Since he became the United States President last year, this celebrity businessman-turned-politician
has been in the news on a daily basis.
However, there is a lot that people don’t know about him.
From his successful ancestors to his unexpected rise to office, here is the untold truth about
Donald Trump:
18.
Origin -
We’ve all become familiar with the media’s reports of the United States’ current President.
However, many of us don’t know where he came from.
So, let’s start with his family’s history.
Donald Trump’s ancestors came from Kallstadt, Germany on his father’s side, and on his
mother’s side, they came from Scotland’s Western Isles.
His grandpa, Friedrich Trump, arrived in the United States at just sixteen years old, became
a citizen seven years later, and began managing inns and restaurants, which made him rich.
He passed away just thirteen years after the birth of Donald’s father, Fred.
His mother, Mary Anne, worked as a maid after moving to New York from Scotland.
Fred owned the company Elizabeth Trump & Sons, which is where Donald got his start in real
estate, before taking it over in 1971.
17.
Siblings -
We haven’t heard much about President Trump’s brothers and sisters, so it may come as a
surprise that he has four siblings.
One of his elder sisters is Maryanne; she is a former Circuit Judge of the United States
and was originally nominated by Bill Clinton in 1999.
Donald’s other older sister is Elizabeth Trump Grau; she stays outside of the political
limelight and has worked as a banker for most of her life.
Elizabeth is married to James Walter Grau, a movie producer.
Fred Jr. was the President’s older brother; he was supposed to work in the family business
with their father, but became a pilot for Trans World Airlines instead.
Fred Jr. Trump passed away in 1981.
Donald Trump’s younger brother’s name is Robert; he is a member of ZeniMax Media’s
Board of Directors and worked for Donald’s former real estate organization, from which
he retired.
16.
Bankruptcies -
Most of us have gathered a small amount of information on Donald Trump’s business practices
in recent years.
But, did you know that his casino and hotel companies became bankrupt six times before
he became the President? Trump stated that he enjoyed messing around with the laws concerning
bankruptcy because they saved him from paying back debts in their full amounts.
The Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Plaza Hotel, Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, Trump Castle Hotel
and Casino, Trump Entertainment Resorts, and Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts all assumed
more debt than they could handle, which resulted in numerous bankruptcy declarations throughout
the years.
15.
You’re Fired!
-
Donald Trump gained a lot of recognition through his work on the television series The Apprentice.
Although he wasn’t enthusiastic about the idea of reality TV at first, Mark Burnett
suggested that he simply be himself on the show, which ultimately ended with Trump becoming
the host.
The series featured applicants who competed to manage of one of the billionaire’s companies
with a starting salary of $250,000 per year.
His wife and children were often part of the show as well.
It was very successful and earned Donald a total of about $214 million throughout fourteen
seasons.
14.
Trump Foundation -
As you can probably tell by its name, the Donald J. Trump Foundation was founded by
the current POTUS in 1988.
Its original purpose was to donate the money made from his book Trump: The Art of the Deal.
The foundation was investigated numerous times due to Donald Trump’s alleged uncharitableness;
he stated that he had donated millions of dollars to various organizations, but proof
from numerous examinations only presented half of what Trump had noted.
President Trump was also accused of using funds from the Trump Foundation to promote
his campaign during his run for office.
The press also released statements declaring that Donald Trump lied about making donations
to the Twin Towers Fund, New York City Public/Private Initiatives, Inc., or the American Red Cross;
there were no records of the donations although they could’ve been granted personally.
There are also several accounts of Trump using money from the foundation to pay for various
personal things, such as paintings of himself.
13.
New Jersey Generals -
Donald J. Trump has been part of an array of groups and events throughout his long career.
In late 1983, he bought the New Jersey Generals, a team that played for the United States Football
League; he purchased the team from J. Walter Duncan.
The team’s colors were white, blue, scarlet, and gold and their logo was a five-star wreath
representative of a general’s rank in the military.
Unfortunately, they had to close up shop because of monetary complications.
