Donald J. Trump for President
Campaign	U.S. presidential election, 2016
Candidate	Donald Trump
Affiliation	Republican Party
Status	Announced: June 16, 2015
Headquarters	725 Fifth Avenue New York City, New York
Key people	Corey Lewandowski, campaign manager Katrina Pierson, national spokesperson
Receipts	US$5,828,922 (2015-09-30[1])
Slogan	Make America Great Again! [2]
Website
www.donaldjtrump.com

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The 2016 presidential campaign of Donald John Trump, real estate magnate and television personality, formally launched on June 16, 2015.^[3] Donald Trump announced his candidacy for President of the United States in the 2016 election at the Trump Tower in New York City with the slogan "Make America Great Again."^[4] His campaign manager is Corey Lewandowski.^[5]

Trump's populist and nativist politics^[6] earned him support among working-class voters amid heavy and frequent controversies in the news and social media.^[7] Trump's most polarizing and widely reported statements have been on issues of immigration and border security, with Trump proposing deportation of all illegal immigrants, a wall on the Mexican-American border, and a temporary ban on Muslim immigration to the United States,^[8] while making inflammatory remarks pertaining to illegal immigrants that travel over the Mexican border into the United States and crime associated with it.^[9]

Background

Since the 1988 presidential election, Trump has been considered a potential candidate for President in nearly every election.^[10][11][12] In October 1999, Trump declared himself a potential candidate for the Reform Party's presidential nomination,^[13] but withdrew on February 14, 2000.^[14] Trump rejoined the Republican Party in 2009. In early 2011, presidential speculation reached its highest point and Trump began to take a lead in polls among Republican candidates in the 2012 election. However, Trump announced in May 2011 that he would not be a candidate for the office.^[15][16]

At the 2011 CPAC conference, Trump said he is "pro-life" and "against gun control".^[17][18][19] He has spoken before Tea Party supporters.^[20][21][22] In December 2008, Trump emerged as an early supporter of the 2009 government backed rescue plan for the U.S. auto industry which by 2012 gained the support of 56% of Americans (63% support in Michigan), according to a Pew Research Center poll.^[23][24] In May 2015, Trump said he was opposed to granting President Barack Obama fast track trade authority in a Trans-Pacific Partnership.^[25] Instead, Trump expressed a desire for stronger negotiations with China on trade together with tariffs if necessary.^[26][27][28] Trump has called for a policy of leadership to deal with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) which he has criticized for causing high oil prices.^[29][30]

In 2011, polls had Trump among the leading candidates. A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll from March 2011 showed Trump in the lead for the Republican nomination for president of the United States.^[31] A February 2011 Newsweek poll placed Trump within a few points of President Obama in a potential 2012 presidential contest, with many voters undecided.^[32] A poll released in April 2011 by Public Policy Polling showed Trump having a nine-point lead in a potential contest for the Republican nomination for President of the United States while he was still actively considering a run.^[33][34] In December 2011, Trump placed sixth in the "ten most admired men and women living of 2011" USA Today/Gallup telephone survey.^[35] Trump has been a featured speaker at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).^[36] In 2013, Trump researched a possible run for President of the United States in 2016.^[37] In October 2013, New York Republicans suggested Trump should run for governor of the state in 2014.^[38] In February 2015, Trump did not renew his television contract for The Apprentice, which raised speculation of his candidacy for president of the United States in 2016.^[39]

Announcement

On June 16, 2015, Trump made a formal announcement of his candidacy for President of the United States in 2016.^[3][40][41] His announcement came at a campaign rally at Trump Tower in New York City.^[40][41][42] Trump said, "We are going to make our country great again" and also announced that he would be the "greatest jobs president that God ever created."^[41] His 45-minute presidential campaign announcement speech, the longest of the major party candidates to date, included a pledge to restore the "American dream" . . . "bigger and better and stronger than ever before."^[42][43] Trump said he would keep Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and criticized John Kerry's Iranian negotiations. He also criticized Kerry's overall judgment, in breaking^[44] his leg (at age 71) riding his bicycle; Trump made a campaign promise "never [to] be in a bicycle race."^[45] In the speech, Trump also pledged he would fund Social Security (not cut it), renegotiate U.S. trade agreements, oppose federal Common Core education standards, and complete the United States-Mexico border fence and make Mexico pay for it.^[3][45][46] Trump said he would self fund his presidential campaign, and would not need to use money from donors and lobbyists.^[45]

Most attention focused on Trump's comment on illegal immigration where he stated in part "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best... They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with [them]. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."^[47][48]

The comment on illegal immigrants entering the United States through Mexico led several businesses and organizations – including NBC, Macy's, Univision, and NASCAR (along with sponsor Camping World) – to cut ties with Trump in the following days.^{[49][50][51][52][53][54][55]} Reactions from other presidential candidates were mixed, with some Republican candidates disagreeing with the tone of Trump's remarks yet supporting the core idea that illegal immigration is an important campaign issue, other Republican candidates preferring to avoid intra-party feuds with other Republican candidates and concentrate on putting forth their own positions, and several Republican candidates criticizing both Trump's remarks and his policy-stances (as did leading Democratic party candidates).^[a][b][c][d] Beyond the candidates, journalistic response to Trump's statement ranged from negative^{[65][68][69][70][71][72]} to neutral or positive.^{[72][73][74][75]} Factchecking the comment, Washington Post wrote that the allegation of a correlation between illegal immigration and crime was false and gave the statement four pinocchios.^[76] Republican politician Steve King said he admired Trump's response to the backlash, saying that Trump "delivers more facts to support [his] statement" and that on the subject of illegal immigration Trump is more accurate than not.^[77] Rudy Giuliani, who ran in 2008, said Trump's statement could have been better stated, and that most illegal immigrants are good people who come to the country to work, but that an insecure border does also let in "terrorists, drug dealers, rapists, murderers, all of whom I’ve prosecuted."^[78] Various families of the victims of crimes committed by illegal immigrants have come forth to support Trump.^[79] For his part, Trump has defended his comments,^[80] claimed that "Democrats and [my] enemies"^[65] picked a relatively small portion of his announcement speech to criticize, cited news articles to back up his claims^[81] and made illegal immigration a major issue in his campaign.^[82] Trump later said that he intended his comments to be aimed solely at the government of Mexico, specifically for using the insecure border as a means of transferring criminals out of their own country, and says he did not intend his comments to refer to immigrants themselves in general.^[67]

