Trump portrayed himself as a billionaire on TV, inflated his net worth according to a court ruling, had a ghostwriter for Art of the Deal, inherited hundreds of millions, and ran multiple businesses that filed for bankruptcy. He refused to divest from his businesses, creating conflicts as at least 20 foreign governments paid his companies millions (violating the Emoluments Clause). He tried to host the G7 summit at his own Doral resort and installed family members (Ivanka, Jared Kushner) in top White House roles despite anti-nepotism laws. He faced lawsuits for misleading investors, avoided paying federal income taxes for years, used campaign donations to cover legal bills, and had his charity shut down for illegal activity.
He fired FBI Director James Comey over the Russia probe, attempted to fire Special Counsel Mueller, and faced scrutiny for obstruction of justice. He was impeached twice: first for withholding military aid to pressure Ukraine for political favors ("do us a favor" call), and again for inciting the January 6th insurrection after spending months spreading false claims about the 2020 election and trying to bully state officials into overturning results. He exhorted the Jan 6th mob to "fight like hell," resisted calls to intervene during the attack, and tweeted attacks at his VP. He pardoned allies like Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn, and Steve Bannon, often for crimes related to protecting him, and pardoned military members accused/convicted of war crimes.
He mocked a disabled reporter, praised authoritarian leaders (Kim Jong Un, Putin, Sisi, Xi), sided with Putin over US intelligence on election interference (Helsinki), associated with white nationalists, and attacked the free press as "enemy of the people" while his DOJ secretly seized reporters' phone records. He showed contempt for judges and defied court orders and congressional subpoenas. He purged inspectors general, including the Intel Community IG over the Ukraine whistleblower, and instituted "Schedule F" plans to replace civil servants with loyalists. He ordered the tear-gassing of peaceful protesters in Lafayette Square for a photo-op, deployed unidentified federal agents in unmarked vans against Portland protesters, and threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act against demonstrators, while golfing through national crises.
He enacted a travel ban targeting Muslim-majority countries, causing chaos and separating families. He implemented the "zero tolerance" border policy, forcibly separating over 5,000 children from parents with no reunification plan, leaving hundreds still separated years later. He imposed the "Remain in Mexico" program, stranding asylum seekers in dangerous conditions, and slashed refugee admissions to historic lows. He tried to rescind DACA, gutted asylum protections (blocking victims of gang/domestic violence), used Title 42 to expel migrants without due process, and expanded the "public charge" rule to penalize legal immigrants using benefits.
He revoked guidance protecting transgender students, rolled back Title IX rules on campus sexual assault, scrapped protections for students defrauded by for-profit colleges, and banned federal diversity/inclusion training (calling it "CRT"). He announced a ban on transgender military service via tweet, implemented it, and defended Confederate symbols. He reversed police demilitarization rules.
He pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement, rolled back over 100 environmental regulations, gutted the Clean Power Plan, clean water rules, and fuel efficiency standards. He shrunk national monuments (Bears Ears/Grand Staircase-Escalante) by 2 million acres for resource extraction, weakened the Endangered Species Act, and pushed for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He purged scientists from advisory committees, scrubbed climate data from websites, censored climate terms, and dismissed official climate reports ("I don't believe it"). He promoted fossil fuels, fast-tracked pipelines (Keystone XL, Dakota Access), and lifted moratoriums on coal leasing.
He downplayed COVID-19 early on despite private warnings, promoted unproven treatments (hydroxychloroquine, disinfectant musing), muzzled scientists, sidelined the CDC, interfered with testing/guidance, held maskless superspreader rallies, and mocked mask-wearing, contributing to over 400,000 US deaths by his term's end. He relentlessly tried to repeal/sabotage the Affordable Care Act, imposed domestic and global "gag rules" cutting family planning funds, and withdrew the U.S. from the WHO mid-pandemic.
He escalated drone strikes and loosened engagement rules, increasing civilian deaths, while revoking casualty reporting requirements. He botched a Yemen raid, resulting in US/civilian deaths. He struck a deal with the Taliban excluding the Afghan government, freeing 5,000 fighters, setting the stage for the later collapse. He abruptly withdrew troops from Syria, betraying Kurdish allies and allowing a Turkish invasion. He unilaterally recognized Israeli sovereignty over Golan Heights and Jerusalem as the capital, inflaming tensions. He launched trade wars with tariffs that raised consumer prices and required a $28 billion farmer bailout, while failing to revive manufacturing or achieve major new trade deals. His 2017 tax cuts primarily benefited the wealthy/corporations and ballooned the deficit.
