In his first term, Trump imposed a travel ban on citizens from six Muslim-majority countries, expanded the U.S.–Mexico border wall, and implemented a brief family separation policy.

Many of his comments and actions have been characterized as racially charged, racist or misogynistic, and he has made false and misleading statements and promoted conspiracy theories to a degree unprecedented in American politics.

He lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden but refused to concede, falsely claiming electoral fraud, and attempted to overturn the results, including through his involvement in the January 6 Capitol attack in 2021.

Trump began his second presidency by pardoning around 1,500 January 6 rioters, attempting to reduce the size of the federal workforce, and initiating a mass deportation program of illegal immigrants.

[15][16] In 1992, Trump, his siblings Maryanne, Elizabeth, and Robert, and his cousin John W. Walter, each with a 20 percent share, formed All County Building Supply & Maintenance Corp.

[17] Trump attracted public attention in 1978 with the launch of his family's first Manhattan venture, the renovation of the derelict Commodore Hotel, adjacent to Grand Central Terminal.

In 2024, The New York Times and ProPublica reported that the Internal Revenue Service was investigating whether he had twice written off losses incurred through construction cost overruns and lagging sales of residential units in the building he had declared to be worthless on his 2008 tax return.

[49] The New York Times found that he initially made millions of dollars in such stock transactions, but "lost most, if not all, of those gains after investors stopped taking his takeover talk seriously".

[66] In June 2018, the New York attorney general's office filed a civil suit against the foundation, Trump, and his adult children, seeking $2.8 million in restitution and additional penalties.

[68] In November 2019, a New York state judge ordered Trump to pay $2 million to a group of charities for misusing the foundation's funds, in part to finance his presidential campaign.

[100][101][102] In 2011, Trump speculated about running against President Barack Obama in the 2012 election, making his first speaking appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February and giving speeches in early primary states.

[143] During his first week in office, Trump signed six executive orders, including authorizing procedures for repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare"), withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, advancement of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipeline projects, and planning for a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.

[172] Trump dismantled many federal regulations on health,[173][174] labor,[174] and the environment,[175][174] among others, including a bill that made it easier for severely mentally ill persons to buy guns.

[183][184] In June 2018, the Trump administration joined 18 Republican-led states in arguing before the Supreme Court that the elimination of the financial penalties associated with the individual mandate had rendered the Act unconstitutional.

[187] In response to the opioid epidemic, Trump signed legislation in 2018 to increase funding for drug treatments, but was widely criticized for failing to make a concrete strategy.

[227] In 2018, Trump's refusal to sign any congressional spending bill unless it allocated funding for the border wall[228] resulted in the longest-ever federal government shutdown, for 35 days from December 2018 to January 2019.

[245] Despite Trump initially blaming Democrats[246][247] and insisting he could not stop the policy with an executive order, he acceded to public pressure in June 2018 and mandated that migrant families be detained together unless "there is a concern" of risk for the child.

His attacks on the courts drew rebukes from observers, including sitting federal judges, concerned about the effect of his statements on the judicial independence and public confidence in the judiciary.

[316] After he assumed office, Trump was the subject of increasing Justice Department and congressional scrutiny, with investigations covering his election campaign, transition, and inauguration, actions taken during his presidency, his private businesses, personal taxes, and charitable foundation.

[347] In 2019, he was impeached for abuse of power and obstruction of justice for pressuring Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate Joe and Hunter Biden,[348] in an attempt to gain an advantage in the 2020 presidential election.

[386] Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Mark Milley and CIA director Gina Haspel grew concerned that Trump would attempt a coup or military action against China or Iran.

[392] During the attack, Trump posted on social media but did not ask the rioters to disperse until 6 p.m., when he told them in a Tweet to "go home with love & in peace" while calling them "great patriots" and restating that he had won the election.

[423][424] A federal grand jury constituted by Special Counsel Jack Smith indicted Trump in June 2023 on 31 counts of "willfully retaining national defense information" under the Espionage Act, among other charges.

In March 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court restored his name to the ballot in a unanimous decision, ruling that Colorado lacks the authority to enforce Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars insurrectionists from holding federal office.

[457][458] 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.

[556] 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.

[558] He has also been accused of racism for insisting a group of five black and Latino teenagers were guilty of raping a white woman in the 1989 Central Park jogger case, even after they were exonerated in 2002 when the actual rapist confessed and his DNA matched the evidence.

[574][575][576] He is described as embracing extremism, conspiracy theories such as Q-Anon, and far-right militia movements to a greater extent than any modern American president,[577][578] and engaging in stochastic terrorism.

[584][585] Numerous defendants investigated or prosecuted for violent acts and hate crimes, including participants in the storming of the U.S. Capitol, cited his rhetoric in arguing that they were not culpable or should receive leniency.

[641][642] By 2024, he repeatedly voiced support for outlawing political dissent and criticism,[643] and said that reporters should be prosecuted for not divulging confidential sources and media companies should possibly lose their broadcast licenses for unfavorable coverage of him.