Skip to content
Subscribe

10 Facts About Donald Trump You Didn't Know

10 Facts About Donald Trump You Didn't Know
Published:

1. 2016 Wasn't The First Time Donald Trump Ran for President

In 2012, Donald Trump made a brief appearance in the Republican primary, dipping his toe into the water, so to speak, and getting an idea for what it would be like to run. He formed an exploratory committee and even polled in second place behind Mitt Romney very early on in 2011 before bowing out, probably because he knew better than to try to run against Barack Obama's re-election campaign.

2. 2012 Wasn't The First Time He Ran for President Either

In 2000, Donald Trump ran for the presidential nomination of the Reform Party, announcing his exploratory committee for the bid in October 1999 on Larry King Live. It was a good year for the Reform Party because Ross Perot's 1996 vote totals qualified it for federal matching funds and ballot access. Trump eventually dropped out of the race despite strong showings in Michigan and California, and Pat Buchanan went on to receive the nomination.

3. 2000 Wasn't The First Time Trump Thought About Running For President

In 1987, Republican political organizer Mike Dunbar, unimpressed with the slate of GOP candidates, started the Draft Trump campaign and talked Donald Trump into speaking at an even for Republican candidates in New Hampshire. People thought Trump might run when he took out full page ads in major newspapers with the heading: "There’s nothing wrong with America’s Foreign Defense Policy that a little backbone can’t cure."

4. Donald Trump Used to Be A Democrat

At the time Dunbar was talking to Trump about running for the Republican presidential nomination, he was actually a registered Democrat. Because he was not only receptive, but very interested in the idea of running for president at the time, Trump switched parties and registered as a Republican in the summer of 1987.

5. Trump Wanted Oprah Winfrey to Be His Vice President

When he ran for the Reform Party presidential nomination in 2000, Donald Trump announced his proposed cabinet would include Oprah Winfrey as vice president, Colin Powell as secretary of state (who would go on to serve that role in the Bush administration), former General Electric CEO Jack Welch as secretary of the Treasury, John McCain as secretary of defense, and US Rep. Charlie Rangel as secretary of HUD.

6. In 1999, Trump Wanted To Wipe Out The National Debt With A One-Time Tax on The Wealthiest Americans

In 1999, Trump proposed a one-time tax of 14.25% on individuals with a net worth $10 million or more and claimed that it would raise $5.7 trillion, which can wipe out the national debt.

7. Trump Is A Penny Pincher

SPY Magazine once did an experiment and sent several of the world’s richest people checks for just 13 cents each to see if anybody would actually cash them. The only ones who did were a wealthy arms dealer – and Donald Trump.

8. Donald Trump's Agent Told Him Not To Do "The Apprentice"

Donald's agent told him not to do The Apprentice because "business shows never work." Trump fired the agent shortly after the show took off. Trump would go on to make $375,000 per episode of the show, and after six seasons, signed on for The Celebrity Apprentice.

9. Donald Trump Has Never Used an ATM Machine

It's true. The current president of the United States has never used an ATM machine. At least that's what he claimed once on an appearance with Conan O'Brien. He probably just has an assistant run to the bank for him.

10. Donald Trump Has Never Had a Drink of Alcohol in His Life

A lot of people claim they could have become billionaire real estate and television celebrity moguls if only they had received a million dollar loan from a rich father, but what many people don't know is that, Donald Trump had an older brother with the same advantages as him, but Donald made it all the way to the White House in life, and his brother, Fred Trump, died from alcoholism almost 40 years ago(!) in 1981. Donald learned from his brother's mistakes and never drank, smoked cigarettes, or did drugs once in his life. He had a zeal for achievement, not bad habits and fleeting pleasures.

Adhere to the IVN etiquette

By posting a comment, you agree to adhere to our etiquette rules: No partisan attacks, no personal attacks, substantiate your sources, no self-promotion.

Contact IVN

Questions about this article or our coverage? Send us a message. A free IVN member account is required.

Message sent

Thanks, we’ll review it and get back to you if needed.

Message not sent

Sorry, something went wrong. Please try again.

Sign in to send a message

Messages are tied to your IVN member account. Signing in is free and takes a few seconds.

Contact IVN

Questions about this article or our coverage? Send us a message. A free IVN member account is required.

Message sent

Thanks, we’ll review it and get back to you if needed.

Message not sent

Sorry, something went wrong. Please try again.

Sign in to send a message

Messages are tied to your IVN member account. Signing in is free and takes a few seconds.

Republish this article

Republishing guidelines

Republish IVN articles for free. Independent Voter News articles may be republished online or in print under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 license, on these terms:

  1. Credit the author and IVN. Keep the byline ("By Author Name, Independent Voter News") and the attribution note at the end, which links to the original.
  2. Keep the meaning. You may update time and place references and apply your house style. You may trim for length, as long as the cuts don't change the meaning or misrepresent the author. Keep the headline. Mark any additions as your own (for example "Additional reporting by ...").
  3. Translations are welcome. Translate faithfully, add "Translated from English by [your outlet]", and tell us at editor@ivn.us.
  4. Keep the links, including the link to the original article.
  5. Keep the tracking image. The HTML includes a 1-pixel image that counts readers on your page. It collects no personal information.
  6. Photos and illustrations. Images credited to IVN may be used with this article only. Images credited to others (AP, Getty, Unsplash, Wikimedia and so on) stay under their owners' terms. Secure the rights or switch "Include images" off.
  7. Don't sell it. You can't sell our articles or sell ads specifically against them. Your normal site advertising is fine.
  8. No implied endorsement. Don't suggest that IVN or the author endorses you, your candidates or your causes, or that donations to you support IVN.
  9. Keep labels. Opinion or analysis pieces keep that label.
  10. Point search engines to the original. Where your CMS allows, set the canonical URL to the original IVN article.
  11. No bulk or automated republishing, and don't submit our articles to aggregators (Apple News, Google News, MSN) as your own.
  12. Corrections and removals. Update your copy when we correct it, and remove it promptly if we ask. We'll contact you at the email you give us.
  13. Questions or print republication: editor@ivn.us.

IVN staff: fill in who you're inviting above, then create the invite.

Preparing the article

10 Facts About Donald Trump You Didn't Know

Choose a format
  • HTML
  • Email HTML
  • Markdown
  • Formatted (.docx)
  • Plain text
  • WordPress blocks
  • PDF
Choose a platform

Photos credited to others need their owners' permission.

To for

Republishing somewhere else? Questions? editor@ivn.us