Lawrence b seidman biography of donald

Trump Foundation was a private foundation established in According to a review of state and federal court files conducted by USA Today in , Trump and his businesses had been involved in more than 4, state and federal legal actions. Trump has often said he began his career with "a small loan of a million dollars" from his father and that he had to pay it back with interest.

Trump has produced 19 books under his name, most written or cowritten by ghostwriters. Trump had cameos in many films and television shows from to On the shows, he was a superrich chief executive who eliminated contestants with the catchphrase "you're fired". The New York Times called his portrayal "highly flattering, highly fictionalized". The shows remade Trump's image for millions of viewers nationwide.

Trump registered as a Republican in ; [ 96 ] a member of the Independence Party , the New York state affiliate of the Reform Party , in ; [ 97 ] a Democrat in ; a Republican in ; unaffiliated in ; and a Republican in In , Trump placed full-page advertisements in three major newspapers, [ 98 ] expressing his views on foreign policy and how to eliminate the federal budget deficit.

Bush 's running mate. Bush found the request "strange and unbelievable". Trump announced his candidacy in June He twice refused to say whether he would accept the result of the election. Trump described NATO as "obsolete" [ ] [ ] and espoused views that were described as noninterventionist and protectionist. Other campaign positions included pursuing energy independence while opposing climate change regulations, modernizing services for veterans , repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act , abolishing Common Core education standards, investing in infrastructure , simplifying the tax code while reducing taxes, and imposing tariffs on imports by companies that offshore jobs.

He advocated increasing military spending and extreme vetting or banning of immigrants from Muslim-majority countries. He promised to build a wall on the Mexico—U. Supreme Court , in February the high court allowed the records to be released to the prosecutor for review by a grand jury. On November 8, , Trump received pledged electoral votes versus for Clinton, although, after elector defections on both sides , the official count was ultimately to His victory marked the return of an undivided Republican government—a Republican president combined with Republican control of both chambers of Congress.

Trump was inaugurated on January 20, The day after his inauguration, an estimated 2. During his first week in office, Trump signed six executive orders , including authorizing procedures for repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act "Obamacare" , withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, advancement of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipeline projects, and planning for a wall along the U.

Before being inaugurated, Trump moved his businesses into a revocable trust , [ ] [ ] rather than a blind trust or equivalent arrangement "to cleanly sever himself from his business interests". Constitution , the first time that the clauses had been substantively litigated. Supreme Court as moot after his term. Trump took office at the height of the longest economic expansion in American history, [ ] which began in and continued until February , when the COVID recession began.

Trump is the only modern U. He weakened protections for animals and environmental standards for federal infrastructure projects, and expanded permitted areas for drilling and resource extraction, such as allowing drilling in the Arctic Refuge. Trump dismantled many federal regulations on health, [ ] [ ] labor, [ ] [ ] and the environment, [ ] [ ] among others, including a bill that made it easier for severely mentally ill persons to buy guns.

In January , he expressed willingness to consider cuts to them. In response to the opioid epidemic , Trump signed legislation in to increase funding for drug treatments, but was widely criticized for failing to make a concrete strategy. Trump's comments on the Unite the Right rally , condemning "this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides" and stating that there were "very fine people on both sides", were criticized as implying a moral equivalence between the white supremacist demonstrators and the counter-protesters.

In July , Trump tweeted that four Democratic congresswomen—all minorities, three of whom are native-born Americans—should " go back " to the countries they "came from". John's Episcopal Church , [ ] [ ] [ ] with religious leaders condemning both the treatment of protesters and the photo opportunity itself. Trump granted requests for clemency, fewer than all presidents since with the exception of George H.

Bush and George W. As president, he frequently described illegal immigration as an "invasion" and conflated immigrants with the criminal gang MS In , his administration widened the public charge rule to further restrict immigrants who might use government benefits from getting permanent residency. When he took office, the annual limit was ,; he set a limit of 18, in the fiscal year and 15, in the fiscal year.

On January 27, , Trump signed Executive Order , which suspended admission of refugees for days and denied entry to citizens of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen for 90 days, citing security concerns. The order took effect immediately and without warning, causing chaos at airports. The Trump administration separated more than 5, children of migrant families from their parents at the U.

