(WSVN) — He’s a businessman, reality star, and now, politician?
“I can’t believe I’m saying that about myself, but I am now a politician,” Donald Trump said.
Donald Trump’s road to the White House has been anything but ordinary, and so has his career.
Trump was born into a wealthy family, unlike Clinton. He is the son of a developer in New York’s Queens neighborhood.
After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968, he started working for his father’s company.
He expanded his father’s business’s holdings in rental properties, and in the 1970s, made a series of property purchases in Manhattan.
Trump capitalized on the city’s financial crisis by receiving large tax concessions.
Because of this, Trump and his father were sued by the Justice Department in 1973 for alleged housing discrimination at dozens of sites.
They, in turn, sued the Department of Justice for $100 million. The case was later settled, with the Trumps promising not to discriminate and by submitting to reviews.
They never admitted guilt.
Trump then went on to renovate outdated hotels and apartment towers, in addition to new construction projects, throughout the city.
By the ’90s, his “empire” spanned several high-rise buildings, including the Empire State Building, hotels, condos, thousands of apartment units, and, of course, The Trump Tower.
He also opened hotel-casino complexes in Atlantic City, which have recently been shut down.
Trump’s companies, mainly casinos, have entered bankruptcy four times throughout his career.
But the businessman was able to secure loans during the late 80s and early 90s to prevent going personally bankrupt, and his finances rebounded.
His career is one of the cornerstones of his campaign, and, he says, has shaped his economic policies , including his desire to tax companies that out source jobs.
Above all, Trump has also been heavily involved in entertainment.
“You’re fired! Go! Terrible!” said Trump on his reality show “The Apprentice.” He partnered with NBC to purchase the Miss Universe Organization, which produces the Miss America, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA beauty pageants.
Trump’s eldest child, Ivanka, has been involved in both ventures, and frequently appeared on The Apprentice.
She’s active in his campaign, and has tried to shape his child care reform policies.
However, some of Trump’s other policies are not as specific.
“I’m going to knock the hell out of ISIS. We’re going to defeat ISIS.” Trump
Trump isn’t releasing details oof his plans to combat terrorism.
But when it comes to national defense, he says he wants to build up the military and invest in a new missile defense system.
He wants to audit the Pentagon and “unauthorized” federal programs, and collect unpaid taxes to pay for it all.
Trump has been involved in politics for years.
In 1999, he left the Republican party for the Reform party and established a presidential exploratory committee.
He decided not to run, and in 2001 aligned with the democratic party.
He rejoined the Republican party in 2009.
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