On January 20, our 45th president, Donald John Trump, was officially sworn into office. With one of the most controversial elections in our history, the media coverage on Trump and his competitor Hillary Clinton reached new heights. Accusations flew around so fast that it was hard to keep up, and knowing what was the truth and what was not was near impossible.
Who is Donald Trump? Most people know the basics from social media, or at least what was deemed important to the election, that Trump is a businessman with no political experience prior to his presidential bid. Unless you have thought to do some research on him, you probably do not know that much, so here is the rundown. Donald Trump was born to Fred and Mary Anne Trump on June 14, 1946, in New York City. This makes him 70 years old and the oldest president we have ever had. He is one of five children, having two brothers and two sisters (one of which, Fred Jr., died in 1981 from alcoholism, causing Donald Trump to swear off drinking.) His first marriage, to Ivana Zelnickova, lasted fifteen years and gave him three children: Donald Trump, Jr., born 1977, Ivanka Trump, born 1981, and Eric Trump, born 1984. His second marriage, to Marla Maples, lasted six years and gave him a daughter, Tiffany Trump, born 1993. Both of his divorces were highly publicized in the media. Trump has been married to Melania Knauss since 2005, and he has a ten year old son named Barron with her. In total, he has eight grandchildren: three from Donald, Jr., and two from Ivanka.
Donald Trump attended military school during his early education and eventually went to the University of Pennsylvania where he received a Bachelor’s Degree in economics. By the time he was 25, he was the president of his family’s real estate and construction firm, which he renamed to what we know today as “The Trump Organization.” He has a lot of experience in the entertainment business, as he hosted his own TV show, The Apprentice, and owned the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants from 1996-2015. Donald Trump is the 324th wealthiest person in the world, (113th in the US) with a net worth of $3.7 billion, according to Forbes magazine. This will make him the wealthiest president to ever hold office and also the only president to never have held public office or served in the military. Freshman Margaux Hunter said, “It is a bit strange he’s never held any kind of office, but it all really comes down to whether or not he does a good job.”
Trump’s victory over Clinton sparked major controversy, and protests occurred all across the United States. People begged electors to cast their votes elsewhere and signed petitions in an attempt to persuade the Electoral College to stop him from taking office. Despite citizen’s best efforts, however, Trump became our next president, and will remain so for at least the next four years.