Happy birthday Trump: How he made America great
OAN’s Noah Herring, Sophia Flores, Brooke Mallory
4:55 PM – Saturday, June 14, 2025
Today, at One America News, we gather to honor and commemorate the 79th birthday of a president who has etched his name in the chronicles of American history with a lengthy list of life events and notable accomplishments.
Donald John Trump was born on June 14th, 1946, to Fred Trump, an American real-estate developer and businessman, and Mary Anne MacLeod, a Scottish immigrant and domestic worker. Donald Trump was born at the Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in Queens, New York. He is the fourth of five children.
Growing up, Donald went to the private Kew-Forest School from kindergarten until seventh grade. When he turned 13, he was enrolled at the private boarding school, New York Military Academy. During college, he studied at New York City’s Fordham University.
Two years in, he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Finance and Commerce. Trump graduated in 1968 with a bachelor’s degree in economics.
After completing college, Donald joined his father’s company, which was originally named E. Trump & Son. The real-estate company, whose name was later changed to the Trump Organization, built and sold thousands of apartments and houses in Queens and Brooklyn. Donald’s real estate career took off when he made the company’s first venture into Manhattan in 1978.
In 1980, Trump made one of his most famous purchases by obtaining the rights to develop Trump Tower, a building that currently houses the Trump Corporation and what was considered his primary residence until 2019.
As of 2025, the Trump Organization maintains over 30 properties in the United States and at least 16 golf courses around the world.
Trump married his first wife Ivana Trump in 1977. Together, the couple had three children. Their first child, Donald Trump Jr., was born on December 31st, 1977. Their only daughter, Ivanka Trump was born on October 30th, 1981. Their youngest son, Eric Trump, was born on January 6th, 1984. Trump’s three oldest children would eventually grow up to work in the family business.
Donald and Ivana divorced in 1990, and in 1993, Trump married Marla Maples. The two had one daughter together, named Tiffany Trump. She was born on October 13th, 1993. Their marriage lasted until 1999.
The New York native then married Melania Trump in 2005. The couple are parents to Barron Trump, who was born on March 20th, 2006.
Trump has eleven grandchildren. His son Donald Jr. has five children, his daughter Ivanka has three, his son Eric has two, and his daughter Tiffany recently had her first child, Alexander Trump Boulos, on May 15, 2025.
In addition to working for the family company, Trump’s three oldest children were frequent guest judges and mentors on his hit show, The Apprentice. The Apprentice, which premiered in 2004, was a reality television show that judged its contestants’ business skills. The winner of each season received a one-year $250,000 contract to work at one of Donald Trump’s properties. The program was wildly successful, and a spinoff, The Celebrity Apprentice, then commenced in 2008. The show introduced Trump’s famous catchphrase: “you’re fired.”
Trump was a frequent face on small and big screens. One of his most memorable movie appearances was in “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.”
The scene he was featured in was also shot in his hotel, the Plaza Hotel.
For years, Trump had teased a presidential bid. However, he was not fully committed to the idea of being in office. In 1988, Trump addressed the idea while on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
“I just probably wouldn’t do it, Oprah,” Trump said. “I probably wouldn’t, but I do get tired of seeing what’s happening with this country, and if it got so bad, I would never want to rule it out totally, because I really am tired of seeing what’s happening with this country, how we’re really making other people live like kings, and we’re not,” Trump said.
On June 16, 2015, Donald Trump would soon change America forever as he rode down the “famous escalator” at Trump Tower to give a speech announcing his candidacy as President of the United States.
Trump focused his speech on implementing policies that would boost the economy, as well as cracking down on illegal immigration.
Almost a year later, Trump hailed a demanding win over the rest of the GOP field in the 2016 Presidential Republican Primary election.
On July 19, 2016, Trump became the official Republican Party nominee for president. In his general election against Hillary Clinton, Trump defied all odds, winning the election with a total of 304 electoral votes to Clinton’s 227. Hillary Clinton had been given between a 75% and 99% chance of winning days before the election. Despite this gap in polling, almost 63 million American voters decided that they wanted change, electing a candidate who did not have a past in politics and with an “America-first” mindset.
On January 20, 2017, Trump took the oath of office from Chief Justice John Roberts, marking the start of his presidency that changed America forever.
“Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs will be made to benefit American workers and American families. We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies and destroying our jobs. Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength,” Trump said during his inaugural speech. “I will fight for you with every breath in my body, and I will never, ever let you down. America will start winning again, winning like never before. We will bring back our jobs. We will bring back our borders. We will bring back our wealth, and we will bring back our dreams.”
During the next four years, Trump stood by his promises that were made during his campaign.
This started with the “unprecedented economic boom” that America experienced during his presidency. During this time, America gained seven million new jobs, middle-class income increased by nearly $6,000, the unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, and income rose in every metro area in the United States for the first time in nearly three decades.
Trump also, “delivered a future of greater promise and opportunity for citizens of all backgrounds.” Unemployment for Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, veterans, individuals with disabilities, and those without a high school diploma all reached record lows. Nearly seven million people were lifted off food stamps, poverty rates for Black American and Hispanic Americans reached record lows, and the bottom 50% of American households saw a 40% increase in net worth.
He delivered on his promise to bring jobs back to America having created more than 1.2 million manufacturing and construction jobs, he put policies in place to bring back supply chains from overseas, and broke small business optimism records in 2018.
Trump also delivered on his promise to secure the southern border, starting with the border wall. Trump built over 400 miles of the wall across the southern border, deployed almost 5,000 troops to secure the border, prompted Mexico to deploy thousands of soldiers to secure their side of the border, and entered a “historic partnership” with Mexico to safely return asylum-seekers to Mexico while awaiting hearings in the United States.
The former president surprised many critics by restoring “American leadership abroad” by securing $400 billion in increases in defense spending from NATO allies, returned 56 hostages and detainees from more than 24 countries, saw Allies including Japan and South Korea increase “burden-sharing,” withdrew from the Iran Nuclear deal, and was also the first president to meet with a leader of North Korea, securing peace, in the midst of high tensions.
He heavily supported Israel and recognized Jerusalem as the capital, moving the American Embassy to the city.
Throughout his time as president, Trump was committed to accomplishing his promises, sticking up for the American people, and vowing to “Make America Great Again.”
Leading up to his re-election bid in 2020, Trump was in the midst of handling the COVID-19 pandemic and bringing stability back to the economy. In a controversial election against Joe Biden, Americans showed up to the polls in a record turnout. Joe Biden reportedly received 81 million votes to Trump’s 74 million, winning the electoral vote 306-232.
For months following the 2020 election, controversy arose around whether or not Biden won the election. Trump and many Republicans claimed that the election was fraudulently won with the corruption of voting machines and mail-in ballots. America now had to wait to have another chance of putting Trump back in the Oval Office.
Following Trump’s rally and speech at the White House Ellipse, pro-Trump protesters entered the U.S. Capitol as members of Congress met to certify the Electoral College results of the 2020 presidential election. However, Trump tweeted his feelings regarding the event, maintaining that he hoped his supporters could peacefully make their voices heard.
“We have come to demand that Congress do the right thing and only count the electors who have been lawfully slated, lawfully slated. I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard…”
Online videos also showed Capitol police opening and holding the door open for the January 6th protesters.
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