Trump's announcement generated the highest Google search volume of any of the presidential candidates to date.^[83] According to Politico, the speech was "discursive, pugnacious... bizarre... most entertaining."^[45] Trump's announcement speech included the song "Rockin' in the Free World", causing Neil Young, the author of this song, to distance himself from Trump; Young supports Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders.^[84] Despite a casting company having sent emails (some of which have leaked) to background actors explicitly asking them to cheer Trump for money, Trump's campaign manager denied that Trump paid any actors to cheer him at the event.^{[85][86][87][88][89]} An early supporter of Ronald Reagan for president, Trump trademarked the campaign slogan from the 1980 election, "Make America Great Again."^[2]

Campaign

Immediately after his announcement in New York, Trump traveled to Iowa to campaign in the state ahead of the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses.^[90] Trump has also campaigned extensively in New Hampshire, site of the first Republican primary.^[91][92] Trump's campaign cancelled events in Charleston, South Carolina, in light of the June 17 mass shooting.^[93] Trump kicked off a western swing in early July 2015, giving rallies and speeches in Las Vegas^[94] and Los Angeles.^[95]

More than 9,000 people registered to attend Trump's Phoenix rally on July 11, 2015.^[96][97] An over-capacity crowd at the Phoenix Convention Center of thousands watched Trump speak for more than an hour. His remarks were centered on illegal immigration, but also included denunciations of the businesses that had broken ties with him,^[98] the press and President Obama as well as Trump's positions on many issues. The event was hosted by the Maricopa County Republican Party, and Trump was introduced by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Trump invoked Richard Nixon's "silent majority" speech, saying, "the silent majority is back".^[99] The event also drew protesters and supporters outside the convention center. Ahead of the event, Trump's comments on illegal immigration were not supported by Arizona Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake but supported by former Arizona Governor Jan Brewer.^[100] Ben Carson, also a candidate for president, defended Trump.^[101] Trump later asked McCain for an apology for calling supporters at the rally "crazies".^[102]

At an event in Ames, Iowa, Trump said of McCain: "He’s not a war hero" and "He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured." Other Republicans criticized him.^[103][104] Trump acknowledged, "If somebody’s a prisoner, I consider them a war hero"; however, he criticized "politicians like John McCain" for having "totally failed" on veterans issues and on securing the border.^[105] Trump declared his support for veterans and pledged to "build the finest and most modern veterans hospitals in the world."^[105][106] Trump later stated that he did not owe the Senator an apology. Trump received student deferments from the Vietnam draft while he was in college and a medical deferment for 18 months.^{[107][108][109]} Investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson detailed how the Washington Post had taken Trump's remarks on McCain out of context; she stated in part, "In fact, Trump’s actual quote is the opposite of what is presented in the Post’s first sentence."^[110] Politifact rated Trump's claim that the quote was taken out of context as "mostly false".^[111] Trump's comments generated disagreement among the other Republican presidential candidates, including Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Rick Santorum, Rand Paul, Bobby Jindal, Mike Huckabee, and Chris Christie. Two candidates, George Pataki and Rick Perry, openly called on Trump to withdraw from the race over his comments. Conversely, two other candidates came to Trump's defense: Ben Carson and Ted Cruz, with Carson commenting that all differing opinions should be heard, and with Cruz opining that the party should stop its infighting altogether in order to unite.^[112][113] Before the first voting in Iowa, all the candidates who criticized Trump had either withdrawn or were in single-digit popularity polling.^[114]

On July 21, Trump publicly gave out Senator Lindsey Graham's phone number during a speech in South Carolina as a response to Graham calling him a "jackass".^[115][116] Graham released a statement on Twitter that he would "probably [be] getting a new phone"^[115] and later released a video in which he destroyed his phone.^[117]

On July 22, the Federal election regulators released new details of Trump's wealth and financial holdings that he submitted when he became a Republican presidential candidate. Trump's campaign released a statement claiming his net worth to be over US$10 billion, but Forbes estimates that it is US$4 billion.^[118] On July 23, he visited the Mexican border to highlight his stance with regards to opposition towards illegal immigration. The border patrol union pulled out of the planned event.^[119]

On July 24, the Des Moines Register announced that it had been denied press credentials to cover a Trump campaign family picnic in Oskaloosa, Iowa, due to an editorial the previous week which called on Trump to drop out of the race.^[120][121]

Michael Cohen, Trump's senior counsel, was criticized for claiming that "you cannot rape your spouse" in response to a Daily Beast article about Trump's divorce proceedings. The article related how Ivana Trump had accused her ex-husband of raping her, a claim she has since retracted. Cohen subsequently apologized for his comments.^[122]

In response to a question asking candidates during the first primary debate, the main Fox News debate held on August 6, 2015, whether they would pledge to support the Republican party in the general election, Trump refused to rule out a third-party candidacy. When pressed, he also refused to say he would endorse the eventual Republican nominee.^[123] After meeting with Reince Priebus (chairman of the Republican National Committee) in New York, during a news conference at Trump Tower on September 3, Trump announced he had signed the loyalty pledge.^[124]

On August 21, Trump held a campaign rally at the Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama, with approximately 30,000 people in attendance.^[125]

On August 21, 2015, the Federal Election Commission released the list of filings from Super PAC's backing candidates in the 2016 presidential race, which revealed that Trump is the only major presidential candidate among the GOP candidates who does not have a Super PAC supporting his candidacy.^[126]

During an August 25 press conference, Trump's chief of security Keith Schiller forcibly ejected Univision anchor Jorge Ramos.^[127][128] On September 3, Schiller was filmed punching a protester.^[129]

On December 21, 2015, Trump attacked Hillary Clinton in vulgar terms by suggesting that her bathroom break during the last Democratic debate was "disgusting."^[130] He continued to say that she "got schlonged" by Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential race.^[130][130] More than a dozen times, protesters began shouting during Trump's speech, which was one of the most interrupted since he jumped into the presidential race in June.^[130] Trump also went on to call Clinton a "liar" and "crooked," insisting that Clinton would not want to face Trump in the general election.^[130]

