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A Year Of Trump: All Of These Things Really Happened

Valcy Etienne
Developer Donald Trump delivers remarks during his announcement that he will run for president of the United States, in the lobby of Trump Tower, New York, Tuesday, June 16, 2015. CREDIT: AP PHOTO/RICHARD DREW
Developer Donald Trump delivers remarks during his announcement that he will run for president of the United States, in the lobby of Trump Tower, New York, Tuesday, June 16, 2015. CREDIT: AP PHOTO/RICHARD DREW

On June 16, 2015, Donald Trump took an awkward escalator trip down a floor in Trump Tower and delivered the speech that officially launched his presidential campaign. In remarks that would set the tone for what was to come, Trump called Mexicans who illegally cross the border into the United States “rapists” who “are bringing drugs” into the country. To end this problem, Trump called for the construction of a border wall. He vowed to “make America great again.”

The 2016 election cycle would never be the same. Many, the Republican establishment included, failed to take trump seriously, but his distinctive brand of xenophobic nationalism resonated with disaffected voters. Despite pundits regularly predicting his demise, Trump won and won and won during the primary season. Now, with all of his Republican rivals vanquished and Congress’ two most powerful members lined up behind him, Trump is the presumptive nominee. The last person seemingly standing between the 70-year-old billionaire and the presidency is Hillary Clinton. (Or “Crooked Hillary,” as he calls her.)

It Has Been The ‘Beginning Of The End’ Of Donald Trump’s Campaign Since JulyPolitics by CREDIT: WashPost Donald Trump has led the Real Clear Politics national polling average for 91 straight days…thinkprogress.orgIt’s been one of the most remarkable years in the history of American politics. What follows is a timeline of the biggest highlights and lowlights.

June 16, 2015: Trump kicks off campaign with tirade against Mexican immigrants Donald Trump launches his campaign. In a speech that sets the tone for the next year, he rails against Mexican immigrants, claiming that they’re “bringing drugs, crime, and rapists” to America.

June 29, 2015: NBC cuts ties with Trump over incendiary remarksNBC cuts ties with Donald Trump by refusing to air the Miss USA and Miss Universe Pageants, citing Trump’s controversial campaign launch speech as grounds: “At NBC, respect and dignity for all people are cornerstones of our values. Due to the recent derogatory statements by Donald Trump regarding immigrants, NBC is ending its business relationship with Mr. Trump”.

July 18, 2015: Trump says McCain isn’t a war hero because he was captured

Donald Trump claims John McCain is “not a war hero” because he was captured during the Vietnam War. “He’s a war hero cause he was captured,” Trump said during the Family Leadership Summit. “I like people that weren’t captured.”

August 2, 2015: Trump says America won’t elect another black president

In an interview with ABC News, Trump claims Americans wouldn’t elect another black president for a long time because of Obama’s “poor standard”: “I think that he has set a very low bar and I think it’s a shame for the African American people.”

August 7, 2015: Trump declares war on Megyn Kelly, suggests she asked him a tough question because she was menstruating

In an interview, Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly grills Trump about his history of insults with women. He later tells CNN that those questions were “ridiculous” and she asked them because she had “blood coming out of her whatever”.

August 10, 2015: All other Republican candidates pledge to support Trump as nominee

Immediately before the first Republican presidential debate, a Fox News anchor asks the 10 leading candidates whether they would pledge support to the eventual nominee of the Republican party and not run an independent campaign against that person. All but Trump agree.August 21, 2015: Trump pledges to deport all 11 million undocumented immigrants and end birthright citizenship

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Trump announces his plan to deport the country’s 11 million undocumented immigrants and end birthright citizenship, a guarantee of the constitution’s 14th Amendment. His grounds? That American is the only country “stupid enough” to allow such a right.

August 25, 2015: Trump has bodyguards eject Hispanic journalist from press conference, tells him to “go back to Univision!”

At a press conference in Iowa, Donald Trump had his bodyguards forcibly remove Univision anchor Jorge Ramos from the room, yelling the words: “Go back to Univision!”

September 2, 2015: Trump says Jeb Bush should “set an example” and not speak Spanish while in the United States

Trump slams Jeb Bush for speaking Spanish on the campaign trail, telling Breitbart News that Jeb is “should really set the example by speaking English while in the United States.”

