Donald Trump: 15 Frequently Asked Questions

Donald Trump (born 1946) is an American businessman, media personality, and politician who served as the 45th President of the United States from 2017 to 2021 and returned to office as the 47th President in January 2025. He first gained national fame as a New York real estate developer in the 1980s, expanding the Trump Organization into hotels, casinos, and licensed brand properties. From 2004 to 2015, he hosted the reality television show "The Apprentice," cementing his image as a brash dealmaker. His 2016 presidential campaign, run as a political outsider on an "America First" platform, upended both major US political parties. By winning a non-consecutive second term in 2024, he became only the second president in American history to do so, after Grover Cleveland.

Trump's legacy is defined by a fundamental realignment of the Republican Party around economic nationalism, restrictive immigration policy, and skepticism of multilateral institutions. His first-term achievements included the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, three Supreme Court appointments that shifted the court's ideological balance, the Abraham Accords normalizing relations between Israel and several Arab states, and Operation Warp Speed which accelerated COVID-19 vaccine development. His second term, beginning in 2025, has emphasized tariff policy, border enforcement, federal workforce reductions, and a confrontational posture toward both adversaries and traditional allies. Supporters view this as restoring American sovereignty and prosperity; critics argue it has damaged alliances and democratic norms. Either reading, his impact on US political life is the most significant since Ronald Reagan.