Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016
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This page was current as of the 2016 election.
- See also: Donald Trump
Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election. He was the 2016 Republican nominee for president of the United States. He declared his candidacy on June 16, 2015, and officially received the nomination of the Republican Party on July 19, 2016, at the Republican National Convention.
A New York-based real estate developer, author, chairman of The Trump Organization, and former executive producer of “The Apprentice”— a reality television show in which he also starred—Trump had never before sought or held elected public office prior to his 2016 run, though he flirted with political bids off and on between the late 1980s and 2015. He became more active in national politics in 2011 when he began publicly questioning whether Barack Obama was a natural citizen. That same year, Trump indicated some interest in seeking the Republican nomination for president but ultimately declined to run.
Trump’s candidacy for the Republican nomination in 2016 was initially seen as something of a long shot, but the New York businessman’s outsider status, mastery of the media, and no-holds-barred campaign style propelled him to the front of the field. Trump racked up victories in key early states, and by May the race had dwindled from more than a dozen candidates to three: Trump, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, and Ohio Governor John Kasich. After a critical victory in Indiana on May 3, Cruz and Kasich dropped out, leaving Trump unchallenged for the nomination. When the dust settled, 13.3 million primary voters had backed Trump, a new record in the history of Republican primaries.
Featured page
The featured page on Trump is History of Donald Trump's political donations.
For more information about Trump's political donations, visit this page.
Trump on domestic affairs
Trump’s domestic platform focused heavily on immigration and scaling back environmental regulations. He proposed strengthening U.S. immigration laws. He pushed for the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, the costs of which he says the Mexican government will cover. During the Republican primaries, he called for the deportation of all undocumented immigrants living in the U.S.—about 11 million people—but in August 2016 he suggested that those who have not committed crimes could possibly be allowed to stay if they paid back taxes. Trump advocated rescinding and reforming environmental regulations supported by the Obama administration and has called climate change “a total hoax.” He supported repealing the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, and proposed his own healthcare reform plan.
The NRA endorsed Trump, and he voiced opposition to gun-free zones, such as in schools. On social and cultural issues, Trump vowed to nominate judges opposed to abortion and once suggested that women who have abortions should be punished. Trump also stated that while he opposes abortion, he believes there should be exceptions in the case of rape, incest, and risks to the mother’s life. He said that he supports “traditional marriage” and argued that states should decide whether transgender people should use restrooms corresponding to their gender identity.
Trump on economic affairs and government regulations
Trump supported cutting taxes at all levels, and his opposition to international free-trade deals was a trademark of his campaign. His tax proposals included cuts at all income levels, an end to the estate tax, and a tax deduction for childcare expenses. He called international trade deals like NAFTA and TPP “a disaster” and pushed for increased tariffs on imports. Trump voiced support for raising the minimum wage to $10 an hour but also said that changes to the minimum wage should happen at the state level. He was critical of financial regulatory legislation such as Dodd-Frank, which he called “terrible.” He called government regulations, in general, a “stealth tax.”
Trump on foreign affairs and national security
Trump promoted what he calls an “America First” approach to foreign affairs and national security. This approach involved potentially reassessing U.S. commitments to NATO countries, a more aggressive foreign policy in the fight against the Islamic State and in the war on terror, and increases in military spending. Trump called for a ban on Muslims entering the country from nations with “a history of exporting terrorism,” and he advocated for what he calls “extreme vetting” of Muslims visiting the U.S. Trump voiced support for using enhanced interrogation techniques such as waterboarding, and he criticized the Iran deal, calling it a “bad deal.” Trump also called for improving U.S. relations with Russia by finding “common ground” in the fight against the Islamic State.
