How He Got Here: Trump’s Key Life Moments

Politics

How He Got Here: Trump’s Key Life Moments

The Donald's education, business and personal history in a nutshell

Donald Trump is set to accept the Republican Party's nomination for president in Cleveland on Thursday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)

By Ryan Kelly

Posted July 18, 2016 at 1:39pm

The man poised this week to officially become the 2016 Republican nominee for president has a colorful past, including a college switch, several marriages and business ups and downs.

Here’s a brief history of Donald Trump’s life.

Convention_Moments_Card-Trump-(FINAL)

Get breaking news alerts and more from Roll Call on your iPhone or your Android.

Recent Stories

John Thune conducts a news conference at the Capitol in May, surrounded by his leadership lieutenants. As the midterms approach, the Senate majority leader is looking back on his first year and a half on the job.

Inside John Thune’s arithmetic

Rogers arrives for the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the Defense Department budget on May 12. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Rogers earmarks money for nonprofits he helped launch

Republican Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, dives to tag out Democratic Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., at third base during the Congressional Baseball Game at Nationals Park on June 10, 2026.

Sporting it out — Congressional Hits and Misses

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche leaves the vice president’s office in the Senate Reception Room to meet with Republican senators in the Mansfield Room in May.

Court extends block on ‘anti-weaponization’ fund

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., standing at center, and other senators pose for photos with staffers in the Ohio Clock Corridor of the Capitol during the annual Seersucker Thursday. Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Adam B. Schiff, D-Calif., Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., Susan Collins, R-Maine, Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., also appear.

Photos of the week | June 5-11, 2026

President Donald Trump is seen after speaking during a Small Business Summit in the East Room of the White House on May 4.