Although Trump originally argued that the separations could not be stopped by an executive order, he acceded to intense public objection and signed an executive order in June , mandating that migrant families be detained together unless "there is a concern" of a risk to the child. One of Trump's central campaign promises was to build a 1,mile 1, km border wall to Mexico and have Mexico pay for it.

Trump described himself as a "nationalist" [ ] and his foreign policy as " America First ". An economic conflict between China and the United States has been ongoing since January , when Trump began setting tariffs and other trade barriers on China with the goal of forcing it to make changes to what the U. The Trump administration had a high turnover of personnel, particularly among White House staff.

Lawrence b seidman biography of donald

By the end of his first year in office, 34 percent of his original staff had resigned, been fired, or been reassigned. Trump had four White House chiefs of staff , marginalizing or pushing out several. While initially attributing this action to Comey's conduct in the investigation about Hillary Clinton's emails , Trump said a few days later that he was concerned with Comey's role in the ongoing Trump-Russia investigations.

Trump lost three of his 15 original cabinet members within his first year. In October , there were hundreds of sub-cabinet positions without a nominee. Wade would be overturned "automatically" if he were elected and provided the opportunity to appoint two or three anti-abortion justices. He later took credit when Roe was overturned in Dobbs v.

Jackson Women's Health Organization ; all three of his Supreme Court nominees voted with the majority. His attacks on the courts drew rebukes from observers, including sitting federal judges, concerned about the effect of his statements on the judicial independence and public confidence in the judiciary. Trump initially ignored public health warnings and calls for action from health officials within his administration and Azar, [ ] focusing on economic and political considerations of the outbreak.

After he assumed office, Trump was the subject of increasing Justice Department and congressional scrutiny, with investigations covering his election campaign, transition, and inauguration, actions taken during his presidency, his private businesses , personal taxes, and charitable foundation. He sued the banks, Mazars, and committee chair Elijah Cummings to prevent the disclosures.

That includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government, and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia's efforts. Many suspicious [ ] links between Trump associates and Russian officials and spies were discovered and the relationships between Russians and "team Trump", including Manafort, Flynn, and Stone, were widely reported by the press.

He privately told Mueller to restrict the investigation to criminal matters "in connection with Russia's election interference". A federal court, and Mueller himself, said Barr mischaracterized the investigation's conclusions and, in so doing, confused the public. The report also detailed multiple acts of potential obstruction of justice by Trump, but "did not draw ultimate conclusions about the President's conduct".

Cohen said he had made the false statements on behalf of Trump. The sentencing judge said Stone "was prosecuted for covering up for the president". In August , a whistleblower filed a complaint with the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community about a July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy , during which Trump had pressured Zelenskyy to investigate CrowdStrike and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi initiated an impeachment inquiry in September. Taylor Jr. According to Taylor and others, the goal was to coerce Zelenskyy into making a public commitment to investigate the company that employed Hunter Biden , as well as rumors about Ukrainian involvement in the U. Ronald Reagan was the first to have been divorced at all.

He had five children with three wives. The oldest three—Donald, Jr. Grant Rutherford B. Hayes James A. Garfield Chester A. Roosevelt Harry S. Truman Dwight D. Eisenhower John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Bush Bill Clinton George W. Upcoming Events Past Events Donate. Help inform the discussion Support the Miller Center. He helped manage his father's extensive portfolio of residential housing projects in the New York City boroughs, and took control of the company - which he renamed the Trump Organization - in His father, who Trump describes as "my inspiration", died in His celebrity and media profile expanded with his business empire.

Under Trump, the family business shifted from residential units in Brooklyn and Queens to glitzy Manhattan projects. The famed Fifth Avenue became home to Trump Tower, arguably the mogul's most famous property and his home for many years. The rundown Commodore Hotel was restored as the Grand Hyatt. Other properties bearing the Trump brand name - casinos, condominiums, golf courses and hotels - were erected too, from Atlantic City, Chicago and Las Vegas to India, Turkey and the Philippines.

He hosted 14 seasons of The Apprentice, a reality show that also featured his kids. Over 14 seasons, as Apprentice contestants competed for a management contract in his business empire, his trademark "You're fired! Trump has written several books, appeared in movies and pro-wrestling programming, and sold everything from beverages to neckties. Trump has also filed business bankruptcies on six separate occasions, and several of his ventures - including Trump Steaks and Trump University - have collapsed.