On January 2, 2016, Trump's campaign rally in Biloxi, Mississippi, set a record for most people ever attending a political function in the history of the state.^[131] At the Biloxi rally, the YouTuber duo Diamond and Silk riled up the crowd, urging Democrats and independents in the audience to "ditch and switch", i.e. to register as Republicans and vote for Trump if they really wanted to show their support.^[132] It is believed that this could be an important strategy for the Trump campaign as it might be relying on people who do not tend to vote and trying to persuade some Democrats and independents to change parties so that they can vote in states that allow only registered Republicans to participate.^[132]

Trump's campaign, scheduled for a January 7, 2016 appearance in the traditionally liberal city of Burlington, Vermont, came under scrutiny for releasing approximately 20,000 tickets for a 1,400-person venue. The Burlington mayor and police chief both expressed concern for a public-safety risk from crowds of people, likely including many protesters, to be turned away from entry.^[133]

Fox News debate

Trump was one of ten candidates in the main Fox News debate on August 6, 2015. At the beginning of the debate, Bret Baier asked the candidates in case they do not win the Republican nomination if they would pledge not to run as an independent candidate and would support the eventual nominee. Trump was the only candidate who refused to pledge at that time. Baier questioned Trump about Obamacare,^[134] Chris Wallace asked him about Mexican illegal immigrants,^[135] and Megyn Kelly asked about how he would respond to a Clinton campaign saying that he was waging a "war on women".^[136] Trump replied, “I think the big problem this country has is being politically correct.”^[137]

In a later interview with Don Lemon on CNN Tonight, Trump said that Kelly is a "lightweight" and had "blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever".^[138][139] Trump tweeted that his remark referred to Kelly's nose but was interpreted by critics as a reference to menstruation. RedState.com editor Erick Erickson cancelled Trump's invitation to a RedState meeting, saying "there are just real lines of decency a person running for President should not cross".^[140] The Trump campaign issued a statement calling Erickson "a total loser" and saying that anyone who thought Trump's comment was a reference to menstruation was "a deviant".^[141] Kelly reportedly received death threats from Trump supporters.^[142]

Trump retained the first place after the debate, with an NBC News poll showing him at 23% support^[143] and a Reuters/Ipsos poll at 24%,^[144] followed by Ted Cruz at 13% and Ben Carson at 11%.^[145]

Veterans for a Strong America event

The Veterans for a Strong America (VSA) organized an event for Trump on September 15, 2015.^[146] According to the Associated Press, the IRS revoked the nonprofit status of the organization, and its endorsement of Trump raised campaign finance questions as corporations are restricted to donating up to US$2,700 to a campaign, but the event exceeded that amount.^[146] Other concerns raised include reports that the VSA does not appear to have any members or relation with veterans.^[147] According to CNN, the group "sounds like a charity", "touted having more than a half-million supporters", "is a political action group whose tax-exempt status was revoked" but is "appealing the decision", and CNN had "found scant evidence" the group has the number of supporters claimed.^[148] Regarding female veteran support, Trump has addressed the issue that VA hospitals do not permanently staff OBGYN doctors; showing an utter lack of respect for female veterans. Trump continued on to express that "Under the Trump plan, every VA hospital in the country will be fully equipped with OBGYN and other women's health services".^[149]

Campaign support from family members

Although Trump has called his wife Melania "my pollster", and has said she strongly supports his presidential run, he held back early in the campaign from asking her to actively campaign for him, although "she will", he told CNN in September 2015.^[150] She did appear both at her husband's June 2015 campaign announcement, and in the audience at the Fox News debate in Cleveland;^[150] and in November 2015 did several televised interviews, and spoke briefly at a Trump campaign rally in South Carolina, also attended by a number of Trump's other family members.^[151]

If Trump were to become President, his wife Melania (Slovenian-born, and a naturalized U.S. citizen) would become only the second U.S. First Lady in history to be born outside the United States (after Louisa Adams, wife of John Quincy Adams).^[152]

Citizen Trump

Citizen Trump with Chris Matthews, often abridged as Citizen Trump, is an original documentary about Donald Trump's "career and path to politics, chronicling the events that have led to his Presidential run", originally airing on MSNBC on December 22, 2015. The documentary marks the first in a series of shows profiling the 2016 United States presidential election.^[153]

False flag conspiracy theory

The campaign has been the subject of several conspiracy theories. Most prominent has been a widely reported theory appearing in the Washington Post, Salon, Esquire, Gawker, Talking Points Memo and several other political news outlets, and which has been endorsed by several of Trump's opponents, most notably Jeb Bush, according to which Trump is running a "false flag operation" for presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. According to this theory, Trump intends to help her secure the presidency by obtaining the Republican nomination, or running as a third party candidate, which Trump was initially reluctant to rule out, but eventually did.

Proponents of the theory point to Trump's longtime membership and voting record in the Democratic Party, his close personal ties with the Clintons, who attended his most recent wedding to Melania Trump in 2005, and whom he has donated large amounts of money to in the past, as well as his supposed unwillingness to criticize Hillary Clinton in campaign interviews, and an alleged phone call received by Donald Trump from Bill Clinton in May, just before Trump announced his candidacy in June, which has not been explained, according to theorists. Trump, it is claimed, is unlikely to fare well in a general election matchup with Clinton, and is likely her preferred opponent in a general election, for various reasons, and thus it has been widely theorized that Trump is only running for office in order to aid Clinton obtain the presidency. Jeb Bush is the most notable and vocal proponent of the theory, recently stating: "“Maybe Donald negotiated a deal with his buddy Hillary Clinton." According to the Washington Post report about the phone call from Bill Clinton to Donald Trump in May, "Four Trump allies and one Clinton associate familiar with the exchange said that Clinton encouraged Trump’s efforts to play a larger role in the Republican Party and offered his own views of the political landscape", which has contributed to the perception voiced by Bush that Trump made a deal with the Clintons to aid her candidacy. Neither Trump nor Clinton have publicly commented on the claim.^{[154][155][156][157][158][159][160]}

Republican front-runner

A survey conducted by The Economist/YouGov released July 9, 2015, was the first major nationwide poll to show Trump as the 2016 Republican presidential front-runner.^[161] A Suffolk/USA Today poll released on July 14, 2015, showed Trump with 17% support among Republican voters, with Jeb Bush at 14%.^[162] A Washington Post/ABC News poll taken on July 16–19, showed Trump had 24% Republican support, over Scott Walker at 13%.^[163] A CNN/ORC poll showed Trump in the lead at 18% support among Republican voters, over Jeb Bush at 15%,^[164][165] and a CBS News poll from August 4 showed Trump with 24% support, Bush second at 13%, and Walker third at 10%.^[166]

