Donald Trump facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Donald Trump
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Official portrait, 2017
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| 45th & 47th President of the United States | |
| Assumed office January 20, 2025 |
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| Vice President | JD Vance |
| Preceded by | Joe Biden |
| In office January 20, 2017 – January 20, 2021 |
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| Vice President | Mike Pence |
| Preceded by | Barack Obama |
| Succeeded by | Joe Biden |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Donald John Trump
June 14, 1946 Queens, New York City, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican (1987–1999; 2009–2011; 2012–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
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| Children | |
| Parents |
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| Relatives | Trump family |
| Education | University of Pennsylvania (BS) |
| Occupation |
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| Awards | Full list |
| Signature | .svg) |
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman. He was the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. He was elected again in 2024 to be the 47th president, starting in 2025.
Trump is the only U.S. president to have been impeached (accused of wrongdoing by the House of Representatives) twice. He was accused in 2019–2020 and again in 2021 for encouraging a violent uprising. In both cases, the Senate found him not guilty.
In 2024, Trump won the presidential election as the Republican Party candidate. He became the first former president since Grover Cleveland in 1892 to win a second term that was not immediately after his first. At 78 years old, he also became the oldest person ever elected President of the United States.
In late 2024, Time magazine named Trump its Person of the Year.
Contents
- Early Life and Education
- Business Career and Real Estate
- Media Career and Television
- Political Activity Before 2015
- 2016 Presidential Campaign
- President of the United States (2017-2021)
- 2024 Presidential Election
- Attempted Assassination Event
- Second Presidency (2025–present)
- Wealth and Personal Life
- Images for kids
- See also
Early Life and Education
Donald John Trump was born in Queens, New York City. His parents were Fred Trump and Mary Anne MacLeod. They married in 1936. His mother was from the Isle of Lewis in Scotland. Donald was one of five children. His older brother, Fred Jr., passed away in 1981. Donald's sister, Maryanne, became a judge in New York. His father's parents were immigrants from Germany.
His grandfather, Frederick Trump, came to the United States in 1885. He became an American citizen in 1892.
Trump went to the private Kew-Forest School for elementary and middle school. At age 13, he started attending the New York Military Academy. This is a private boarding school. In 1964, he enrolled at Fordham University. Two years later, he moved to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in economics in 1968.
During the Vietnam War, Trump was not drafted into the military. This was because he received several deferments.
Business Career and Real Estate
In 1968, Donald Trump started working for his father's real estate company, Trump Management. By 1971, he became the president of the company. He began using the name Trump Organization for their projects. The main office of The Trump Organization is located at 40 Wall Street in New York City.
Trump has developed many large real estate projects. These include hotels and towers in cities like Honolulu, Chicago, Toronto, and Tampa.
Media Career and Television
Trump made small appearances in various films and TV shows between 1985 and 2001.
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From the 1990s, Trump was a frequent guest on the Howard Stern Show. He also had his own short radio program called Trumped! from 2004 to 2008. From 2011 to 2015, he was a regular guest commentator on Fox & Friends.
Beauty Pageants Ownership
From 1996 to 2015, Trump owned all or part of the Miss Universe pageants. This included Miss USA and Miss Teen USA.
The Apprentice Reality Show
In 2003, Trump became the executive producer and host of the NBC reality show The Apprentice. On the show, contestants competed for a high-level management job in one of Trump's businesses. In 2004, he registered the famous phrase "You're fired!" as a trademark.
For the first season, Trump earned $50,000 per episode. After the show became popular, his pay increased to $1 million per episode. His campaign manager stated in 2015 that he earned over $213 million for hosting 14 seasons of the show.
In February 2015, NBC announced that The Apprentice would have a 15th season. However, Trump said he was "not ready" to sign on. He was considering running for president. He was later replaced by former Governor of California and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Political Activity Before 2015
Before his presidential campaigns, Trump changed his political party registration several times. He was a Republican in 1987. Then he was a member of the Independence Party in 1999. He was a Democrat in 2001, a Republican again in 2009, and an independent in 2011. He returned to the Republican Party in 2012.
2016 Presidential Campaign
Donald Trump officially announced his plan to run for president on June 16, 2015. His campaign slogan was "Make America Great Again." He trademarked this phrase.
On May 4, 2016, Trump became the likely Republican nominee. His main challengers, Ted Cruz and John Kasich, ended their campaigns.
Republican Primaries
Trump was one of 17 Republican candidates seeking the nomination. This was the largest group of presidential candidates in American history. By early 2016, the race mainly focused on Donald Trump and U.S. Senator Ted Cruz. On Super Tuesday, Trump won most of the delegates. He remained the leading candidate throughout the primaries.
By June 2016, Trump had received nearly 14 million votes. This set a new record for the most primary votes ever won by a Republican Party candidate.
General Election Victory
On November 8, 2016, Trump won the presidency with 306 Electoral College votes. Hillary Clinton received 232 votes. This happened even though Clinton received more individual votes from people across the country (the popular vote) than Trump. He became the fourth person to become president without winning the popular vote. Clinton finished ahead by about 2.86 million votes. Trump's victory was a big surprise. Most polls had predicted Hillary Clinton would win. In the early hours of November 9, 2016, Clinton called Trump to concede the election.
President of the United States (2017-2021)
Inauguration Ceremony
On January 20, 2017, Donald Trump was sworn in as President of the United States. Chief Justice John G. Roberts led the ceremony. It took place at the United States Capitol Building. Within his first hour as president, he signed several executive orders. One order aimed to reduce the costs of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
The Saturday after Trump's inauguration, large protests took place. These included the 2017 Women's March. They happened across the United States and worldwide.
