Top 10 interesting facts about Donald Trump
Long before he was a contender for the US presidency, Donald Trump was America’s most famous and colourful billionaire.
Once considered a long shot for the presidency, the 74-year-old is now out of office after a single term – but he remains a force within the Republican party.
Scepticism over his candidacy for the 2016 election had stemmed not only from his controversial platform on immigration and outrageous campaign style but from his celebrity past.
Yet the businessman had the last laugh when he defied all predictions to beat much more seasoned politicians in the Republican primary race.
Trump remains America’s most unconventional president up to date. Here are the top 10 things about former President Trump that may take your breath away.
#10: First President to be a billionaire prior to assuming office
Donald Trump
Donald Trump became the first billionaire president of the United States in January 2017. The core of his fortune is tied up in a half-dozen buildings in and around midtown Manhattan in New York City. Trump also owns golf courses and a winery and has licensed his name to companies around the world. He got his start working for his father, Fred, who developed low-cost housing in Brooklyn and Queens. Trump tapped his two eldest sons, Don Jr. and Eric, to run the family business while he was in office.
#9: First President to have children from three different wives
Trump, wife Melania Ivan and son Barron descends off Air Force One
President Donald Trump has been married three times and has five children, plus nine grandchildren. Raised in Queens, Trump came from a big family before starting one of his own — he’s one of five children himself.
In 1977, Trump married Czech model Ivana Zelnickov. They have three children, Donald Jr. (born 1977), Ivanka (born 1981), Eric (born 1984) and ten grandchildren. Ivana became a naturalized United States citizen in 1988. The couple divorced in 1992, following Trump’s affair with actress Marla Maples. Maples and Trump married in 1993 and had one daughter, Tiffany (born 1993). They were divorced in 1999, and Tiffany was raised by Marla in California. In 2005, Trump married Slovenian model Melania Knauss. They have one son, Barron (born 2006). Melania gained U.S. citizenship in 2006.
#8: First President to assume office without having had any prior public service experience, military or political
Trump golfs at his course in Sterling, Virginia.
President Donald Trump has been married three times and has five children, plus nine grandchildren. Raised in Queens, Trump came from a big family before starting one of his own — he’s one of five children himself.
In 1977, Trump married Czech model Ivana Zelnickov. They have three children, Donald Jr. (born 1977), Ivanka (born 1981), Eric (born 1984) and ten grandchildren. Ivana became a naturalized United States citizen in 1988. The couple divorced in 1992, following Trump’s affair with actress Marla Maples. Maples and Trump married in 1993 and had one daughter, Tiffany (born 1993). They were divorced in 1999, and Tiffany was raised by Marla in California. In 2005, Trump married Slovenian model Melania Knauss. They have one son, Barron (born 2006). Melania gained U.S. citizenship in 2006.
#7: First President to have had an arrest warrant issued against him by a foreign nation (Iraq).
People hold placards depicting Iranian Commander, Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi militia commander al-Muhandis assassinated by US drone strike, as people gather to mark the one year anniversary of their killing.
A judge in Baghdad’s investigative court issued an arrest warrant for US President Donald Trump, over the killing of an Iraqi paramilitary leader during the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.
#6: First President to dine in the forbidden city of Beijing, China
Donald Trump meets President Xi Jinping at Forbidden City, China
Donald Trump received the honor in Beijing not granted to any US President since the founding of the People’s Republic of China: official dinner inside the Forbidden City.
#5: First President to begin tenure with a net negative approval rating in the history of modern political approval polling.
A mere 44 percent of Americans approved of the job President Donald Trump was doing as a newly inaugurated commander in chief. In contrast, 48 percent of Americans said they disapproved of Trump’s performance, according to the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll conducted Feb. 18–22.
Two days before Trump was set to address a joint session of Congress, the poll made clear Trump was way less popular than any of his predecessors. In fact, Trump is the first president in the history of modern political polling to have a net negative approval rating at the beginning of his first term, a sharp contrast to his predecessors that enjoyed broad support when they started their tenures. Barack Obama, for example, had a net positive rating of 34 percent in his first month, which was similar to the approval rating that George W. Bush and Bill Clinton enjoyed. George H.W. Bush had an even higher net positive rating of 45 percent.
#4: He signed bill on Tibet to law despite China protest.