However, Donald Trump’s interest in sports remained, and he continued to fund and host
numerous athletic events throughout his business career.
The Tour de Trump cycling race was named after him as well, before becoming the Tour DuPont.
Donald Trump also managed golf courses in several countries, including Scotland, Indonesia,
and the United States.
12.
Racial Views -
President Donald Trump has generated a lot of controversy throughout the United States
and the world since he took office; one of the biggest reasons for this is his alleged
views about different races of people.
One such allegation was while he was in real estate; in 1973 there was a charge brought
against Trump for discrimination regarding specific tenants at his properties.
Later on, in 2008, he questioned former President Obama’s status as a citizen and the legality
behind his presidency, and he requested that Obama present his original birth certificate.
In 2016, during his campaign for office, he gave a speech implying that all Mexican people
who travel across the border to the United States are criminals.
Although Trump disputes the accusations of racism, he has gained a widespread negative
reputation.
11.
Wrestlemania -
One thing about Trump you might not know is that he’s a big fan of WWE, or World Wrestling
Entertainment, Inc.
He is friends with Vincent McMahon, who is an executive of WWE and football.
Trump hosted Wrestlemania in New Jersey two years in a row and has taken part in numerous
other shows.
One that he participated in was Wrestlemania 23 in “The Battle of the Billionaires,”
in which he took down McMahon and shaved his hair off… but that wasn’t the end; shortly
after McMahon walked away with nothing but shaving cream left on his head, “Stone Cold”
Steve Austin took Donald Trump down too.
The future president became a member of the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013.
10.
Social Media -
While running for president, most candidates like to keep gossip concerning themselves
to a minimum.
However, Donald Trump has had no issue stirring up drama via social media sites, especially
Twitter.
He joined the site in 2009 and used it consistently throughout the presidential campaign in 2016.
Trump continues tweeting on a daily basis, which causes a lot of turmoil among news stations
and the public.
His use of social media to combat so-called “fake news” has created many controversies
as well.
It’s noted that many of President Trump’s claims on Twitter have turned out to be untrue.
9.
Children -
Although we hear about Donald on a regular basis, information regarding his children
is lesser known.
He has a total of five children by three different women: Donald Jr., Ivanka, Eric, Tiffany,
and Barron.
Donald Jr. is a businessman and Trump’s oldest son.
He was a political advisor that campaigned for his dad during his run for the presidency.
Ivanka is Trump’s oldest daughter.
She is a businesswoman and fashion designer, and she even modeled early on in her career.
Eric is Donald’s second oldest son.
He is a businessman who is following in his father’s footsteps.
Eric and Donald Jr. are currently in charge of their father’s business organizations
while he is in office to prevent any conflicts of interest.
Tiffany is the President’s youngest daughter and was named after the famed Tiffany & Company
retailer.
She had a short musical career, interned at Vogue, and modeled during New York Fashion
Week in 2016.
Donald Trump’s youngest son, Barron, is the only child he and Melania share.
He is bilingual in English and Slovene, and is currently attending St. Andrew’s Episcopal
School.
8.
Richest Politician -
Donald Trump is one of the wealthiest individuals in the world.
He began his career with a loan from his father… a small loan of $1 million, that is.
His first time on a Forbes list was in 1982 when his fortune reached $100 million.
In 1989, he made his first appearance on the Forbes list for billionaires.
During the presidential campaign in 2016, Trump claimed to be worth over $10 billion.
However, this number wasn’t proven to be true.
This year, Forbes stated Trump was worth just over $3 billion, which makes him one of the
wealthiest politicians in history.
7.
Religion -
Trump is a religious man; he comes from Presbyterian ancestry on his mom’s side and Lutheran
on his dad’s side.
He and his parents became part of the Marble Collegiate Church in the 1970s, during which
time he was mentored by Norman Vincent Peale, the church’s former pastor.
Donald Trump identifies with his mother’s side of the family as Presbyterian and has
stated that the Bible is his favorite book.