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Key Policies and Events
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As president, Trump issued an order to limit travel from some countries. He also used military funds to help build a wall along the U.S.–Mexico border. He put in place a policy that separated families at the border.
He also reduced many environmental protections and regulations. He signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which lowered taxes.
On May 4, 2017, the American Health Care Act of 2017 (AHCA) was passed by the United States House of Representatives. This was an attempt to replace Obamacare.
Trump's administration faced challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. He sometimes disagreed with recommendations from health officials.
In foreign affairs, Trump started a trade dispute with China. He also withdrew the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. He also left the Paris Agreement on climate change and the Iran nuclear deal. He met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un three times to discuss nuclear weapons. However, no major progress was made.
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Investigations and Impeachments
In January 2017, U.S. intelligence agencies stated that the Russian government had interfered in the 2016 presidential election. This was to help Trump win. In March 2017, FBI Director James Comey confirmed that the FBI was looking into any connections between Trump's campaign and the Russian government.
Trump denied any wrongdoing. On May 9, 2017, Trump fired FBI Director James Comey. The White House stated that this was to end the investigation.
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Mueller Investigation Findings
In May 2017, former FBI director Robert Mueller was appointed to investigate links between the Russian government and the Trump campaign.
In March 2019, Mueller submitted his final report. The report described widespread Russian interference. It also noted how Trump's campaign welcomed it, believing it would help them win.
Several people associated with Trump pleaded guilty or were convicted in connection with Mueller's investigation.
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First Impeachment Process
On December 18, 2019, the House of Representatives voted to impeach Trump. This was for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. This meant they formally accused him of serious wrongdoing. However, on February 5, 2020, the Senate found Trump not guilty of all charges. So, he remained in office.
2020 Re-election Campaign
Trump announced his intention to run for a second term shortly after becoming president in 2017.
In the 2020 primaries, Trump faced challenges from former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld and former U.S. Representatives Joe Walsh.
Election Defeat and Challenges
On November 7, 2020, Trump was defeated by former Vice President Joe Biden. He lost key states like Pennsylvania and Nevada. Trump claimed there were problems with voting, especially with mail-in voting. He tried to use the Supreme Court to stop vote counting in some states. He filed lawsuits in states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Georgia. However, these were unsuccessful.
In early January 2021, Trump made a phone call to Georgia's Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger. He asked him to "find 11,780 votes" to change the election outcome in Georgia.
U.S. Capitol Riots
On January 6, 2021, a group of people entered the United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C. This happened while the United States Congress was formally confirming the election results. The event led to violence.
Following these events, Trump's accounts on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter were permanently removed. On January 8, 2021, Trump was banned from Twitter. The events at the Capitol led to new efforts to impeach Trump from the presidency.
2024 Presidential Election
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On November 15, 2022, Trump announced he would run for president again in the 2024 United States presidential election.
Trump won the election in November 2024 with 312 electoral votes. Incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris received 226. This made him the second president in U.S. history, after Grover Cleveland in 1892, to be elected to a second term that was not immediately after his first. He also won the popular vote with 49.8% compared to Harris's 48.3%. This was the smallest popular vote margin since 2000.
Attempted Assassination Event
On July 13, 2024, Trump was injured in the ear during an attempted assassination at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. After the shooting, Trump raised his fist as he was quickly moved away by the Secret Service. He received medical attention and was reported to be fine. One person attending the rally was killed. Two others were seriously injured. The shooter was also killed by the Secret Service at the scene. Officials are investigating the incident. The FBI identified the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.
Second Presidency (2025–present)
The day before he took office, Trump and his new administration helped arrange a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Trump began his second presidency when he was inaugurated on January 20, 2025.
Wealth and Personal Life
Forbes magazine estimated that Trump's net worth decreased by $1.4 billion between 2015 and 2018. In their 2024 ranking of billionaires, his net worth was estimated to be $2.3 billion. This made him the 1,438th wealthiest person in the world.
Donald Trump has five children from three marriages and ten grandchildren. He is a Presbyterian. As a child, he attended the First Presbyterian Church in Jamaica, Queens.
Marriages and Children
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Trump married his first wife, Czech model Ivana Zelníčková, on April 7, 1977. They had three children: son Donald Trump Jr. (born 1977), daughter Ivanka (born 1981), and son Eric (born 1984). Ivana became a U.S. citizen in 1988. They divorced in 1992.
Trump married his second wife, actress Marla Maples, in 1993. They had one daughter together, Tiffany (born 1993). They separated in 1997 and divorced in 1999.
In 1998, Trump began a relationship with Slovene model Melania Knauss. She became his third wife. They got engaged in April 2004 and married on January 22, 2005. In 2006, Melania became a U.S. citizen. Their son, Barron Trump, was born on March 20, 2006.
Health and Habits
Trump typically sleeps about four or five hours each night. He has said that golfing is his main form of exercise. However, he usually rides in a golf cart instead of walking the course. He believes that exercise uses up the body's energy. He compares it to a battery with a limited amount of power. In 2015, his campaign released a letter from his doctor, Harold Bornstein. The doctor stated that Trump would be "the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency."
Images for kids
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Entrance of the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City
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Trump shaking hands with President Ronald Reagan at the White House, 1987
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During the primaries, Trump (dark blue), won 40 contests
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Trump (far right) and wife Ivana in the receiving line of a state dinner for King Fahd of Saudi Arabia in 1985, with U.S. president Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan
See also
In Spanish: Donald Trump para niños