A CNN/ORC poll taken August 13–16, 2015, in the "swing" states of Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania showed Trump ahead of, or narrowly trailing Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in direct match-ups in those states.^[167] In Florida, Trump led by two points, and in both Ohio and Pennsylvania, he was within just five points of Clinton.^[168]

Trump has had a consistently high popularity among Republican and leaning-Republican minority voters.^[169] Some surveys taken in late 2015 showed Trump polling unfavorably among women and non-white voters, with 64% of women viewing Trump unfavorably and 74% of non-white voters having a negative view of the candidate, according to a November 2015 ABC News/Washington Post poll.^[170] A Public Religion Research Institute survey in November 2015 found that many of his supporters are working class voters with negative feelings towards migrants, as well as strong financial concerns.^[171][172] However, many polls show Trump polling significantly favorably among minority and woman voters, citing a December 2015 World News Daily/Clout Political poll. This poll also reports that Trump garners a noticeable amount of support from voters outside of his party, with the results of the poll stating that Trump has "nearly 40 percent of the GOP support, but also 31 percent of the independents and even 26-plus percent of the Democrats."^[173]

Trump's status as the consistent frontrunner for the Republican nomination led to him being featured on the cover of Time magazine in August 2015, with the caption: "Deal with it."^[174] Trump's conservative policies have caused numerous establishment Republicans to appear to view him negatively. Although some Republicans expressed concern by late 2015 about Trump's negative effect, were he to become the Republican nominee, on other Republican candidates running for Congressional or Gubernatorial positions in 2016, few leading donors seemed willing to sponsor a negative campaign against him.^[170] "A 'Stop Trump’ effort wouldn’t work, and it might help him", said Republican Senator Lamar Alexander.^[170] While the National Republican Senatorial Committee circulated a confidential memo in September 2015 that did not dismiss the possibility of Trump winning the GOP nomination, it called him a "misguided missile” with "wacky ideas about women", and noted that he “is subject to farcical fits". The memo urged candidates to carve out platforms broadly consonant with Trump's anti-Washington messaging, and to "stake out turf in the same issue zone and offer your own ideas", while not getting "drawn into every Trump statement and every Trump dust-up".^[175] Candidates were advised in particular not "to re-engage the 'war on women' fight" and were told they "shouldn’t go near this ground other than to say that your wife or daughter is offended by what Trump said".^[175]

Fundraising

Although Trump has repeatedly claimed that his campaign is self-financed, an independent super PAC, Make America Great Again, was established with an FEC filing on July 1, 2015,^[176] to accept unlimited outside donations to benefit Trump's election. On at least two occasions, Trump made appearances at private fundraising events for the PAC.^[176][177] After ties between Trump's campaign and the Make America Great Again PAC were exposed by the Washington Post, the candidate disavowed at least eight other super PACs, including Art of the Deal PAC and Let's Trump Politics,^[176] which had formed to support his campaign, urging them to return donations to donors as well.^[178] Amid questions about illicit coordination with Trump's staff, including a business and personal relationship between super PAC strategist Mike Ciletti and Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski (who initially denied knowing Ciletti^[176]), as well as Ciletti's use of donor email addresses apparently obtained from Trump's personal assistant and "gatekeeper", Rhona Graff,^[177] the super PAC announced in October 2015 it would shut down, with unspent proceeds returned to donors.^[179] Trump had previously told campaign crowds “I don’t want anybody’s money,” and criticized other candidates for "form[ing] all these PACs. People pour money into the PACs. I don’t want ’em, don’t support ’em.”^[177]

By October 2015, the Trump campaign had also accepted nearly $4,000,000 in traditional direct donations from 75,000 individual supporters, having previously stated that such support allowed Trump "to campaign with integrity, wholly independent of the dark money donor class perpetuating a broken Washington, D.C."^[178]

Political positions

Trump has stated that he is a "conservative Republican".^[180]

Abortion and reproductive care

Trump has described the evolution of his position on abortion; although he formerly took several pro-choice positions, he now describes himself as pro-life^[19] and would ban late-term abortions except in cases of rape, incest, or health.^[19] He is in favor of cutting federal funding for Planned Parenthood.^[181]

Campaign finance

Trump has repeatedly stated, "I love the idea of campaign finance reform".^[182] In the first Republican primary debate in Cleveland on Fox News, Trump accused his Republican opponents of being bound to their campaign financiers, and that anyone (including Trump himself) could buy their policies with donations. Trump has stated that it is wrong that as a rich person he can have more influence than people without money. He has called Jeb Bush a "puppet", and said the system of US campaign finance, since the slim majority Supreme Court decision in Buckley v Valeo,^[183] is a "disgrace". He has stated limits to contributions or spending would be "okay", although has not stated whether this would be achieved by further limits on contributions, regulating corporate spending, total limits on spending in elections, all of these or a combination.

Drug policy

Trump opposes legalizing recreational marijuana but supports legalizing medical marijuana,^[184] while being supportive of states' rights.^[184]

Economy

The Trump campaign's tax plan calls for reducing the corporate tax rate to 15% concurrent with the elimination of various loopholes and deductions.^[185] Notably the plan would include a cap on business interest expense deductions, which were first made deductible in 1918.^[186] Opponents (primarily large banks and Wall Street private equity firms) of this change claim that capping business interest expense deductions would reduce corporate borrowing and thereby reduce the level of corporate investment. Proponents argue that a cap would reduce use of debt financing, in turn reducing systemic economic volatility. Another claim is that the lower tax rates enabled by such a cap would stimulate economic activity and slow or reverse the flight of US companies and capital moving to offshore tax "havens".^[187][188]

He also supports reduced taxation on U.S. workers and business and supports reduced business regulations (including reduced environmental regulation and employee protections).^[189] Trump has proposed a 1–5–10–15 income tax plan in order to simplify the tax code, where incomes of up to US$30,000 would pay 1%, incomes of US$30,000 to US$100,000 would pay 5%, incomes of US$100,000 to US$1 million would pay 10%, incomes of US$1 million and up would pay 15%.^[189] Further, his plan would eliminate the inheritance tax, lower the capital gains tax, and instead apply a 20% import tariff and a 15% tax on outsourcing to foreign countries.^[189] Trump favors stronger trade negotiations with nations such as China, with a more level playing field on trade, to restore American jobs applying tariffs when necessary.^[19][43] In the June 2015 announcement of his candidacy, Trump claimed his proven-skills and talent as negotiator in his private business activities, would enhance his ability to negotiate better international trade deals as President.^[47]

"[America] used to have victories, but we don’t have them. When was the last time anybody saw us beating, let’s say, China in a trade deal? They kill us. I beat China all the time. All the time."

