Trump's Election Campaigns

Donald Trump 2000 presidential campaign

Donald Trump's presidential campaign of 2000 for the nomination of the Reform Party began when real estate magnate Donald Trump of New York announced the creation of a presidential exploratory committee on the October 8, 1999 edition of Larry King Live. Although Trump had never held elected office, he was well known for his frequent comments on public affairs and business exploits as head of The Trump Organization. He had previously considered a presidential run in 1988 as a Republican, but chose not to run. For 2000, Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura persuaded Trump to seek the presidential nomination of the Reform Party, which was fracturing despite achieving ballot access and qualifying for matching funds as a result of the 1996 presidential campaign of businessman Ross Perot. Trump's entrance into the Reform Party race coincided with that of paleoconservative commentator Pat Buchanan.

Trump focused his campaign on the issues of fair trade, eliminating the national debt, and achieving universal healthcare as outlined in the campaign companion piece The America We Deserve, released in January 2000. He named media proprietor Oprah Winfrey as his ideal running mate and said he would instantly marry his girlfriend, Melania Knauss, to make her First Lady. Critics questioned the seriousness of Trump's campaign and speculated that it was a tactic to strengthen his brand and sell books. Trump defended his candidacy as a serious endeavor and proclaimed that he had a chance to win the election. Although he never expanded the campaign beyond the exploratory phase, Trump made numerous media appearances as a candidate, traveled to campaign events in Florida, California, and Minnesota, and qualified for two presidential primaries. Veteran campaign strategist and longtime Trump aide Roger Stone was hired as director of the exploratory committee.

Internal conflict caused Ventura to exit the Reform Party in February 2000, removing Trump's most vocal proponent. Trump officially ended his campaign on the February 14, 2000 airing of The Today Show. Although he believed he could still win the Reform Party presidential nomination, he felt the party was too dysfunctional to support his campaign and enable a win in the general election. A poll matching Trump against likely Republican nominee George W. Bush and likely Democratic nominee Al Gore showed Trump with seven percent support. Despite his withdrawal, Trump won both primaries for which he qualified. Buchanan would go on to win the nomination.

After the election, Trump gained greater fame as the host of The Apprentice. He seriously considered running as a Republican in the 2012 presidential election but decided against it. Four years later, he initiated a full-scale presidential campaign, became the Republican Party's 2016 presidential nominee and was elected the 45th president of the United States.

Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign

Mr Trump had repeatedly slammed his campaign rival as "crooked" during their bruising campaign.

Claiming victory, the president-elect said it was time to "heal the divisions" caused by the campaign and find common ground.

"It is time for us to come together as one united people,"he said

Mr Trump also spoke of his "great economic plan" and foreign relations.

"We will double our growth and have the strongest economy anywhere in the world. At the same time we will get along with all other nations, willing to get along with us,"he said.

Mr Trump moved on to thank his family, to loud cheers from the crowd.

"I love you and I thank you… this political stuff is nasty and it's tough," he said.

Mr Trump finalised the speech by vowing to do a "great job" as president.

"It's been what they call a historic event. But to be really historic, we have to do a great job. And I promise you that I will not let you down."

Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign

President-elect Donald Trump told us over and over again during the campaign trail that he will "Make America Great Again."

We saw that slogan on hats, T-shirts and flags, heard it countless times in Trump speeches and saw it pop up regularly in Trump tweets.

And now, Trump is already thinking about his slogan for a possible re-election campaign in 2020, and it looks like it will be "Keep America Great!"

Trump's predecessors merged their campaign committees into their party's committee following their election victories. Following his 2016 election victory, Trump eschewed this presidential tradition and retained a separate campaign committee which continued raising funds. In December 2016, the campaign raised $11 million. These moves indicated that Trump was already eyeing a 2020 run.

Trump started spending money on the 2020 race on November 24, 2016 (sixteen days after the end of the 2016 election). The earliest campaign disbursement that his committees reported was spent towards the 2020 presidential primaries was for the purchase of a Delta Air Lines ticket on this date.

Trump officially filed his reelection campaign with the FEC on January 20, 2017, the day of his inauguration. Trump launched his reelection campaign earlier in his presidency than his predecessors did. Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan all declared their candidacies for reelection in the third year of their presidencies. Trump filed the papers for his reelection campaign approximately 47 months prior to the date of the election. In contrast, both Reagan and George H. W. Bush filed approximately twelve months, George W. Bush filed approximately eighteen, and both Clinton and Obama filed approximately nineteen months prior to the date of the election.

While previous presidents had held rallies in the early days of their presidency to garner support for legislation, such rallies differed from those held by Trump in that they were funded by the White House rather than by campaign committees. One of the advantages of having his campaign committee fund the events is that organizers can more discriminately screen attendees, refusing entry to non-supporters. Trump's February rally in Melbourne, Florida, was the earliest campaign rally for an incumbent president.

By filing for his campaign as early as he did, Trump gave also himself a head start on fundraising. This can theoretically help discourage primary challengers.

Trump will be 74 years old by election day 2020. This would make Trump the oldest-ever presidential nominee on a major party ticket, surpassing Ronald Reagan and Bob Dole, both of whom were age 73 when they were the Republican Party nominees in 1984 and 1996, respectively.

Since his three predecessors (Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama) won reelection, if Trump is reelected, it would be the first time in American history that there have been four consecutive presidents who were elected to two terms. If Trump completed his second term on January 20, 2025, he would be 78 years old and would have become the oldest person to serve as president, surpassing Ronald Reagan (who was 77 when he left office in 1989).