Donald Trump signs executive order
Donald Trump signed into law a Bill which calls for establishing a US consulate in Tibet and building an international coalition to ensure that the next Dalai Lama is appointed solely by the Tibetan Buddhist community without China’s interference. The Tibetan Policy and Support Act of 2020 modifies and re-authorizes various programs and provisions related to Tibet.
Trump signed the act on Sunday, 27th December 2020 as part of the massive $2.3-trillion package for the year-end Bill to provide long-delayed coronavirus relief and fund the federal government.
The US Senate had unanimously passed the bill a week before despite China’s protest.
It authorizes assistance to non-governmental organizations in support of Tibetan communities in Tibet; places restrictions on new Chinese consulates in the United States until a US consulate has been established in Lhasa,Tibet.
The law now authorizes the Office of the US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues and expands the office’s duties to include additional tasks, such as pursuing international coalitions to ensure that the next Dalai Lama is appointed solely by the Tibetan Buddhist faith community. It also directs the Secretary of State not to open a new Chinese consulate in the US unless China allows the opening of an American consulate in Lhasa.
#3: First US President to be banned by big Tech
President Donald Trump looks at his phone during a roundtable with governors on the reopening of America’s small businesses, in the State Dining Room of the White House on June 18, 2020, in Washington
Twitter permanently banned the president of the United States from its platform on 8th January 2021. Within hours, a host of other platforms followed suit, banning either the president himself or hashtags and posts related to pro-Donald Trump topics: Twitch, Facebook and its photo-sharing service Instagram, Snapchat, Google’s YouTube, Reddit, TikTok, Discord, and even Pinterest. Shopify announced it would no longer sell Trump campaign merchandise. The credit card processing company, Stripe, will no longer process its campaign donations.
Tens of thousands of right-leaning accounts across multiple platforms were also nuked. Within days, Apple and Google announced they would remove the popular conservative Twitter alternative,Parler from their respective app stores. Hours later, Amazon web services stated they would no longer host the company.
In short, the Big Tech cartel threw off its cloak and bared its teeth, demonstrating to the world just how powerful it truly is. The crackdown that followed — on individuals, viewpoints, and businesses — was swift, severe, and possibly collusive.
#2: First US sitting President to step into North Korea and to hold a face-to-face dialogue with a North Korean Supreme leader.
President Trump with Kim Jon-Un at the North-South Korean demilitarized zone
Following the 2019 G20 Osaka summit, president Trump stepped into North Korea over the North-South border at 3:45pm (GMT+9) on June 20, marking the first time a sitting U.S president has set foot on North Korean soil. Side-by-side with Kim in the heavily-fortified demilitarized zone, Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to cross the 1953 armistice line separating North and South Korea, then joined Kim for a roughly 50-minute meeting.
“Stepping across that line was a great honor,” Trump said, later adding that it was “something incredible.”
Trump deemed the meeting a victory, announcing that nuclear talks would resume “within weeks” and that the two countries were designating teams of officials to take the lead.
He even invited Kim, who rarely leaves the country, to visit him at the White House.
Yet for all the fanfare, there were no signs that the U.S. and the North had made any concrete progress on denuclearization, the issue that has led to North Korea’s estrangement from the world.
And veteran nuclear negotiators and North Korea experts immediately questioned whether Trump, by staging a high-profile photo-op absent nuclear concessions, was bestowing legitimacy on Kim and undermining global pressure to force the North to accept a denuclearization deal.
#1: First US President impeached twice.
President Donald Trump
President Donald Trump was impeached by the U.S. House on a single charge of incitement of insurrection for his role in a riot by his supporters that left five dead and the Capitol ransacked, putting an indelible stain on his legacy with only a week left in his term.
US law makers historically voted 232-197 to remove the president from power. The vote makes Trump the only U.S. president to be impeached twice, a little more than a year since his first. It was supported by all Democrats and 10 Republicans, including Liz Cheney, the third-ranking GOP leader in the House.
Before the vote, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, said “We know that the president of the United States incited this insurrection”. She called Trump “a clear and present danger to this country that we all love.”
Which of facts did you find amazing? Did we miss any point worth mentioning? Don't be shy, nail it down in the comment section below.
I really enjoyed reading. Donald Trump banned by big tech was indeed humorous, to say the least.