Who is Donald Trump?
Kamala Harris was his opponent in the 2024 election, which he won, and in January 2025 Donald Trump became the 47th US president. In 2020 he had lost to Joe Biden, ending his run as the 45th, which began in 2017. His career before politics included running a real estate firm, The Trump Organization, and presenting the television programme The Apprentice. The America First platform is anchored by tariffs, lower immigration, tax cuts and skepticism toward international agreements. October 2026 has found him rallying for Republican candidates before the midterm elections of 3 November.
Previously: President of the United States (2017-2021) · Republican presidential nominee (2016, 2020, 2024) · Chairman and president of The Trump Organization (1971-2017)
Documented positions
- In 2025 he used emergency powers to impose broad tariffs. The Supreme Court held in February 2026 that the emergency law gave no such authority, so he imposed a temporary global duty lasting 150 days under Trade Act section 122, which Section 301 tariffs on 60 trading partners replaced in July 2026.Source: taxnews.ey.com
- He signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July 2025, which tightened Medicaid rules, funded border enforcement, extended tax cuts and added deductions for tips and overtime.Source: whitehouse.gov
- On the day he returned to office he signed an executive order aimed at denying birthright citizenship to some children whose parents are not citizens. In June 2026 the Supreme Court blocked it, 6-3.Source: semafor.com
- Returning to office in January 2025, he ordered the US to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement that same first day.Source: whitehouse.gov
- People convicted over the events at the Capitol on 6 January 2021 received pardons from him, and 14 others had their sentences commuted.Source: whitehouse.gov
- His administration's July 2025 AI Action Plan puts the emphasis on dismantling regulatory barriers, constructing data centers and promoting exports of American AI.Source: akingump.com
- February 2026 marked the start of military strikes on Iran that he launched with Israel. By May 2026 he was saying that obtaining authorization from Congress under the War Powers Resolution was unnecessary.Source: nbcnewyork.com
Record
His first term produced three appointments to the Supreme Court, the 2017 tax cuts, and the USMCA, a trade agreement among the US, Canada and Mexico. The House voted to impeach him in 2019 and once more in 2021, and in each case the Senate acquitted him. Before the second impeachment came the Capitol attack of 6 January 2021 and his claims, which courts rejected, that the 2020 election had been stolen. A New York jury found him guilty in May 2024 of falsifying business records on 34 counts. January 2025 brought an unconditional discharge, meaning no jail time or fine, and the conviction is under appeal.
Supporters of the second term cite tax cuts, lower border crossings and deals negotiated under tariff pressure. Critics point to the 6 January pardons, cuts to federal agencies, and court rulings against his tariffs and his birthright citizenship order. They also point to the war with Iran that began in February 2026 without a congressional vote. War powers resolutions on Iran passed the House in June and July 2026, whereas the Senate has passed no binding one.
