firehose of Falsehood: Propaganda and Fake News |author-link=Michiko Kakutani |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vlw_DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT94}}</ref> His false and misleading statements were documented by [[fact-checker]]s, including at ''The Washington Post'', which tallied 30,573 false or misleading statements made by him during his first presidency,<ref name="database"/> increasing in frequency over time.<ref name="TermUntruth">{{cite news |last1=Kessler |first1=Glenn |author-link1=Glenn Kessler (journalist) |last2=Kelly |first2=Meg |last3=Rizzo |first3=Salvador |last4=Shapiro |first4=Leslie |last5=Dominguez |first5=Leo |date=January 23, 2021 |title=A term of untruths: The longer Trump was president, the more frequently he made false or misleading claims |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2021/timeline-trump-claims-as-president/ |access-date=October 11, 2021 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>

Some of Trump's falsehoods were inconsequential, such as his repeated claim of the "[[First inauguration of Donald Trump|biggest inaugural crowd ever]]".<ref>{{cite web |last=Qiu |first=Linda |date=January 21, 2017 |title=Donald Trump had biggest inaugural crowd ever? Metrics don't show it |url=https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/jan/21/sean-spicer/trump-had-biggest-inaugural-crowd-ever-metrics-don/ |access-date=March 30, 2018 |work=[[PolitiFact]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Rein |first=Lisa |date=March 6, 2017 |title=Here are the photos that show Obama's inauguration crowd was bigger than Trump's |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/03/06/here-are-the-photos-that-show-obamas-inauguration-crowd-was-bigger-than-trumps/ |access-date=March 8, 2017 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> Others had more far-reaching effects, such as his promotion of antimalarial drugs as an unproven treatment for COVID-19,<ref>{{cite web |last=Wong |first=Julia Carrie |author-link=Julia Carrie Wong |date=April 7, 2020 |title=Hydroxychloroquine: how an unproven drug became Trump's coronavirus 'miracle cure' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/06/hydroxychloroquine-trump-coronavirus-drug |access-date=June 25, 2021 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Spring |first=Marianna |date=May 27, 2020 |title=Coronavirus: The human cost of virus misinformation |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-52731624 |access-date=June 13, 2020 |work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> causing a U.S. shortage of these drugs and [[panic-buying]] in Africa and South Asia.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rowland |first=Christopher |date=March 23, 2020 |title=As Trump touts an unproven coronavirus treatment, supplies evaporate for patients who need those drugs |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/03/20/hospitals-doctors-are-wiping-out-supplies-an-unproven-coronavirus-treatment/ |access-date=March 24, 2020 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Parkinson |first1=Joe |last2=Gauthier-Villars |first2=David |date=March 23, 2020 |title=Trump Claim That Malaria Drugs Treat Coronavirus Sparks Warnings, Shortages |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-claim-that-malaria-drugs-treat-coronavirus-sparks-warnings-shortages-11584981897 |url-access=subscription |access-date=March 26, 2020 |work=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref> Other misinformation, such as misattributing a rise in crime in [[England and Wales]] to the "spread of radical Islamic terror", served his domestic political purposes.<ref>{{cite web |last=Zurcher |first=Anthony |date=November 29, 2017 |title=Trump's anti-Muslim retweet fits a pattern |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42171550 |access-date=June 13, 2020 |work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> His attacks on mail-in ballots and other election practices weakened public faith in the integrity of the 2020 presidential election,<ref>{{cite web |last=Siders |first=David |date=May 25, 2020 |title=Trump sees a 'rigged election' ahead. Democrats see a constitutional crisis in the making. |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/25/donald-trump-rigged-election-talk-fears-274477 |access-date=October 9, 2021 |work=[[Politico]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Riccardi |first=Nicholas |date=September 17, 2020 |title=AP Fact Check: Trump's big distortions on mail-in voting |url=https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-election-2020-ap-fact-check-elections-voting-fraud-and-irregularities-8c5db90960815f91f39fe115579570b4 |access-date=October 7, 2020 |work=[[AP News]]}}</ref> while his disinformation about the pandemic delayed and weakened the national response to it.<ref name="NYT 4 11 20"/><ref name="USAT-Disinfo">{{cite web |last=Guynn |first=Jessica |date=October 5, 2020 |title=From COVID-19 to voting: Trump is nation's single largest spreader of disinformation, studies say |url=https://usatoday.com/story/tech/2020/10/05/trump-covid-19-coronavirus-disinformation-facebook-twitter-election/3632194001/ |access-date=October 7, 2020 |work=[[USA Today]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Bergengruen |first1=Vera |last2=Hennigan |first2=W.J. |date=October 6, 2020 |title='You're Gonna Beat It.' How Donald Trump's COVID-19 Battle Has Only Fueled Misinformation |url=https://time.com/5896709/trump-covid-campaign/ |access-date=October 7, 2020 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]}}</ref> Trump habitually does not apologize for his falsehoods.<ref>{{cite web |last=Allen |first=Jonathan |date=December 31, 2018 |title=Does being President Trump still mean never having to say you're sorry? |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/does-being-president-trump-still-mean-never-having-say-you-n952841 |access-date=June 14, 2020 |work=[[NBC News]]}}</ref>