September 9, 2015: Trump mocks Carly Fiorina’s face

During an interview with Rolling Stone, Trump comments on the appearance of Carly Fiorina, the only woman competing for the Republican nomination.

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“Look at that face!” he says aloud. “Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?!”

This French Philosopher Is The Only One Who Can Explain The Donald Trump PhenomenonPolitics by CREDIT: Donald Trump has political pundits stumped. They’ve been predicting his imminent downfall for…thinkprogress.orgSeptember 20, 2015: Trump suggests Obama is foreign-born Muslim

Appearing via phone on several Sunday morning news broadcasts, Trump insinuates President Obama both was foreign-born and is a Muslim.

When the possibility Obama wasn’t born in America comes up, Trump said, “We need this question.” Regarding the possibility of a Muslim becoming president, Trump said, “I mean, some people have said it already happened, frankly.”

Trump refused to plainly state that Obama was born in America and is a Christian.

October 1, 2015: Trump pledges to deport all Syrian refugees

Trump claims that Syrian refugees could be using their migration as a “tactical ploy” to build up a large army and says that if he were elected president, he would send them back to their war-torn country. “Why are they migrating all over Europe?” he said at a rally in New Hampshire. “I’m putting the people on notice that are coming here from Syria as part of this mass migration, that if I win, they’re going back. They’re going back.”

October 4, 2015: Trump says there is nothing to do to prevent mass shootings because the shooters are “geniuses”

During a TV interview, Trump proclaims that mass shooting are inevitable and that shooters are “geniuses in a certain way.”

November 16, 2015: Trump suggests shutting down mosques in the United States

Calling in to MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Trump said he would “strongly consider” shutting down mosques in the U.S.

LIVE – Offsite Embedded PlayerEdit descriptionplayer.theplatform.comNovember 20, 2015: Trump proposes making all American Muslims register in a database

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Trump tells an NBC reporter that all American Muslims “have to be” required to registered in a database in the wake of deadly terror attacks in Paris and Beirut.

Trump Wants Database to Track Muslims – NBC NewsThe GOP presidential contender says the database would help block people from entering the U.S. illegally and he would…www.nbcnews.comNovember 22, 2015: Trump retweets a white supremacist’s fake, racist murder statistics

Donald Trump tweets a graphic with grossly inaccurate statistics about murders in the United States. Specifically, Trump’s graphic states that 81 percent of whites who are murdered are murdered by blacks when in fact the actual data shows it’s 14 percent.

November 26, 2015: Trump falsely claims claims that “thousands” of Muslims in New Jersey celebrated on 9/11, cites conspiracy website as proof

Donald Trump claims that “thousands and thousands” of Muslims in New Jersey were celebrating the fall of the Twin Towers on 9/11, which has been thoroughly debunked by multiple fact checkers. To corroborate his claim, he tweets a link to Infowars.com, a conspiracy website.

December 7, 2015: Trump calls for “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States”

Donald Trump releases a statement calling for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.”

December 15, 2015: Trump suggests closing off parts of the internet to fight ISIS since the internet was “our idea”

During a GOP debate, Trump proposes to close areas of the Internet to fight ISIS. When asked specifically how he planned to achieve this, Trump replied that he would seal off the internet from places at war with America, since the internet was “our idea.”

December 15, 2015: Trump proposes intentionally killing civilians, which is a war crime

During that same debate, Trump defended his plan to kill the family members of suspected terrorists on the basis that these individuals “know what is going on” with their relatives.

December 19, 2015: Trump spokesman brags that he wouldn’t be afraid to use the nuclear codes

During an interview on Fox News, Trump spokesperson Katrina Pierson didn’t rule out the use of nuclear weapons if Trump became President. Specifically, she said: “What good does it do to have a good nuclear triad if you’re afraid to use it?”

Meet The Protesters Who Just Shouted Down Donald Trump In Las VegasPolitics by & CREDIT: AP Photo/Richard Shiro LAS VEGAS, NV – Hotel mogul and GOP frontrunner Donald Trump had just…thinkprogress.orgJanuary 18, 2016: Trump holds campaign event on MLK day. Doesn’t mention MLK.

At a campaign event at Liberty University on Martin Luther King Day, Donald Trump neglects to honor King’s legacy. Instead, he self-congratulates himself on leading the polls.

