Trump was born to money on June 14, 1946, in the New York City borough of Queens, the fourth of five children of Fred Trump, who would become one of the city’s biggest developers and landlords and his wife. It was Fred Trump who taught Donald the value of self-promotion and a killer instinct.

By his own admission, Trump was not an easy child and in the eighth grade, his parents sent him to the New York Military Academy in hopes of instilling needed discipline.

Through student and medical deferments during the Vietnam War, Trump would never serve in the US military but said the school gave him “more training militarily than a lot of the guys that go into the military.”

After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Trump went to work for his father’s company, which focused on the outer New York City boroughs of Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island and owned an estimated 15,000 apartments.

In 1973 the Trumps were charged with racial bias in their rental practices before reaching a settlement with the US government.

Having earned a degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, he became favoured to succeed his father when his older brother, Fred, chose to become a pilot.

Fred Trump died at 43 from alcoholism, something that Trump says led him to avoid alcohol and cigarettes his entire life.

With a $1 million loan from his father, Trump eventually went into business himself in Manhattan, where he became a regular at some of the city’s most exclusive clubs and developed a reputation as a ladies’ man.

Creating a brand

When Trump took over, the family business shifted from residential units in Brooklyn and Queens to flashy Manhattan projects.

He got the Trump Tower built on Fifth Avenue and the Commodore hotel was rejuvenated as the Grand Hyatt.

His rise to stardom continued into the entertainment world — first as an owner of the Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA beauty pageants — and then as creator-host of NBC reality show The Apprentice.

Other properties under the Trump brand name — casinos, condominiums, golf courses and hotels — came up across the world from Atlantic City, Chicago and Las Vegas to India, Turkey and the Philippines.

The Family

Trump’s personal life has been widely covered by the press. His first wife was Ivana Zelnickova, a Czech athlete and model. The couple had three children Donald Jr, Ivanka and Eric before their divorce in 1990.

Amidst allegations of domestic abuse by his first wife, their divorce trial made the front page in tabloids. Although she later downplayed those allegations, they are also mentioned in a new movie about Trump’s life.

He then married actress Marla Maples in 1993 who became his second wife, two months after the birth of their only child Tiffany. After six years of marriage, the couple eventually divorced in 1999.

His third and current wife is Melania Knauss. She is a former model from Slovenia. They married in 2005 and have a son, Barron William Trump, who is now 18.

Trump as president

From the very first hours, he brought unrivalled drama to the job, often making formal announcements on Twitter (now X) and clashing openly with foreign leaders.

Under his presidency, the US withdrew from major climate and trade agreements including the Paris Agreement and took decisions such as recognising Juraselum as the capital of Israel which were criticised even by allies.

He also put a travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries, imposed tough immigration restrictions, the relationship with many Middle Eastern countries fundamentally changed, implemented record tax cuts, and a trade war was launched with China.

Thirty-four people faced criminal charges - on matters such as computer hacking and financial crimes — when a special counsel probed alleged collusion between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia for nearly two years. The investigation could not establish criminal collusion with Trump himself though.

Not long after, Trump became just the third US president in history to be impeached, over accusations he pressured a foreign government to dig up dirt on Democratic opponent Joe Biden. He was impeached by a Democrat-led House of Representatives but was acquitted in a Republican-led Senate.

The coronavirus pandemic then became the most important headline of his election year in 2020.

His handling of the pandemic as the US led the globe in deaths and infections was intensely criticised. He also made controversial comments, like suggesting research into whether Covid could be treated by the injection of disinfectants into the body.

He was diagnosed with Covid-19 himself on the campaign trail, forcing him to take a break.

Consequently, after losing the 2020 election to Joe Biden, he then amplified claims of widespread electoral fraud — claims that were refuted in more than 60 court cases.

Refusing to accept the results, Trump rallied supporters in Washington on 6 January, urging them to converge on the Capitol as Biden’s victory was to be formally certified by Congress.

That rally devolved into a riot that placed lawmakers and his own vice-president in danger and led to a historic second impeachment. Trump was again acquitted by the Senate, albeit with a narrower margin.

Two criminal cases are currently focusing on his actions on that fateful day.

Trump’s agenda for this election

Economy

Trump wants to preserve all of the 2017 individual tax rates, saying they boosted US growth before the Covid-19 pandemic. Trump has pledged to scrap taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security benefits.

Trump has said he would double down on tariffs, proposing a new 10 per cent minimum tariff on all imported goods and legislation to match other countries’ tariffs dollar for dollar.

He also has vowed to revoke China’s “most favoured nation” trading status, which would hike standard tariff rates on many Chinese imports.

Trump also wants to lower the corporate income tax rate from the 21pc that was in his 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, to 15pc for companies that make their goods in the United States.

Abortion

Trump opposes a federal abortion ban, saying abortion laws should be determined by individual states. Trump takes credit for appointing three of the conservative justices in the majority in the US Supreme Court’s 6-3 abortion ruling.

That decision ended the recognition of a woman’s constitutional right to abortion and allowed individual states to set their own abortion limits.

He also favors exceptions to abortion bans when the pregnancy was caused by rape or incest, or if it threatens the life of the mother, at odds with some religious conservatives.

Climate

Trump has pledged to reverse Biden’s investment in green technology and electric cars, to expand oil, gas and coal development, to scrap electric vehicle mandates and to shrink environmental regulation oversight, according to advisers.

Trump would also pull the United States out of the landmark international Paris Agreement aimed at combating global warming, for the second time.

Foreign Policy

Trump, a staunch supporter of Israel, moved the US embassy to Jerusalem and sidelined Palestinians in a series of peace deals between Arab countries and Israel as president. Trump has supported Israel in its fight against Hamas in Gaza but also has said the conflict should end quickly.

On NATO, Trump calls it a drain on US resources and has threatened to withdraw. He also plans to ask Europe to reimburse the United States for almost $200 billion in munitions sent to Ukraine. One adviser has proposed a tiered protection system.

Whereas on China, Trump has vowed to increase tariffs on Chinese imports, potentially triggering a new trade war. He also seeks to prohibit Chinese companies from owning US real estate and infrastructure in the energy and tech sectors.

On Taiwan, Trump opened up interactions between American and Taiwanese diplomats as president, angering China. In 2023, Trump refused to say if he would defend Taiwan should China invade.

Immigration

Trump built or upgraded 450 miles (725 km) of the US-Mexico border wall as president, and vows to finish it. He wants to detain all migrants caught entering the country illegally or breaking other immigration laws.

He has promised the largest deportation effort in US history and would deploy National Guard troops and, if necessary, the regular military. He wants to end automatic citizenship for children born to immigrants living in the US illegally as well.

Trump has also said he would restore his “remain in Mexico” policy, which forced some non-Mexican asylum-seekers at the Mexican border to wait in Mexico until the resolution of their case. Overall, Trump has pledged to greatly limit access to asylum at the US southern border.