He has also shielded his tax information from scrutiny, and reporting in from The New York Times revealed years of income tax avoidance and chronic financial losses. His marriage to and divorce from Ivana Zelnickova were the source of intense public interest. Trump's personal life has received extensive publicity. His first, and arguably most famous, wife was Ivana Zelnickova, a Czech athlete and model.

The couple had three children - Donald Jr, Ivanka and Eric - before their divorce in Their acrimonious court battle made the front pages of gossip columns, and the late Mrs Trump's allegations of domestic abuse - which she later downplayed - feature in a new movie about Trump. He married actress Marla Maples in , two months after the birth of their only child Tiffany.

They divorced in He shares one son - Barron, 18 - with current wife Melania Trump. Trump's current wife is former Slovenian model Melania Knauss. They married in and share a son, Barron William Trump, who recently turned Allegations of sexual misconduct and extramarital affairs have followed Trump the politician. Trump promptly issued the first veto of his presidency the following day, calling the resolution a "vote against reality.

In late July , the Supreme Court overturned an appellate decision and ruled that the Trump administration could begin using Pentagon money for construction during the ongoing litigation over the issue. As part of attempts to seal the U. As children were legally not allowed to be detained with their parents, this meant that they were to be held separately as family cases wound through immigration courts.

A furor ensued after reports surfaced that nearly 2, children had been separated from their parents over a six-week period that ended in May , compounded by photos of toddlers crying in cages. Trump initially deflected blame for the situation, insisting it resulted from the efforts of predecessors and political opponents. The president ultimately caved to pressure from the bad PR, and on June 20 he signed an executive order that directed the Department of Homeland Security to keep families together.

In the meantime, the DHS essentially revived the "catch-and-release" system that the zero-tolerance policy was meant to eradicate while dealing with the logistics of reuniting families. President Trump signed one of his most controversial executive orders on January 27, , calling for "extreme vetting" to "keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America.

The order called for a ban on immigrants from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen for at least 90 days, temporarily suspended the entry of refugees for days and barred Syrian refugees indefinitely. In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Trump also said he would give priority to Christian refugees trying to gain entry into the United States.

After facing multiple legal hurdles, Trump signed a revised executive order on March 6, , calling for a day ban on travelers from six predominantly Muslim countries including Sudan, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. Iraq, which was included in the original executive order, was removed from the list. Travelers from the six listed countries, who hold green cards or have valid visas as of the signing of the order, will not be affected.

Religious minorities would not get special preference, as was outlined in the original order, and an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees was reduced to days. Judge Theodore D. Chuang of Maryland also blocked the ban the following day, and in subsequent months, the ban was impeded in decisions handed down by the U. Circuit Court of Appeals once again.

However, on June 26, , Trump won a partial victory when the Supreme Court announced it was allowing the controversial ban to go into effect for foreign nationals who lacked a "bona fide relationship with any person or entity in the United States. On September 24, , Trump issued a new presidential proclamation, which permanently bans travel to the United States for most citizens from seven countries.

Most were on the original list, including Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, while the new order included Chad, North Korea and some citizens of Venezuela certain government officials and their families. The tweak did little to pacify critics, who argued that the order was still heavily biased toward Islam. Romero, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union.

On October 10, the Supreme Court canceled a planned hearing on an appeal of the original travel ban. Under the ruling, the administration could fully enforce its new restrictions on travel from eight nations, six of them predominantly Muslim. Citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Chad and North Korea, along with some groups of people from Venezuela, would be unable to emigrate to the United States permanently, with many barred from also working, studying or vacationing in the country.

On June 26, , the Supreme Court upheld the president's travel ban by a vote. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said that Trump had the executive authority to make national security judgments in the realm of immigration, regardless of his previous statements about Islam. In a sharply worded dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said that the outcome was equivalent to that of Korematsu v.

In August , the Trump administration unveiled a new regulation designed to weed out immigrants who would potentially require government assistance. Known as the "public charge" rule, for people who are dependent on Medicaid, food stamps and other benefits, the policy tightened requirements for legal immigrants seeking to become permanent residents by focusing on factors like education, assets, resources and financial status.

In early August , intelligence experts confirmed that North Korea successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that fits inside its missiles, putting it one step closer to becoming a nuclear power. Around the same time, the North Korean state news agency said they were "examining the operational plan" to strike areas around the U.