Polls
| Clinton-Trump 2016 head-to-head presidential polls (September-October 2016) | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll |  Hillary Clinton |
 Donald Trump | Unsure or Other | Margin of Error | Sample Size | ||||||||||||||
| Quinnipiac October 17-18, 2016 | 50% | 44% | 6% | +/-3.1 | 1,007 | ||||||||||||||
| Economist/YouGov October 15-18, 2016 | 47% | 43% | 10% | +/-3.9 | 925 | ||||||||||||||
| Fox News October 15-17, 2016 | 49% | 42% | 9% | +/-3 | 912 | ||||||||||||||
| Bloomberg October 14-17, 2016 | 50% | 41% | 9% | +/-3.1 | 1,006 | ||||||||||||||
| Monmouth October 14-16, 2016 | 53% | 41% | 6% | +/-3.6 | 726 | ||||||||||||||
| CBS News October 12-16, 2016 | 51% | 40% | 9% | +/-3 | 1,189 | ||||||||||||||
| NBC News/SurveyMonkey October 10-16, 2016 | 51% | 43% | 6% | +/-1 | 24,804 | ||||||||||||||
| ABC News/Washington Post October 10-13, 2016 | 50% | 46% | 4% | +/-4 | 740 | ||||||||||||||
| NBC News/Wall St. Journal October 10-13, 2016 | 51% | 41% | 8% | +/-3.3 | 905 | ||||||||||||||
| Fox News October 10-12, 2016 | 49% | 41% | 10% | +/-3 | 917 | ||||||||||||||
| NBC News/Wall Street Journal October 8-10, 2016 | 50% | 40% | 10% | +/-3.5 | 806 | ||||||||||||||
| Reuters/Ipsos October 6-10, 2016 | 44% | 37% | 19% | +/-2.2 | 2,363 | ||||||||||||||
| PRRI/The Atlantic October 5-9, 2016 | 49% | 38% | 13% | +/-3.9 | 886 | ||||||||||||||
| NBC News/SurveyMonkey October 3-9, 2016 | 51% | 44% | 5% | +/-1 | 23,329 | ||||||||||||||
| Economist/YouGov October 7-8, 2016 | 48% | 43% | 9% | +/-4.2 | 971 | ||||||||||||||
| Quinnipiac October 5-6, 2016 | 50% | 44% | 6% | +/-3 | 1,064 | ||||||||||||||
| Fox News October 3-6, 2016 | 48% | 44% | 8% | +/-3 | 896 | ||||||||||||||
| Economist/YouGov October 1-October 3, 2016 | 48% | 43% | 9% | +/-3.9 | 911 | ||||||||||||||
| Reuters/Ipsos September 29-October 3, 2016 | 44% | 37% | 19% | +/-3.2 | 1,239 | ||||||||||||||
| CBS News September 28-October 2, 2016 | 49% | 43% | 8% | +/-4 | 1,217 | ||||||||||||||
| CNN/ORC September 28-October 2, 2016 | 51% | 45% | 4% | +/-3 | 1,213 | ||||||||||||||
| NBC News/SurveyMonkey September 26-October 2, 2016 | 50% | 44% | 6% | +/-1 | 26,925 | ||||||||||||||
| Fox News September 27-29, 2016 | 49% | 44% | 7% | +/-3 | 911 | ||||||||||||||
| Public Policy Polling September 27-28, 2016 | 49% | 45% | 6% | +/-3.2 | 933 | ||||||||||||||
| Reuters/Ipsos September 22-26, 2016 | 44% | 38% | 18% | +/-3.5 | 1,041 | ||||||||||||||
| Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Campaign advisors and staff
Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign saw a number of hirings and staff departures, beginning even before Trump announced his candidacy. The most notable of these campaign shifts came in March 2016 when Paul Manafort was hired as the campaign's convention manager. Manafort's hiring, seen in the press as a demotion for then-campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, began a series of disputes within the Trump campaign over who would direct the campaign's strategy and personnel decisions. In May 2016, Manafort was promoted to campaign chair and chief strategist; Lewandowski was fired from the campaign on June 20, 2016. Manafort then resigned in August 2016, two days after the Trump campaign hired Breitbart News executive Steve Bannon as campaign chief executive and promoted pollster Kellyanne Conway to campaign manager.
The following timeline details some of the highlights of Trump's staff hires and dismissals throughout the campaign.
For more information about the Trump campaign, visit Donald Trump presidential campaign key staff and advisors, 2016 and Donald Trump presidential campaign staff tensions.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Donald + Trump + 2016
See also
- Presidential election, 2016
- Presidential candidates, 2016
- Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2016
- Gary Johnson presidential campaign, 2016
- Jill Stein presidential campaign, 2016
External links
Footnotes
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