One of the most famous natives of Queens is a politician, businessman, former TV personality and the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump. He is known for setting high standards in the business and entrepreneurial fields. Many people in the United States and around the world admire Trump. However, there are also those who openly despise him, as his presidency was primarily marked by scandals, investigations and aggravated partisan tensions. Read more about his path to fame, political achievements, misdeeds and more at queensyes.com.
Childhood and youth
The future president was born on June 14, 1946, in Queens. Donald’s paternal grandparents came to the United States from Germany. His grandfather, Friedrich, became an American citizen in 1885. He built up a large amount of capital by managing several restaurants and boarding houses during the gold rush period. Trump’s father, Fred, was a successful real estate developer.
Trump studied at the private Kew-Forest School. When he was 13 years old, his parents sent him to the New York Military Academy to bridle his restlessness. Trump played for the academy’s football and baseball teams. The young man considered choosing a film school but ultimately decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and work in real estate. He first entered Fordham University but left two years later to pursue studies at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Early success
In 1971, the business school graduate took over his father’s company, Trump Management and renamed it the Trump Organization. The company is involved in managing, investing and developing residential properties, hotels, resorts, residential towers, as well as golf courses in different countries.
Trump was first mentioned by the national newspaper “The New York Times” in 1973. The developer was accused of discriminating against black tenants. In general, in the 1980s, the businessman often made negative remarks about African Americans.
With each passing year, Donald took on more ambitious projects. However, from 1989, he was unable to repay his loans on time due to a financial crisis. By 1991, the increased debts led to bankruptcy. Trump had settled most of his arrears by 1994 and began working on new projects in the late 1990s.
Despite some challenges, Donald’s real estate business has generally been extremely successful. The entrepreneur even licensed his own name. Many of his buildings have the word “Trump” in their name. Moreover, many developers began paying the businessman so that he would sell their properties and promote their projects on behalf of his own name. Therefore, not all buildings with his name belong to Trump.
In 2015, Forbes estimated Trump’s wealth at $4.1 billion. Interestingly, in 2022, the Trump Organization was accused of tax fraud.
45th President of the United States
During the 2016 pre-election, Trump won the nomination from the Republicans. Although he lost the national vote, he managed to defeat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the general election. His campaign slogan was “Make America Great Again.” Ultimately, Donald became the 45th President of the United States (2017-2021).
Twitter was his main source of communication with his voters, politicians and the media. During his presidency, he signed a law on important tax reform and controlled the reduction of federal regulations. The administration of Trump imposed tariffs on imports and renegotiated trade deals with Mexico, Canada, China, Japan and South Korea in favor of the United States. Other areas of domestic politics included increased military budget, strict border and immigration control (Trump banned entry into the US for citizens of several countries with a large Muslim population), criminal justice reform and lowering the prices for prescription drugs.
Regarding foreign policy, the American embassy in Israel was relocated from Tel Aviv to the capital city of Jerusalem. The embassy also acted as a mediator in some agreements between Israel and other countries. Donald was repeatedly suspected of cooperating with Russia.
In 2018, the American government temporarily stopped working because of a conflict over the Mexico–United States border wall. This border wall was one of the main campaign promises of the president to slow down the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs. Democrats and other critics doubted whether the country really needed it. They accused Trump of distorting facts and figures to exaggerate the scale of problems on the southern border and opposed his attempt to secure funding for the wall. The financing was halted for 35 days before the US Supreme Court supported the president and allowed the use of funds from the budget.
A federal informant filed a complaint in 2019 alleging that Donald was pressuring Ukrainian President V. Zelenskyy to inquire into the matter involving J. Biden’s son Hunter. The latter was on the board of directors of the gas company Burisma in Ukraine. He was involved in a four-year scheme, in particular, he dodged federal taxes and submitted false declarations. Later that year, the House of Representatives impeached President Trump for obstructing the activity of Congress and abusing power. In 2020, the Senate acquitted Trump. Overall, Trump, during his tenure, repeatedly obstructed justice and took advantage of his position for his own political purposes.
The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the US was registered on January 20, 2020. It took too long for Trump to address the virus and take relevant health measures. By the time he left office, 400,000 Americans had died from COVID-19.
Trump lost the re-election to Democrat Biden but publicly claimed that the result was influenced by massive electoral fraud. His supporters organized a violent rally in Washington on January 6, 2021 (the day of the official certification of voting results). The protesters attacked Capitol Hill, attempting to enter the Congress building. Five people were killed during the riot and the Capitol suffered millions of dollars. On January 13, 2021, the House of Representatives announced Trump’s impeachment for sedition. He is the only president in US history to be impeached twice by Congress.
Personal life
In 1977, Trump married a Czech novelist, autobiographer, designer, former skier and model, Ivana Zelníčková. The couple had three children, all of whom were involved in the family business. His daughter Ivanka served as a volunteer consultant during her father’s presidential term. The couple separated in 1992. From 1993 to 1999, Donald was married to American actress and producer Marla Maples. They had a daughter together. In 2005, Trump wedded Slovenian and American model Melania Knavs (24 years younger than him). A year later, the couple welcomed a son.