In his second term (based on provided sources): He pardoned ~1,500 January 6th defendants on Day One, signaling tolerance for political violence. He ordered investigations into prosecutors who targeted him/allies and proposed stripping critics' security clearances. He fired 17 inspectors general en masse and significantly reduced the federal workforce through buyouts/layoffs, aligning with Project 2025 despite public distancing. He fired watchdogs at Homeland Security and purged independent oversight across federal agencies. He imposed loyalty tests and gave government jobs to conspiracy theorists. He retaliated against law firms challenging his policies.
On Tariffs: He declared a national emergency ("Liberation Day," April 2, 2025) to impose sweeping tariffs: a baseline 10% on all imports, plus higher "reciprocal" tariffs (11-50%) on 57 countries (e.g., 34% China, 20% EU, 46% Vietnam) based on a flawed calculation using trade deficits, not actual tariff rates. He added 25% tariffs on steel, aluminum, imported autos, canned beer, and aluminum cans. These actions tanked markets, prompted global retaliation, and are estimated to cost households ~$2,100 in 2025 alone, despite his own economists projecting price increases. He reportedly granted tariff exemptions to oil donors and cut deals for campaign backers. He targeted electric vehicles, contributing to soaring EV costs.
On Education: He ordered the dismantling of the Department of Education (calling it a "con job"), laid off about half its staff, cut research/training funds, and shifted responsibilities. He moved student loan oversight ($1T+) to the Small Business Administration (SBA) just as the SBA cut 40% of its staff, and special education services to HHS. He issued orders to eliminate "radical indoctrination," "gender ideology," and DEI in K-12 schools, threatening to defund schools over these policies and placing ~50 Ed Dept staff on leave over DEI connections. He banned transgender athletes and directed funds toward school choice/private/charter schools. He slashed student aid oversight. Over 50 universities faced federal probes for DEI policies, leading to layoffs, hiring freezes, lost research funding, and faculty fleeing abroad. He directed ICE that schools/colleges are no longer off-limits and threatened institutions requiring COVID vaccines.
On Immigration & Civil Rights: He declared a border emergency to fund the wall with taxpayer money, invoked "invasion" rhetoric to militarize the border, deployed troops to the border, threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, and backed using military force against protesters. He directed satellites to monitor the border. He cancelled the CBP One asylum app, suspended refugee resettlement entirely (stranding cleared Afghans), and signed an order attempting to end birthright citizenship (blocked by courts). He detained student visa holders, defied court orders on deportations, and used FEMA grants to punish "sanctuary" cities. He issued orders to eliminate all government DEI programs, rescinded a 1965 rule barring discrimination by federal contractors, moved to erase federal recognition of transgender identity ("restore biological truth"), blocked transgender health funding, and forced research into "transition regret." He shut down civil rights offices.
On Environment & Health: He re-withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, cut protections on 176,000 sq miles of national forests, cancelled climate research, deleted climate data, fired climate scientists, moved to overturn the EPA's CO2 endangerment finding, ditched the social cost of carbon, reopened vast ocean areas to drilling, paused offshore wind development, and froze funds from the Inflation Reduction Act/Infrastructure Law meant for clean energy and EVs. He gutted EPA rules and pushed fossil fuels. He appointed an anti-vaccine activist to run HHS, scrapped childhood vaccine funding mid-outbreak, laid off thousands at the CDC, axed billions from public health grants, and cut NIH science protections. He told agencies to combine Americans’ tax and medical data. He reportedly laid off NOAA staff and closed weather centers.
On Foreign Policy & Governance: He claimed the U.S. should annex Greenland, suggested retaking the Panama Canal, proposed absorbing Canada, and floated taking control of Gaza while relocating Palestinians. He faced contempt charges for ignoring judicial orders.
Throughout, he consistently defied legal accountability, undermined democratic norms, attacked courts, Congress, media, and the civil service, leaving weakened institutions in his wake. Despite all this, he still leads a major political party.