PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Donald John Trump was the 45th president of the United States, serving from January 20, 2017, to January 20, 2021. He defeated Hillary Clinton (D) in the 2016 presidential election, and was defeated by Joe Biden (D) in the 2020 presidential election. Before holding public office, Trump owned the Trump Organization, a conglomerate dealing in real estate and other industries, and was the host of The Apprentice on NBC.
Trump is running in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. He declared his candidacy on November 15, 2022, making him the fifth president in history to run for non-consecutive terms. Trump became the presumptive Republican nominee after reaching the estimated Republican majority delegate threshold on March 12, 2024.
Trump is the first president to be indicted on criminal charges after leaving office. In March 2023, a New York grand jury indicted Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. In June 2023, he was in federal court on charges related to his handling of classified documents after leaving office. In August 2023, Trump was indicted again in federal court on charges related to interference in the certification of the 2020 presidential election and indicted by a Georgia grand jury on criminal charges related to interference in the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.
Key policy initiatives during Trump's presidency included the United States withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and First Step Act in 2018, reducing the size of the ISIS caliphate, and establishing the Space Force as an independent military branch. Trump made 234 federal judicial appointments, including three U.S. Supreme Court justices. This was the highest number of appointments in a president's first term among U.S. presidents serving between 1981 and 2021.
Gallup polling showed Trump average 41% approval over the course of his presidency. He received an average of 7% approval among Democrats, 86% approval among Republicans, and 35% approval among Independents.
On December 18, 2019, Trump became the third president in U.S. history to be impeached by the U.S. House. The U.S. Senate acquitted Trump on both charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress on February 5, 2020. Trump was impeached a second time on January 13, 2021, for incitement of insurrection following the January 6, 2021, breach of the United States Capitol. The Senate acquitted Trump on February 13, 2021.
Since 2017, Trump has been an active influencer in the Republican Party, issuing endorsements in elections across the country. During his presidency, Ballotpedia identified 305 endorsements issued by Trump. Since leaving office, Trump has issued hundreds of additional endorsements. He issued the most during the 2022 election cycle.
SOURCE: Ballotpedia