On August 28, North Korea launched a missile over Japan. Some foreign policy experts were concerned that war between the U. Following the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, during which North Korea made a show of unity with the host country, its officials also relayed interest in opening up communications with Washington.

Trump leaped at the opportunity, announcing that he was willing to sit down with Kim. On June 12, , Trump and Kim met at the secluded Capella resort in Singapore, marking the first such encounter between a sitting U. The two held private talks with their interpreters, before expanding the meeting to include such top staffers as Pompeo now U.

Afterward, in a televised ceremony, the leaders signed a joint statement in which Trump "committed to provide security guarantees" to North Korea and Kim "reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. On February 27, , the two men met for a second summit, at the Metropole hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, to discuss the next steps in denuclearization.

Said Trump to his counterpart: "I think you will have a tremendous future with your country — a great leader. And I look forward to watching it happen and helping it to happen. However, negotiations abruptly ended the second day, after North Korea reportedly asked for sanctions to be lifted in exchange for dismantling its main nuclear facility but not all elements of its weapons program.

On June 30, , Trump became the first sitting U. Trump later said that he and Kim had agreed to designate negotiators to resume denuclearization talks in the coming weeks. Throughout the presidential election, Trump vehemently denied allegations he had a relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and was tied to the hacking of the DNC emails.

In January , a U. We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump," the report said. However, in subsequent comments he again refused to condemn Russia for such activity, notably saying on multiple occasions that he believed Putin's denials. In March , the Trump administration formally acknowledged the charges by issuing sanctions on 19 Russians for interference in the presidential election and alleged cyberattacks.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin delivered the announcement, with the president remaining silent on the matter. The two men met on the heels of Trump's heavily scrutinized summit with NATO leaders, and shortly after the Justice Department announced the indictment of 12 Russian operatives for interfering in the U. Prompted to address the issue of election hacking in a joint news conference for the two leaders, Trump refused to point a finger at his counterpart.

I think we're all to blame," he said, adding that "President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today. The comments drew a harsh response stateside, with several notable Republicans joining their Democratic colleagues to question why the president was siding with Putin over his intelligence agencies. Senator McCain called it "one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory," and even Trump ally Newt Gingrich weighed in with strong words, tweeting, "It is the most serious mistake of his presidency and must be corrected — immediately.

Trump sought to quiet the furor after returning to the White House, insisting that he had misspoken when saying he didn't see why Russia should be blamed and reminding that he has "on numerous occasions noted our intelligence findings that Russians attempted to interfere in our elections," though he again suggested that other parties could be responsible.

Around that time, it was revealed that Trump had instructed Bolton, his national security adviser, to invite Putin to the White House that autumn, news that caught Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats off guard. Bolton soon disclosed that he would postpone the invitation until the conclusion of the special counsel investigation into Russian meddling in the U.

Despite Trump's overtures to Putin, his administration in February announced the suspension of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia, due to the Eastern power's repeated violations of the agreement. The announcement gave Russia days to comply with terms before U. On April 6, , Trump ordered a military strike, to which he had tweeted opposition to when Obama was in office, on a Syrian government airfield.

The strike was in response to a chemical attack by Syrian president Bashar al-Assad on Syrian civilians that had led to the horrific deaths of dozens of men, women and children. Navy destroyers fired 59 Tomahawk missiles at Shayrat airfield, from where the attack was launched. It was the first direct military action by the United States against Syrian military forces during the country's ongoing civil war.

One year later, evidence surfaced of another chemical attack on Syrians, with dozens reported dead in the rebel-held city of Douma. Although Syria and its ally, Russia, referred to the situation as a "hoax" perpetrated by terrorists, Trump wasn't having it: "Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming," he tweeted, adding, "You shouldn't be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!

The U. Larger than the previous year's operation, this one hit two chemical weapons facilities and a scientific research center. Afterward, the president took to Twitter to thank his military allies for their efforts, declaring, "Mission Accomplished! In December , Trump announced that U. However, the president reversed course again the following October by ordering U.

Again drawing a sharp response from critics, the president made his case on Twitter by arguing it was time to get out of Syria and let other nations in the region "figure the situation out," adding that he would respond forcefully if Turkey did anything "off limits. According to the president, the militant leader was chased to the end of an underground tunnel, "whimpering and crying and screaming all the way," before detonating a suicide vest.

