Political career of Donald Trump

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This article is part of a series about Donald Trump
Business and personal Business career The Trump Organization wealth tax returns Media career The Apprentice bibliography filmography Endorsements Eponyms Family Foundation grants American football Golf Honors Public image in popular culture SNL parodies handshakes Legal affairs Sexual misconduct allegations Nicknames pseudonyms Racial views John McCain comments Conspiracy theories Residences Rhetoric Security incidents Trump dance 45th and 47th President of the United States Incumbent Presidencies first second timeline Transitions first second Inaugurations first second Presidential library Tenure First 100 days first term second term Executive actions executive orders first term second term proclamations pardons first term second term Trips foreign '17 '18 '19 '20–'21 '25 Namaste Trump North Korea summits Singapore Hanoi DMZ Riyadh summit Helsinki summit Shutdowns January 2018 2018–2019 Opinion polls first term second term Legal affairs as president first term second term Protests federal law enforcement deployment St. John's Church photo op Social media Twitter False or misleading statements Trumpism TikTok controversy Attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election Fake electors plot Eastman memos Lawsuits Texas v. Pennsylvania Jeffrey Clark letter Policies Economy tax cuts tariffs First term Second term trade war China Canada and Mexico European Union USMCA farmer bailouts Environment Paris Agreement withdrawal America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 Foreign policy First term overview Second term overview America First Saudi Arabia arms deal Iran nuclear deal withdrawal Relations with Israel Jerusalem recognition Golan Heights recognition Palestine peace plan Abraham Accords Kosovo–Serbia agreements Syria strikes 2017 2018 Killings al-Baghdadi Soleimani Afghanistan withdrawal Taliban deal Proposed invasion of Venezuela American expansionism Immigration first term overview second term overview travel ban border wall family separation policy migrant detentions troop deployments national emergency Infrastructure Social issues First Step Act cannabis Space COVID-19 pandemic Taskforce Communication Government response stimulus bills CARES Act Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 Operation Warp Speed Interference with science agencies Appointments ( first second ) Cabinets first second Ambassadors first second Federal judges first Gorsuch Kavanaugh Barrett Supreme Court candidates Executives first second U.S. Attorneys first second Presidential campaigns 2000 primaries 2016 election primaries endorsements rallies Las Vegas incident convention debates Make America Great Again Never Trump movement people Access Hollywood tape wiretapping allegations Spygate 2020 election primaries endorsements political non-political opposition rallies convention debates GOP reactions to election fraud claims Raffensperger phone call 2024 election primaries endorsements opposition eligibility Agenda 47 rallies convention debates assassination attempts PA perpetrator photographs FL suspect Impeachments Efforts resolutions First impeachment Ukraine scandal House inquiry Senate trial Second impeachment Capitol attack Senate trial Proposed expungements Legal proceedings 2020 election federal indictment Classified documents federal indictment Special counsel investigation FBI investigation FBI search of Mar-a-Lago Trump v. United States New York felony conviction for falsifying business records Stormy Daniels scandal New York investigations Georgia election indictment Georgia election investigation mug shot
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Since 2025, Donald Trump has been the 47th and current president of the United States, having won the 2024 presidential election. He previously served a separate, non-consecutive term from 2017 to 2021 as the 45th president.

Trump has officially run as a candidate for president four times, in 2000, 2016, 2020, and 2024; he also unofficially campaigned in 2012 and mulled a run in 2004.^[1] He won the 2016 general election through the Electoral College while losing the popular vote to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by 2.8 million votes, the largest margin ever to still win the presidency.^[2] He was thereby elected the 45th president of the United States on November 8, 2016, and inaugurated on January 20, 2017. He is the only American president to have no political or military service prior to his presidency. He unsuccessfully sought reelection in the 2020 presidential election, losing to Democratic nominee Joe Biden.^[3] After his first term, he was ranked^[4][5] by scholarly surveys as among the country's worst presidents. Among the American public, Trump's average 41 percent approval rating was the lowest of any president since Gallup began polling, and he left office with a 34 percent approval rating and 62 percent disapproval rating in his final polls.^[6]

Trump's involvement in politics began in the late 1970s and early '80s when he donated to the presidential campaigns of Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, and later a PAC affiliated with Walter Mondale. Between 1982 and 1985, he would be involved in fundraising and financing for the Vietnam Veterans Plaza as co-chair of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Commission and hosting of the 1984 National Awards Banquet as a special advisor to the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sport.

Trump's overt political activity started with his publicly suggesting a run for president in the late 1980s. Ever since, Trump maintained a steady interest in politics, though he was not always considered a serious candidate. Trump has spoken at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) multiple times, with his first appearance in 2012; Trump gained increasing political notoriety with the public for his promotion of the racist birtherism conspiracy theory during this period, which has been described as having had "essentially launched his current political career."^[7][8] From 2013 to 2015, Trump continued to make political headlines but was still polling low and not taken seriously by analysts. Trump became the 2016 Republican nominee for president of the United States after beating sixteen other candidates during a controversial campaign. U.S. Intelligence officials later determined that the Government of the Russian Federation had illegally intervened in the election to aid Trump's victory.^[9] There was a large amount of cabinet and staff turnover in Trump's presidency, compared to other modern American presidents.^[10] Numerous allegations of misconduct by Trump resulted in investigations by Congress and Special Council, as well as two impeachments. He was president at the time of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On June 18, 2019, Trump announced that he would seek re-election in the 2020 presidential election. The election on November 3 was not called for either candidate for several days; on November 7, the Associated Press—along with major TV networks including CNN, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, and Fox News—called the race for Joe Biden. Trump did not concede, despite the final election results not being close, and the administration did not begin cooperating with president-elect Biden's transition team until November 23. With one week remaining in his presidency, Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives for incitement of insurrection for his actions during the January 6 coup and attack on the United States Capitol, but was acquitted in the Republican-controlled Senate because the 57–43 vote in favor of convicting him fell short of the 2/3 supermajority (67 out of 100 senators) required for conviction.^[11] Trump continues to push the false idea that he won the 2020 election, which has led to ongoing controversy within the Republican party.

There are four major ongoing criminal investigations into Trump's criminal activity while in office.^[12][13] The chairman of Trump's presidential campaign, Paul Manafort; his chief political strategist, Steve Bannon; and his campaign counsel, Michael Cohen, have all been since sentenced to prison for various criminal acts connected to Trump's campaign and presidency.^[14][15][16] At least 8 other members of Trump's campaign have been charged with the commission of federal crimes.^[17]