— Trump, June 16, 2015, announcement of his candidacy

Trump has stated he wants to simplify the tax code, lower taxes for middle and working-class people, and increase taxes on wealthy private equity and hedge fund managers, who Trump says currently pay next to nothing.^[190][191] Trump favors a free market energy policy and opposes cap and trade.^[19] Trump supports improving America's infrastructure.^[180]

In September 2015, economist Larry Kudlow said that he supported Donald Trump's corporate tax plan, stating that the 15 percent plan is a "pro-growth, supply-side" program that would grow the nation's long-slagging economy.^[192] During the October 28 primary debate, Trump made note of Kudlow's support of his plan.^[193]

Trump believes that the U.S. should not raise the minimum wage because increasing it would hurt America's economic competitiveness. Speaking at the Republican debate on November 10, Trump said, "We are a country that is being beaten on every front — economically, militarily. Taxes too high, wages too high, we're not going to be able to compete against the world ... People have to go out, they have to work really hard, and they have to get into that upper stratum."^[194]

Education

Trump has stated his support for school choice and local control for primary and secondary schools. On school choice he's commented, “Our public schools are capable of providing a more competitive product than they do today. Look at some of the high school tests from earlier in this century and you’ll wonder if they weren’t college-level tests. And we’ve got to bring on the competition—open the schoolhouse doors and let parents choose the best school for their children. Education reformers call this school choice, charter schools, vouchers, even opportunity scholarships. I call it competition—the American way.”^[195]

He has stated he opposes the Common Core State Standards Initiative for primary and secondary schools,^[19][43] and has called Common Core "a disaster" that must be ended.^[196]

Environment

Trump denies the scientific consensus on climate change and has called global warming "a total hoax".^[197] He has stated that "the concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive" and has said that "the EPA is an impediment to both growth and jobs". Trump supports increased fracking and has criticized sustainable wind power alternatives, stating that "windmills are destroying every country they touch" while producing "unreliable and terrible" energy.^[198]

Trump pledged in a tweet to reverse the Obama administration's renaming of Mount McKinley to Denali, calling it a "great insult to Ohio" (the home state of President William McKinley).^[199]

In a November 2015 interview with Chris Wallace, Trump claimed that, although he really believes 'in clean air and clean water, at the highest level,' he thinks that climate disruption is all a scam 'for people to make a whole lot of money.'^{[citation needed]} Trump has also lamented the loss of ozone-depleting aerosol hairspray technology and the advent of pump-delivered hair products, telling a December 2015 campaign rally in South Carolina that "it comes out in big globs, right, and it's stuck in your hair and you say, 'Oh my God, I've got to take a shower again, my hair is all screwed up'". Trump said he believed the aerosol hairspray he used remained in his apartment and caused little environmental damage: "I don't think any of it gets out", he said.^[200]

Law and order

In 2015, Trump told a Patrolmen's Benevolent Association that "anybody killing a police officer – death penalty".^[201][202]

Faith-based issues

Trump is identified as a Presbyterian and has expressed support for several issues and policy positions important to some Christians. In campaign speeches, he routinely has praised the Bible, often joking that his own book Trump: The Art of the Deal is his second favorite book after the Bible, which he has sometimes carried at campaign events.^[203] He drew some criticism in August 2015, however, when he was unwilling to cite his favorite Biblical passage.^[204] He has said he will defend what he sees as an assault on the Christmas holiday. "Remember the expression, 'Merry Christmas?' You don't see it anymore. You're going to see it if I get elected, I can tell you right now," he has said.^[203]

Trump has praised prominent national evangelical leaders, including Tony Perkins and Ralph Reed.^[205] In September 2015, he invited dozens of Christian and Jewish leaders to his New York City offices for a meeting and laying on of hands prayer gathering.^[206] On September 30, 2015, he asked for and received a blessing from prominent Greek Orthodox priest Emmanuel Lemelson, who he asked to offer the invocation at a Trump campaign rally in Keene, New Hampshire.^[207]

He has expressed support for school prayer, making same-sex marriage a state's rights issue,^[205] and has said he would support persecuted Christians in Iraq and Syria.^[208]

Firearms regulation

Trump supports the Second Amendment, is opposed to gun control in general,^[19][209] and has a New York concealed carry permit.^[210] He supports fixing the federal background check system so that criminal and mental health records are always put into the system.^[209] He once supported a ban on assault weapons and longer waiting periods for gun purchases but has since reversed his position.^{[211][212][213]} Trump plans to lift the ban on guns in military bases and recruiting centers. He also supports national right to concealed carry and allow gun permits to be applicable to all 50 states much like a driver's license.^[214] After the 2015 San Bernardino shooting Trump declared that the victims "could've protected themselves if they had guns."^[215]

Healthcare and Social Security

Trump favors replacing the Affordable Care Act (commonly referred to as "Obamacare") with a free-market plan and competition to lower costs, although he has also stated support for a single-payer system in the past.^[216] He supports funding Social Security and Medicare rather than cutting them.^[19][43] He has previously expressed support for allowing people to privately invest their social security dollars.^[217]

Trump believes that childhood vaccinations are related to autism, a hypothesis which has been repeatedly debunked.^[218]

Veterans Affairs

Trump favors getting rid of backlogs and waitlists which are the focus of the Veterans Health Administration scandal. In a statement, he said he believes that Veterans Affairs facilities need to be upgraded with recent technology, hire more veterans to treat other veterans, increase support of female veterans, and create satellite clinics within hospitals in rural areas.^[219]