The announcement came amid the controversy over the withdrawal of troops from the region, with critics pointing to the American military presence and intelligence contributions from Kurdish allies as factors that led to the success of the mission. On March 1, , after the conclusion of a Commerce Department investigation, Trump announced that he was imposing tariffs of 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum.

He ultimately granted temporary exemptions as he sought to renegotiate deals. His actions resulted in new agreements with South Korea and multiple South American countries to restrain their metal exports. Talks with China, the E. In late May, the administration announced that it was moving forward with all tariffs. The move drew a harsh response from the E.

He ultimately left the summit early, making headlines on the way out by announcing he would not sign a communique between the seven nations and taking shots at Trudeau on Twitter. In July, Trump again had harsh words for allies at the NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium, including accusations that Germany was "captive" to Russia for its dependence on Russian natural gas, and followed with criticism of U.

Prime Minister Theresa May for her handling of Brexit. In April , the Trump administration announced it was adding a 25 percent tariff on more than 1, Chinese products to penalize the country for its trade practices. He granted temporary exemptions to negotiate a deal. The increase came as the two countries were attempting to hammer out terms for a new trade deal.

He announced a 5 percent hike in late August and threatened another 5 percent increase by October, before agreeing to delay the latter as he continued to push for an all-encompassing trade deal. In October, the president gushed about the "very substantial phase one deal" reached with China, saying a final agreement on matters related to intellectual property, financial services and agriculture would take three to five weeks to put in place.

In June , Trump announced that the U. However, U. In , to the ire of Chinese officials, the Pentagon began ordering naval ships to sail through the Taiwan Strait as a show of military power. On December 6, , Trump announced that the U. The declaration broke decades of precedent, in which the U. Fulfilling one of his campaign pledges, Trump referred to the move as "a long overdue step to advance the peace process," noting it "would be folly to assume that repeating the exact same formula would now produce a different or better result.

The announcement was praised by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but not as warmly received by American allies France, Britain and Germany, which called it disruptive to the peace process. On December 21, the U. General Assembly voted to 9 to demand that the U. Britain, France, Germany and Japan all voted for the resolution, though others, like Australia and Canada, abstained from the symbolic vote.

He praised U. Prime Minister May and enjoyed a friendly meeting with Netanyahu, though he also took a shot at the Palestinian Authority for refusing to meet with Pence. Continuing with a recalibrated approach to relations with its Middle Eastern ally, the Trump administration announced in November that it no longer considered Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be illegal under international law.

A few weeks later, the president sought to bolster support among American Jews by signing an executive order aimed at cracking down on anti-Semitism at college campuses. The order effectively allowed the government to recognize Judaism as both a race or nationality and religion, empowering the Education Department to withhold funding from college or educational programs accused of discriminatory actions against Jews.

In January , Trump revealed his "deal of the century" proposal for a two-state solution. His plan envisioned Jerusalem remaining the capital of Israel, with Palestinians getting their own capital in the eastern part of the city, and the authority for Israel to move forward with annexing its West Bank settlements. The proposal was quickly rejected by Palestinians, with Abbas dismissing it as the "slap of the century.

In May , over the objections of European allies, Trump announced that he was withdrawing the U. The announcement initially drew a tepid response from Iran, but President Hassan Rouhani had stronger words on the issue while addressing diplomats in July, noting that "war with Iran is the mother of all wars" and warning his American counterpart to "not play with the lion's tail, because you will regret it eternally.

That seemingly enraged Trump, who fired off an all-caps tweet addressed to Rouhani: "Never, ever threaten the United States again or you will suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before," he wrote. Be cautious! Tensions mounted again by April , when the Trump administration announced it would no longer grant economic exemptions to the five countries — China, India, Japan, South Korea and Turkey — which had been permitted to buy oil from Iran.

Several oil tankers were subsequently attacked near the Strait of Hormuz, with the U. In June , the Iranian military shot down an American drone over contested airspace. Trump said he was minutes away from ordering a strike in retaliation, before electing to impose new sanctions instead. In late December, after an American civilian contractor was killed in a rocket attack on an Iraqi base, the U.

After protesters responded by breaching the outer wall of the U.