January 24, 2016: Trump says he could shoot someone in the middle of the street and still win

Donald Trump boasts that he “could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, okay, and I wouldn’t lose any voters, okay?”

January 31, 2016: Trump attacks Supreme Court decision on marriage equality

Trump says he would “strongly consider” appointing Supreme Court judges who would overturn the court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage, stating in an interview with Fox News that, “I disagree with the Supreme Court … it should be a states’ rights issue. And that’s the way it should have been ruled on.”

February 1, 2016: Iowa organizer sues Trump for gender discrimination

Elizabeth Mae Davidson, a former paid organizer for Donald Trump, accuses his presidential campaign of sex discrimination. Specifically, the complaint claims that men doing the same work were paid more and given more responsibility, while her requests to do the same were discounted.

February 3, 2016: Trump comes in second in Iowa, accuses Cruz of cheating

In the wake of Trump’s second-place finish in Iowa, some Trump supporters circulated the idea that Cruz unfairly won the Iowa caucus. The allegation was that Cruz’s campaign sent an email to voters during the caucuses implying that Ben Carson was dropping out of the race, thereby persuading some Carson supporters to line up behind Cruz.

March 3, 2016: In debate, all remaining candidates reiterate pledge to support Trump as the nominee

During a GOP debate in Michigan, the remaining three Republican candidates candidates all unequivocally state they will support Trump should he win the nomination.

March 11, 2016: Trump says supporters punching protesters at his events is “very appropriate”

At a news conference, Trump said that getting protesters getting punched at his events is “very, very appropriate.”

March 15, 2016: Trump says he’s not really sexist, he just played a sexist on TVDuring an appearance on Fox News, a Trump spokeswoman said that in regard to Trump’s many sexist comments on the campaign trail, “I really don’t think this is going to be a problem. A lot of those statements [are] what Mr. Trump made as a television character, so I don’t think that some of that is going to stick.”

March 24, 2016: Trumps retweets unflattering photo of Ted Cruz’s wife

Trump retweets a meme featuring photos of Melania Trump and Heidi Cruz next to each other with the text, “No need to ‘spill the beans’… The images are worth a thousand words.” Cruz tries to take the high road by tweeting, “Donald, real men don’t attack women. Your wife is lovely, and Heidi is the love of my life.”

March 29, 2016: Trump’s campaign manager is charged with battery

Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s campaign manager, is charged with battery in response to a March 8th campaign event where a reporter alleges Lewandowski forcibly yanked her after she asked Trump a question.

March 30, 2016: Trump says women who get abortions need to be punished

During an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, Trump stated that he “wasn’t sure” what the punishment should be for women who get abortions — but that women who have abortions should definitely be subjected to some form of legal punishment. Shortly after, he issued a statement stating that he would leave the issue of punishment to the states.

After facing fierce criticism from both pro-choice and anti-abortion advocates, Trump walked back his controversial position, issuing a statement that doctors who perform illegal abortions — not women who receive abortions — should face punishment.

April 5, 2016: Trump details plan to make Mexico pay for border wall

Trump lays out a detailed immigration policy proposal in which he explains how he plans to make Mexico pay for a “beautiful” wall along the southern United States border and how he would cut off the flow of money that Mexican families send back to their home country Mexico by changing a rule under the USA Patriot Act anti-terrorism law.

April 26, 2016: Trump crushes in Northeast primaries

Donald Trump pulls off a clean sweep of the northeastern states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island and breaks 50 percent support in a reputable national poll of Republicans and Republican-leaners for the first time — making it ever clearer that he will become the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party.

May 3, 2016: Trump becomes presumptive GOP nominee after Cruz drops outSen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) drops out of the Presidential race after badly losing Indiana, a state that he staked his campaign on, which leaves Trump as the presumptive Republican nominee.

May 5, 2016: Trump reverses position on minimum wage, says he’s now open to raising it

In an interview with CNN, Trump changes his position on the minimum wage, stating that he is open to raising it. Previously he said definitively that he “would not” raise wages if elected president.

May 5, 2016: Trump panders to Latinos by tweeting a picture of him eating a taco bowl

In an effort to appeal to a group of people he’s alienated with his border wall proposal and denigration of immigrants, Trump tweets a photo of himself with a taco bowl on Cinco de Mayo.