Immigration and border security

Border security

Trump has emphasized U.S. border security.^[220][221] During his announcement speech he stated in part, "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems.... They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."^[3] On July 6, 2015, Trump issued a written statement^[222] to clarify his position on illegal immigration which drew a reaction from critics. It read in part:

"The Mexican Government is forcing their most unwanted people into the United States. They are, in many cases, criminals, drug dealers, rapists, etc. This was evident just this week when, as an example, a young woman in San Francisco was viciously killed by a 5-time deported Mexican with a long criminal record, who was forced back into the United States because they didn’t want him in Mexico. This is merely one of thousands of similar incidents throughout the United States. In other words, the worst elements in Mexico are being pushed into the United States by the Mexican government. The largest suppliers of heroin, cocaine and other illicit drugs are Mexican cartels that arrange to have Mexican immigrants trying to cross the borders and smuggle in the drugs. The Border Patrol knows this. Likewise, tremendous infectious disease is pouring across the border. The United States has become a dumping ground for Mexico and, in fact, for many other parts of the world. On the other hand, many fabulous people come in from Mexico and our country is better for it. But these people are here legally, and are severely hurt by those coming in illegally. I am proud to say that I know many hard working Mexicans—many of them are working for and with me...and, just like our country, my organization is better for it."^[223]

Birthright citizenship

Trump opposes birthright citizenship, arguing that it is not or should not be protected by the Fourteenth Amendment.^[222][224]

Border wall between U.S. and Mexico

During his first town hall campaign meeting in Derry, New Hampshire Trump claimed that if he won the election, "Day 1 of my presidency, illegal immigrants are getting out and getting out fast."^[225] Trump has stated he wants to build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico to prevent illegal immigrants from entering into the country.^{[47][225][226]} In his 2015 book, he cites the Israeli West Bank barrier as a successful example.^[227]

"Before I came here, I saw, on the news, a family decimated,... their daughter torn apart by illegal immigrants. Many gang members, these rough guys, are illegal immigrants. We have to stop this ... I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I’ll build them very inexpensively, I will build a great, great wall on our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall."

— Trump Announcement Speech

Reactions to comments on illegal immigration

Trump acknowledged that Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus asked him to tone down his rhetoric on immigration reform and stated that his conversations with the RNC were "congratulatory" as well.^[228] José Antonio Meade Kuribreña, Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs, said that "he is a politician who ignores the context in which it is participating", with regard to U.S. international economic relations and Trump's comments.^[229] Jeb Bush stated that "Trump is wrong on this" and "to make these extraordinarily kind of ugly comments is not reflective of the Republican Party."^[230] However, Jamiel and Anita Shaw, whose son was murdered by an illegal immigrant in 2008, came forward to defend Trump, with Anita Shaw stating on July 7, 2015, that, "it's time people listened to Trump" and "this guy who is running for President, Donald Trump, he's trying to do something and they're trying to shut him down."^[231] Jamiel Shaw spoke at the podium for Trump's July 11 rally at the Phoenix convention center, in part declaring, "I Trust Donald Trump."^[232] Two days later, escaped high-profile druglord Joaquín Guzmán was alleged to have issued threats through a Twitter account against Trump.^[233] The brother of Kate Steinle who was shot in San Francisco criticized Trump for politicizing his sisters death, telling Anderson Cooper Trump's platform "isn't exactly what our family believes in".^[234]

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz saluted Trump for giving attention to illegal immigration, while Congressman Steve King also defended Trump's remarks about illegal immigration and crime.^{[58][77][235]} Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh has repeatedly praised Trump's comments and his continued response to the backlash, saying that Trump has successfully changed the debate and brought the issue of immigration reform back to the foreground, while also not backing down against media scrutiny and businesses severing ties with him.^{[236][237][238]} Former Arizona governor Jan Brewer said, "I believe that Mr. Trump is kind of telling it like it really, truly is."^[235][239] Over 36,000 criminally convicted illegal immigrants were released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in 2013.^[240][241] On July 10, 2015, Limbaugh cited a report which he claimed supports Trump's remarks about illegal immigration and crime.^[242]

Univision announced it would no longer carry broadcasts of the Miss USA Pageant.^[243] In response, Trump indicated the matter would be handled by legal action, and followed through by filing a US$500 million lawsuit against Univision. The complaint asserts that Univision is attempting to suppress Trump’s First Amendment rights by putting pressure on his business ventures.^[244] NBC announced it would not air the Miss Universe or Miss USA pageant.^[245][246] Afterwards, the multinational media company Grupo Televisa severed ties with Trump,^[247] as did Ora TV,^[248] a television network partly owned by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim.^[249] Trump gave the rights to broadcast the Miss Universe and Miss USA Pageants to the Reelz Channel.^[250]

Paulina Vega, the current Miss Universe and former Miss Colombia, said that, although she repudiates the immigration remarks of Trump,^[251] who in turn called her a "hypocrite",^{[citation needed]} she cannot give up the crown because her contract forbids it, and she could be sued.^[252]

Mexico,^[253] Panama,^[254] and Costa Rica^[255] will not send representatives to the Miss Universe competition.

Macy's announced it would phase out its Trump-branded merchandise.^[256] Serta, a mattress manufacturer, also decided to drop their business relationship with Trump.^[257] NASCAR ended sponsorship with Trump by announcing it would not hold their post season awards banquet at the Trump National Doral Miami.^[258] ESPN decided to relocate its ESPY Celebrity Golf Classic to the Pelican Hill Golf Club in Newport Beach. The charity golf tournament was once scheduled to be held at a golf course owned by Trump.^[259]

Reuters journalists found that Trump's companies sought to import 1,100 workers on H-2B visas since 2000.^[260]

Trump's immigration policies, along with his statements regarding Syrian refugees and Muslims, have been occasionally criticized as nativist^[261][262] or fascist^{[263][264][265][266][267]} in character by his political opponents.

Muslim immigration

In response to the 2015 San Bernardino shooting, Trump called for a complete ban on Muslims entering the United States "until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on".^[8] Trump cited President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's World War II use of the Alien and Sedition Acts to issue presidential proclamations for rounding up, holding, and deporting Japanese, German, and Italian alien immigrants, then argued that since Roosevelt was highly respected and had highways named after him, the proclamations were good.^{[268][269][270][271]} Trump stated he did not agree with Roosevelt's internment of Japanese Americans, and later clarified that the proposal would not apply to Muslims who were US citizens or to Muslims who were serving in the US military.^[272][273] The press release drew criticism from a number of sources, including sources that are atypical for commenting on presidential primary contenders.

