Trump has consistently received backlash for his populist, protectionist, and nationalist policies, by the world liberals. He has even been polled as the least popular US President in the history of modern opinion polls. His lack of experience in administration and politics has gone heavily against him. Figures have always spoken badly for him. While 64% rated for Barack Obama that they had confidence in him to do the right thing when it came to international affairs, only 22% showed confidence in Trump on same parameters. Actually, majority of voters have shown low opinions of his character and competence.
However, the question is: has this affected Trump? Not really, as he has continued with his policies, statements and ideas as if oblivious of any critic’s or opponent’s existence. It has definitely given him an advantage too; he is able to show he has done something, as consistent focus on corrections, he has been able to deliver finally.
Actually, his wins are more than his losses, in any field, be it business, politics or his personal life. He has managed his business well, and according to March 2018 estimates by Forbes magazine, he is the world’s 766th richest person with a net worth of US$3.1 billion. He has co-authored several books, including The Art of the Deal. He owned the Miss Universe and Miss USA beauty pageants from 1996 to 2015, and he produced and hosted the reality television show The Apprentice from 2003 to 2015.
POPULIST & PROTECTIONIST
Trump’s win of the US President’s election wasn’t easy, as he entered the 2016 presidential race as a Republican; however, he defeated sixteen opponents in the primaries. His political positions as populist, protectionist, and nationalist were severely criticised on media, but finally these very positions helped him seal the deal. He was even accused of making false public statements in his campaign; however, the final result was that he was elected president in a surprise victory over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, as he became the oldest and the wealthiest person ever to assume the presidency, the first without prior military or government service, and the fifth to have won the election while losing the popular vote. His election and policies have sparked numerous protests.
During his presidency, Trump ordered a travel ban on citizens from several Muslim-majority countries, citing security concerns; a revised version of the ban was implemented after legal challenges. He signed tax cut legislation, rescinded the individual insurance mandate provision of the Affordable Care Act, and opened the Arctic Refuge for oil drilling. He enacted a partial repeal of the Dodd-Frank Act that had imposed stricter constraints on banks in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. In foreign policy, he pursued his America First agenda: he withdrew the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations, the Paris Agreement on climate change, and the Iran nuclear deal. He recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. He imposed import tariffs on various goods from China, Canada, Mexico and the European Union.
After Trump dismissed FBI Director James Comey, the Justice Department appointed Robert Mueller as Special Counsel to investigate coordination or links between the Trump campaign and the Russian government in its election interference. Trump has repeatedly denied accusations of collusion and obstruction of justice, calling the investigation a politically motivated witch hunt.
EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION
Trump’s ancestors originated from the German village of Kallstadt in the Palatinate on his father’s side, and from the Outer Hebridesin Scotland on his mother’s side. All of his grandparents and his mother were born in Europe.
Trump’s paternal grandfather, Friedrich Trump, first immigrated to the United States in 1885 at the age of 16 and became a citizen in 1892. He amassed a fortune operating boom-town restaurants and boarding houses in the Seattle area and the Klondike region of Canada during its gold rush. On a visit to Kallstadt, he met Elisabeth Christ and married her in 1902. The couple permanently settled in New York in 1905. Frederick died from influenza during the 1918 pandemic.
Trump’s father Fred was born in 1905 in The Bronx. Fred started working with his mother in real estate when he was 15, shortly after his father’s death. Their company, “E. Trump & Son”, founded in 1923, was primarily active in the New York boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn. Fred eventually built and sold thousands of houses, barracks, and apartments. The company was later renamed The Trump Organization, after Donald Trump took charge in 1971.
Trump grew up in Jamaica, Queens, and attended the Kew-Forest School from kindergarten through seventh grade. At age 13, he was enrolled in the New York Military Academy, a private boarding school, after his parents discovered that he had made frequent trips into Manhattan without their permission.
In 1964, Trump enrolled at Fordham University. After two years, he transferred to the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. While at Wharton, he worked at the family business, Elizabeth Trump & Son. He graduated in May 1968 with a Bachelor of Science in economics.
Trump did not serve in the military during the Vietnam War. While in college from 1964 to 1968, he obtained four student deferments. In 1966, he was deemed fit for service based upon a military medical examination and in July 1968, after graduating from college, was briefly classified as eligible to serve by a local draft board. In October 1968, he was classified as 1-Y, “unqualified for duty except in the case of a national emergency,” and given a medical deferment which he later attributed to heel spurs; in 1972, the medical deferment was changed to 4-F, “not qualified for service.” In the draft lottery in December 1969, Trump’s birthday, June 15, received a high number which would have given him a low probability to be called to military service even without the 1-Y medical deferment.
The Donald J. Trump Foundation is a U.S.-based private foundation that was established in 1988 for the initial purpose of giving away proceeds from the book Trump: The Art of the Deal.
The Foundation has given to healthcare and sports related charities, as well as conservative groups. It gave $926,750 to about 40 groups, with the biggest donations going to the Arnold Palmer Medical Center Foundation, the New York–Presbyterian Hospital, the Police Athletic League, and the Clinton Foundation.
The President of the US is not the most powerful person in the world because of his personality. He is the most powerful because of the authority he holds and the decisions he can make. Trump has a lot to prove to offset his bad decisions and statements. He has to pull his act together and take the right policy decisions, which are in the best interest of not only his own country, but also in the larger interest of the world.