May 9, 2016: Trump says he may have to increase taxes on the wealthy even though his actual tax plan has massive tax cuts for the wealthy

On CNN, Trump insists that his position on taxes had been “misrepresented” by the media and that “[e]verybody’s getting a tax cut, especially the middle class. I said I may have to increase it on the wealthy.”

May 11, 2016: Trump calls his plan to ban Muslims “just a suggestion”

During a radio interview with Brian Kilmeade, Trump softens his position on the Muslim ban, staying his proposal “hasn’t been called for yet” and is “just a suggestion.”

May 20, 2016: Trump vows to eliminate all “gun free zones”

Trump vows to get rid of “gun free zones” during the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting in Louisville, stating that “the Second Amendment is under a threat like never before.”

May 25, 2016: Trump lies about $1 million dollar donation to veterans group

In January 2016, Trump boycotted a Fox News debate in favor of hosting a fundraising event for veterans’ charities. Trump subsequently boasted that the event raised $5 million and that he had personally donated $1 million to veterans from his self-proclaimed $8.7 billion fortune — a $6 million haul in total.

In March, however, journalists uncovered that the veterans groups had only received a fraction of the money. Asked about this, he responded that “I don’t have the final numbers, but the money we raised for veterans has been mostly distributed. We’re looking for some other really worthy places to distribute the final [funds] … But for the most part, it has been distributed. We raised millions of dollars.” After receiving harsh criticism, he eventually gave the $1 million to the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation. His excuse for the delay? “You have a lot of vetting to do.”

May 26, 2016: Trump says North Carolina anti-trans law is OK with him

During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel’s show, Trump repeatedly refuses to detail his personal beliefs about whether transgender people should be able to use bathroom corresponding with their gender identity, but says he sees no reason for the federal government to get involved in state-level regulations like North Carolina’s HB2 bill.

June 2, 2016: Speaker Paul Ryan endorses Trump

After being critical at times during the primary, House Speaker Paul Ryan endorses Trump, meaning Congress’ two highest rankings Republicans have both now pledged to support his candidacy.

June 3, 2016: Trump attacks federal judge, says “Mexican heritage” is “an inherent conflict of interest”

Trump makes the claim that federal Judge Gonzalo Curiel isn’t qualified to preside over the trial brought by several individuals who believe they were scammed by Trump University the basis that Curiel, who was born in Indiana to immigrants from Mexico, is “of Mexican heritage” and therefore has “an inherent conflict of interest.”

June 4, 2016: Trump touts black support with fake photo

Trump tweets a photo of an African-American family to highlight his support among black voters, suggesting that it was taken at a Trump event. In reality, the photo was taken at the “The 27th annual Midwest Black Family Reunion” held in Ohio in August 2015.

June 5, 2016: Trump says Muslims are also unable to be fair judges

In an interview with Face the Nation, Trump claims that Muslims judges wouldn’t be able to treat Trump fairly either.

June 7, 2016: Trump says he’s the one who “really broke the glass ceiling on behalf of women”

In an interview with Fox News, Donald Trump states that he was the one who “really broke the glass ceiling on behalf of women more than anybody in the construction industry,” figuring part of larger push in which Trump has tried to portray himself as a nonsexist by focusing on how he has hired women to work in executive roles at his businesses.

June 12, 2016: Trump reacts to Orlando massacre, “appreciate the congrats”

Hours after expressing gratitude toward the people who said he was “right about radical Islamic terrorism,” Trump released a statement that said that “[t]he terrorist, Omar Mir Saddique Mateen, is the son of an immigrant from Afghanistan,” and that “[w]e admit more than 100,000 lifetime migrants from the Middle East each year. Since 9/11, hundreds of migrants and their children have been implicated in terrorism in the United States” essentially blaming Muslim for the Orlando shooting.

June 15, 2016: Trump accuses Obama of being in league with ISIS

During an appearance on Fox News, Trump implied that Obama could have stopped the massacre in Orlando, but didn’t explicitly state out how and why. The next day, he tweets an accusation that the president is in league with ISIS and cites an article on Breitbart, which cites a 2012 Defense Intelligence Agency memo as proof. That theory, however, has been widely debunked.