Criticism included from British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who described Trump's plan as an "affront to common humanity".^[274] The U.S. Pentagon issued a rare statement of concern, stating "anything that bolsters ISIL's narrative and pits the United States against the Muslim faith is certainly not only contrary to our values but contrary to our national security."^[275] Trump, in an interview on Good Morning America, drew comparisons between his plan and Franklin D. Roosevelt's actions during World War II.^[276]

Other politicians from various countries have also intervened. In a rare occurrence, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, and the Prime Minister of France, Manuel Valls, both issued statements in response to Trump's press release condemning him. However, Geert Wilders, leader of the right-wing Party for Freedom in the Netherlands applauded his remarks calling them "brave" and "good for Europe".^[277] Among the European right wing, Nigel Farage of the UK Independence Party called it "perhaps a political mistake too far",^[278] and Marine Le Pen of the French National Front separated herself from the idea.^[279] Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, rejected Trump's proposal.^[280]

Trump re-tweeted a remark by David Brody that he may experience a "boost" among evangelical voters over anti-Muslim politics,^[281] though his statement was condemned by Russell Moore, the president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.^[282] Trump was widely criticized for the comment by leading GOP figures, including Reince Priebus^[283][284] and Republican leaders in South Carolina and Iowa.^[285] A number of commentators have likened Trump to a fascist or Adolf Hitler.^[286][287]

During the controversy regarding his comments, Trump alleged that "We have places in London and other places that are so radicalized that the police are afraid for their own lives", prompting the Metropolitan Police, responsible for policing in London, to rebut his comments, stating "We would not normally dignify such comments with a response, however, on this occasion we think it’s important to state to Londoners that Mr Trump could not be more wrong". Conservative Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, described his comments as "ill-informed" and "complete and utter nonsense". Johnson also stated "the only reason I wouldn’t go to some parts of New York is the real risk of meeting Donald Trump" while Zac Goldsmith, mayoral candidate for the Conservative Party, attacked Trump as "repellent"...an appalling creature” and “one of the most malignant figures in politics", with other London-based politicians demanding an apology.^[288] Opinions among workers in the police force may contrast more, as The Daily Mail reported that five police officers support Trump's claim; "Trump's not wrong; we can't wear uniform in our own cars."^[289] Trump's 1995 attendance at a New York fundraising dinner for Sinn Féin, months before the 1996 Docklands bombing, attracted new media scrutiny in the UK.^[290]

After Trump's comments about excluding Muslims from the US, a petition in the UK circulated on the Parliament's e-petition website, calling on the UK government's Home Office to ban Trump from entering the country (see List of people banned from entering the United Kingdom). The BBC reported that "any petition with more than 100,000 signatures is automatically considered for debate in Parliament."^[291] By 5 am on December 11, the total had exceeded 500,000.^[292] The parliamentary debate took place on 18 January,^[293] but ended without a vote, as MPs do not have the power to enact such a ban.^[294]

Muslim surveillance

On November 19, a week after the November 2015 Paris attacks, when asked if he would implement a database system tracking Muslims in the United States, he stated: “I would certainly implement that. Absolutely. There should be a lot of systems, beyond databases. We should have a lot of systems.”^[295] On November 21, Trump expanded on his stance, saying that he would order surveillance of “certain mosques” to combat terrorism after the Paris attacks, and recalled that he had watched as “thousands and thousands of people were cheering” while the World Trade Center towers fell on September 11, 2001, citing that as a reason to reinforce surveillance.^[296] Footage of Palestinians celebrating the attack was broadcast internationally, but no video supports that "thousands" celebrated in the U.S.^[297][298] Trump has cited a Washington Post article from a week after 9/11 which detailed law enforcement detaining "a number of people" who were allegedly seen celebrating the attacks to support his claim.^[299] Most of the claims of celebrations rely on anecdotal evidence of small gatherings.^[300]

LGBT issues

Trump has stated that he supports traditional marriage.^[197] Of the June 2015 Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide, he said: "I would have preferred states, you know, making the decision and I let that be known. But they made the decision. [...] So, at a certain point you have to be realistic about it."^[19][301] Gregory T. Angelo, the president of the Log Cabin Republicans (a pro-LGBT organization),^[302] described Trump as "one of the best, if not the best, pro-gay Republican candidates to ever run for the presidency".^[303]

Technology

Trump said in a December 2015 rally "We have to see Bill Gates and a lot of different people that really understand what's happening. We have to talk to them about, maybe in certain areas, closing that internet up in some ways. Somebody will say, 'Oh freedom of speech, freedom of speech.' These are foolish people." In the December Republican debate, Donald Trump expanded his rhetoric by saying that the internet should be shut off to countries that have a majority of their territory controlled by terrorist organizations in order to decrease the number of Americans joining ISIS.^[304][305] He supported this statement by commenting, "I don't want them using our internet to take our young, impressionable youth."^[306]

Foreign policy

Trade

Trump believes the Trans-Pacific Partnership "should not be allowed to happen."^[307] On November 10, Trump released his plan on US-China relationship.,^[308] calling for China to be called a currency manipulator and stop it from forcing intellectual property to be shared as a condition for joining the Chinese market.

Foreign affairs and national defense

Trump has stated his intention to provide presidential leadership with strong diplomacy to restore "respect" for the United States around the world and he supports a robust national defense.^{[3][19][43][180]} In his announcement speech he said that the U.S. is getting weaker as a country and that its nuclear arsenal is old and does not work, although he appeared to be unfamiliar with the term "nuclear triad" when asked by Hugh Hewitt in a December 2015 debate what specific improvements he would make.^[309] Trump opposed the 2003 Iraq War and has pointed to his opposition several times during the campaign.^[310][311] In his interview with O'Reilly, Trump claimed that he had a proven record in negotiating with foreign countries. "I've made a fortune with foreign countries."^[312] He argued that "[t]here's nobody bigger or better at the military than I am."^[312] During his speech at the Oklahoma State Fair he accused his opponents of wanting to "start World War III over Syria."^[313] Unlike his opponents he would not reveal his military strategies to the enemy. "I don't want them to know what I'm thinking, does that make sense? I want people to be guessing ... I don't want people to figure it out. I don't want people to know what my plan is. I have plans. I have plans! But I don't want to do it."^[313] Once elected he would find a "proper general", Patton or a McArthur who would "hit [ISIS] so hard your head would spin."^[312]