He retains connections with many religious leaders, such as Paula White.
He also supported Ivanka’s conversion to Judaism before she married her husband, Jared
Kushner.
6.
John George Trump -
You may not have known about all the incredible people that set the foundation for President
Trump’s successful life.
Another important member of the Trump family was John George Trump, Donald’s uncle.
He made his career as an inventor, physicist, and electrical engineer.
He was part of the National Academy of Engineering and even received the National Medal of Science
from former-president Ronald Reagan.
Along with Robert J. Van de Graaff, John Trump created one of the world’s earliest million-volt
X-ray generators and produced Van de Graaff generators with Robert and Denis M. Robinson.
He is considered one of science and engineering’s pioneers.
5.
Miss Universe -
Many people watch Miss Universe pageant, but don’t know who owns and runs them.
Donald Trump owned a significant portion of the pageants from the mid-1990s to 2015.
Aside from Miss Universe, the shows also encompass Miss Teen USA and Miss USA, and Ivanka even
hosted one of the competitions.
He transferred the contests from CBS to NBC in the early 2000s after deciding he didn’t
like the former’s scheduling.
After making controversial remarks at the beginning of his run for the presidency, NBC
determined that it was best for them to discontinue their business with Trump, and they declared
that the pageants would no longer have a place on NBC channels.
In late 2015, Trump purchased the company’s portion of Miss Universe before selling it
to the William Morris Endeavor talent agency.
4.
Trump University -
Donald Trump, Jonathan Spitalny, and Michael Sexton founded this educational business,
which received unfavorable attention.
People would pay anywhere from $1,000 to upwards of $30,000 for each course to train in real
estate.
Its name was eventually changed to Trump Entrepreneurial Institute after receiving two notices from
authorities concerning its use of the word “university.”
Many believed the classes to be a rip-off so that the higher-ups could profit; one such
case was brought up by Ronald Schnackenberg.
Later on, a $40 million case was brought up against Trump University by New York State,
which claimed that it was a scheme to rid consumers of their finances.
Donald Trump has since denied any alleged falsehoods.
3.
False Statements -
President Trump has garnered a lot of attention for numerous remarks he’s made throughout
his time in office and prior.
The New York Times reported that he made at least a single deceitful or false statement
every day for the first 91 days as the POTUS, and The Washington Post noted that he had
well over 1,000 misleading statements within 263 days and has over 3,000 currently.
One comment was, “A lot of jobs; 28,000 jobs.
Great construction jobs.
OK.
Keystone Pipeline.”
which he made about the number of opportunities that arose with the pipelines that caused
so much controversy.
However, the vast majority of those jobs are temporary, and just over 30 of them are permanent.
He also tweeted, “Just leaving Florida.
Big crowds of enthusiastic supporters lining the road that the FAKE NEWS media refuses
to mention.
Very dishonest!”
The people he referred to as “supporters” were allegedly protesting him, not backing
him up.
There are many interpretations of Trump’s various statements, but there is no questioning
that whatever he says causes turmoil.
2.
Before Melania -
As we previously discussed, Barron is the only son that Donald shares with Melania.
Before he married her, he had been in several other relationships.
Trump married Ivana Zelnickova in the late 1970s.
Their children are Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric.
They separated in 1992 after Donald began seeing another woman; that woman was Marla
Ann Maples, an American actress.
In 1993, Trump and Maples tied the knot after she gave birth to their daughter Tiffany,
and divorced just five years later.
It wasn’t until 2005 that he married Melania.
1.
Stormy Daniels -
The most recent news about President Trump is his supposed affair with Stormy Daniels.
She is an adult actress that claimed to have had relations with Donald Trump in 2006, after
his marriage to Melania.
Daniels went to several news stations in 2016 during Trump’s presidential campaign in
an attempt to sell the story.
However, Donald’s attorney paid her $130,000 to remain quiet.
She signed an agreement but broke it due to Trump’s neglect in signing it himself.
She filed charges against Donald Trump earlier this year.