During and since the 2020 presidential election, Trump promoted various conspiracy theories for his defeat.<ref>{{cite web |last=Perkins |first=Tom |date=November 18, 2020 |title=The dead voter conspiracy theory peddled by Trump voters, debunked |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/nov/18/dead-voter-conspiracy-theory-debunked |access-date=October 11, 2021 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Cohen |first=Li |date=January 15, 2021 |title=6 conspiracy theories about the 2020 election – debunked |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/presidential-election-2020-conspiracy-theories-debunked/ |access-date=September 13, 2021 |work=[[CBS News]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=McEvoy |first=Jemima |date=December 17, 2020 |title=These Are The Voter Fraud Claims Trump Tried (And Failed) To Overturn The Election With |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2020/12/17/these-are-the-voter-fraud-claims-trump-tried-and-failed-to-overturn-the-election-with/ |access-date=September 13, 2021 |work=[[Forbes]]}}</ref>

After years of criticism for allowing Trump to post misinformation and falsehoods, Twitter began to tag some of his tweets with fact-checks in May 2020.<ref>{{cite news |last=Dwoskin |first=Elizabeth |date=May 27, 2020 |title=Twitter labels Trump's tweets with a fact check for the first time |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/05/26/trump-twitter-label-fact-check/ |access-date=July 7, 2020 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> In response, he tweeted that social media platforms "totally silence" conservatives and that he would "strongly regulate, or close them down".<ref>{{cite news |last=Dwoskin |first=Elizabeth |date=May 27, 2020 |title=Trump lashes out at social media companies after Twitter labels tweets with fact checks |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/05/27/trump-twitter-label/ |access-date=May 28, 2020 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> In the days after the storming of the Capitol, he was banned from [[Facebook]], [[Instagram]], Twitter and other platforms.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fischer |first1=Sara |last2=Gold |first2=Ashley |date=January 11, 2021 |title=All the platforms that have banned or restricted Trump so far |url=https://www.axios.com/platforms-social-media-ban-restrict-trump-d9e44f3c-8366-4ba9-a8a1-7f3114f920f1.html |access-date=January 16, 2021 |work=[[Axios (website)|Axios]]}}</ref> The loss of his social media presence diminished his ability to shape events<ref>{{cite news |last=Timberg |first=Craig |date=January 14, 2021 |title=Twitter ban reveals that tech companies held keys to Trump's power all along |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/01/14/trump-twitter-megaphone/ |access-date=February 17, 2021 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Alba |first1=Davey |last2=Koeze |first2=Ella |last3=Silver |first3=Jacob |date=June 7, 2021 |title=What Happened When Trump Was Banned on Social Media |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/06/07/technology/trump-social-media-ban.html |access-date=December 21, 2023 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> and prompted a dramatic decrease in the volume of misinformation shared on Twitter.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dwoskin |first1=Elizabeth |last2=Timberg |first2=Craig |date=January 16, 2021 |title=Misinformation dropped dramatically the week after Twitter banned Trump and some allies |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/01/16/misinformation-trump-twitter/ |access-date=February 17, 2021 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> In February 2022, he launched social media platform [[Truth Social]] where he only attracted a fraction of his Twitter following.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Harwell |first1=Drew |last2=Dawsey |first2=Josh |author-link2=Josh Dawsey |date=November 7, 2022 |title=Trump once reconsidered sticking with Truth Social. Now he's stuck. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/11/07/trump-once-reconsidered-sticking-with-truth-social-now-hes-stuck/ |access-date=May 7, 2023 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> [[Elon Musk]], after [[Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk|acquiring Twitter]], reinstated his Twitter account in November 2022.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mac |first1=Ryan |last2=Browning |first2=Kellen |date=November 19, 2022 |title=Elon Musk Reinstates Trump's Twitter Account |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/19/technology/trump-twitter-musk.html |access-date=November 21, 2022 |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Dang |first1=Sheila |last2=Coster |first2=Helen |date=November 20, 2022 |title=Trump snubs Twitter after Musk announces reactivation of ex-president's account |url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/musks-twitter-poll-showing-narrow-majority-want-trump-reinstated-2022-11-20/ |access-date=May 10, 2024 |work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref> [[Meta Platforms]]' two-year ban lapsed in January 2023, allowing him to return to Facebook and Instagram,<ref>{{cite news |last=Bond |first=Shannon |date=January 23, 2023 |title=Meta allows Donald Trump back on Facebook and Instagram |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/01/25/1146961818/trump-meta-facebook-instagram-ban-ends |work=[[NPR]]}}</ref> although in 2024, he continued to call the company an "[[enemy of the people]]".<ref>{{cite news |last=Egan |first=Matt |date=March 11, 2024 |title=Trump calls Facebook the enemy of the people. Meta's stock sinks |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/11/tech/trump-tiktok-facebook-meta/index.html |work=CNN}}</ref>