Iran

If elected, Trump says he would prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.^[44] In an interview with NBC News in Charlottesville, Virginia, on July 14, 2015, Trump called the newly announced nuclear deal with Iran "terrible", saying that the president negotiated the agreement "from desperation". He added, "I don't understand the president. He dealt from desperation, and he shouldn't have been desperate." He further stated, "First of all, we're giving them billions of dollars in this deal, which we shouldn't have given them. We should have kept the money," in reference to the sanctions relief for Iran under the deal, which was negotiated by Iran and six world powers led by the United States. "Second of all, we have four prisoners over there. We should have said 'Let the prisoners out.' They shouldn't be over there." Trump also said that any deal should stipulate that inspectors have 24-hour-a-day access immediately to all nuclear sites.^[314] On September 2, 2015, Trump told CNN he believed the Iran deal would compel the U.S. to side with Iran in the event of war: "There’s something in the Iran deal that people I don’t think really understand or know about, and nobody’s able to explain it, that if somebody attacks Iran, we have to come to their defense", he said. "So if Israel attacks Iran, according to that deal, I believe the way it reads ... that we have to fight with Iran against Israel."^[315] Trump has said that despite opposing the content of the deal, as President he would seek to enforce it rather than repeal it.^[316]

When questioned on his "new deal with Iran" Trump responded that "Iran is doing nuclear. They're going nuclear." He would "put on the sanctions big league. I'd double and triple up the sanctions and make a deal from strength."^[312] According to Trump, nuclear weapons, not global warming, is America's biggest problem.^[312]

Iraq

Trump strongly opposed the Iraq War (2003-2011) arguing that Iran "[would] take over and it would totally destabilize the Middle East."^[312] This has been an important talking point during his campaign.^{[310][311][312]} In his 2004 interview published in Esquire Trump described the war as a "mess" and questioned the credibility of Iraq ever becoming a "wonderful democracy where people are going to run down to the voting box and gently put in their ballot and the winner is happily going to step up to lead the county?" He predicted that "[t]wo minutes after we leave, there's going to be a revolution, and the meanest, toughest, smartest, most vicious guy will take over." He argued that Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction but the leader who followed him would have them.^[317] In 2015 when asked how he would deal with Iraq's condemnation of strikes on their oil fields, Trump replied that Iraq is a corrupt country that is not deserving of his respect.^[312]

ISIS

Trump has said that he would "bomb the hell" out of Iraqi oil fields controlled by ISIS.^[312][318] Trump has called for the reintroduction of waterboarding on captured prisoners.^[319][320] In December 2015, Trump said that "when you get these terrorists, you have to take out their families" and in another interview added "We’re going to have to do what Israel was doing for a period of time. ‘Take out’ means you have to wipe out their homes where they came from."^{[321][322][323]} Trump's competitors have raised that intentionally killing non-combatants is a violation of the Geneva Conventions.^[324] In the aftermath of the November 2015 attacks on Paris by ISIS, Trump reiterated his statements about ISIS from November 12, 2015, when he stated he would "bomb the shit out of 'em"^[325] and said "I'd blow up the [oil] pipes, I'd blow up the refineries, and you know what, you'll get Exxon to come in there in two months... and I'd take the oil."^[326] Trump said in an interview with Anderson Cooper "There is no Iraq. Their leaders are corrupt."^[325]

Libya

Trump believes the 2011 military intervention in Libya was a mistake, saying that Libya was better off under the rule of Muammar Gaddafi.^[327]

Syria

Trump's first post-announcement interview on June 17, 2015, was with Bill O'Reilly on The O'Reilly Factor.^[312] One of several issues he highlighted was his proposed strategy in dealing with the Syrian Civil War.^[312] He observed that while Syria was supposed to be America's enemy he felt that Bashar al-Assad "looks a lot better than some of our so-called friends."^[312] Instead of fighting ISIS in Syria, Trump would cut off ISIS' access to capital by bombing the oil fields that ISIS controls while letting Iran and Russia protect Syria. He suggests, "It's really rather amazing, maybe Syria should be a free zone for ISIS, let them fight and then you pick up the remnants."^[312]

In the fourth Republican debate on November 10, 2015, Trump said he "got to know [ Vladimir Putin ] very well because we were both on '60 Minutes', we were stable mates, we did well that night". Trump said he approved of Russia's intervention in Syria, stating: "If Putin wants to knock the hell out of ISIS, I’m all for it 100 percent and I can’t understand how anybody would be against that ... He‘s going in and we can go in and everybody should go in."^[328]

Trump opposes allowing Syrian refugees into the US saying they could be the "ultimate trojan horse"^[329] and supports returning the ones Obama brings, back to Syria. He favors a database of the refugees as well.^[330] In September 2015 Trump had praised Germany’s decision to take in Syrian refugees^[331] and he also believed then that the United States should take in some refugees from Syria.^[332]

Ukraine

In July 2015 Trump opposed U.S. involvement in the Ukrainian crisis, describing the Crimea as "Europe's problem".^[333] In August 2015 Trump stated he "did not care" about Ukrainian NATO-membership.^[331] Trump believes good relations with Russia are essential as a means of preventing Russia and China from being driven closer together.^[334]

Speaking to the Yalta European Strategy conference in September 2015 Trump criticised Germany and other European countries for not doing enough to support Ukraine in its conflict with Russia and he claimed Ukrainians "they’re not being treated right.”^[331]

Endorsements

See also

• Republican Party presidential primaries, 2016
• Republican Party presidential candidates, 2016
• Republican Party presidential debates, 2016

Notes

References

Further reading

• Borchers, Callum (December 21, 2015). "Let's stop freaking out about MSNBC's Donald Trump documentary". Washington Post.
• Irvine, Don (December 22, 2015). "MSNBC Hoping for Ratings Gold with Tonight's "Citizen Trump" Documentary". Accuracy in Media.

External links

• Official website
• Donald Trump Presidential Campaign Announcement, June 16, 2015
• Donald Trump at the Family Leadership Summit, July 18, 2015