Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign
The 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump was formally launched on June 16, 2015, at Trump Tower in New York City. Trump was the Republican nominee for President of the United States in the 2016 election, having won the most state primaries, caucuses, and delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention.[19] He chose Mike Pence, the sitting governor of Indiana, as his vice presidential running mate. On November 8, 2016, Trump and Pence were elected president and vice president of the United States. Trump's populist[20][21] positions in opposition to illegal immigration and various trade agreements, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership,[22][23][24][25] earned him support especially among voters who were male, white,[26] blue-collar, working class, and those without college degrees.[27][28] Many voters in the Rust Belt, who gave Trump the electoral votes needed to win the presidency, switched from supporting Bernie Sanders to Trump after Hillary Clinton won the Democratic nomination.[29][30]
Donald Trump for President 2016
Donald Trump
Chairman of The Trump Organization
(1971–2017)
Mike Pence
50th Governor of Indiana
(2013–2017)[1]
- Announced: June 16, 2015
- Presumptive nominee: May 3, 2016[a]
- Official nominee: July 19, 2016
- Won election: November 9, 2016
- Inaugurated: January 20, 2017
Steve Bannon (Chief executive)
Kellyanne Conway (Campaign manager)
David Bossie (Deputy campaign manager)
Michael Glassner (campaign manager)
Jason Miller (Communications director)
Katrina Pierson (National spokesperson)
Hope Hicks (Press secretary)
Dan Scavino (Director of social media)
Ben Carson (VP Selection Committee Leader)
Jeff Sessions (Chairman of National Security Committee)
Michael Flynn (Military Advisor)
Omarosa Manigault (Director of African American Outreach)
Tony Fabrizio (Pollster)[3]
Rudy Giuliani (Senior Advisor)
David Urban (Senior Advisor)[4]
Chris Christie (White House Transition Chairman)[5]
Bill Palatucci (White House Transition Coordinator)
Michael Cohen (Special Counsel)
Arthur Culvahouse (VP Vetter)
Sam Clovis (National Co-chair)[6]
Brad Parscale (Digital director) Steven Cheung (Rapid Response Director)[7]
Roger Ailes (Debate Advisor)[8]
Boris Epshteyn (Senior Advisor)[9]
Anthony Scaramucci (Finance Committee)[10]
George Papadopoulos (Foreign Policy Advisor)[11]
Patrick Caddell (adviser)[12][13][14]
Corey Lewandowski (Campaign manager; left campaign on June 20, 2016)
Roger Stone (Political adviser; left campaign on August 8, 2015)
Sam Nunberg (Political adviser; left campaign on August 3, 2015)[15]
Paul Manafort (Campaign chairman; left campaign on August 19, 2016)
Rick Gates (Deputy Campaign Chairman; left campaign in August 2016)
Michael Caputo (Head of Communications; left campaign on June 20, 2016)[16]
Carter Page (Foreign Policy Advisor; left campaign on September 24, 2016)[17]
US$350,668,435.70[18] (December 31, 2016)
Make America Great Again
Lock Her Up
Build the wall
Make America One Again
Make America Proud Again
Make America Safe Again
Make America Strong Again
Make America Work Again
Make Manufacturing Great Again
The Silent Majority Stands with Trump
Trump Digs Coal
- "America First"
- "I'm With You"
- "Build That Wall"
- "Trump!"
- "USA!"
- "Lock Her Up"
- "CNN Sucks"
- "Drain the swamp"
Many of Trump's remarks were controversial and helped his campaign garner extensive coverage by the mainstream media, trending topics, and social media.[31][32] Trump's campaign rallies attracted large crowds as well as public controversy. Some of the events were marked by incidents of violence between Trump supporters and protesters, mistreatment of some journalists, and disruption by a large group of protesters who effectively shut down a major rally in Chicago. Trump himself was accused[33] of inciting violence at his rallies.[34][35][36]
Trump's disdain for political correctness was a staple theme of his campaign and proved popular among his supporters.[37] Many, including some mainstream commentators and some prominent Republicans, viewed him as appealing to racism,[38] a charge that Trump has repeatedly denied.[39] Trump's most polarizing and widely reported proposals were about issues of immigration and border security, especially his proposed deportation of all illegal immigrants, the proposed construction of a substantial wall on the Mexico–United States border at Mexican expense, his characterizations of many illegal Mexican immigrants as "criminals, drug dealers, rapists, etc",[40][41][42][43] and a temporary ban on foreign Muslims entering the U.S. After considerable backlash, he later modified the "Trump travel ban" to apply to people originating from countries which he described as having a history of terrorism against the United States or its allies.[44][45] This was also criticized for excluding countries which the U.S. has significant financial ties with, such as Saudi Arabia.[46][47]
Opposition to Trump grew during his campaign among both Republicans (who viewed Trump as irrevocably damaging to the party and its chances of winning elections during and after 2016, leading to the coalescence of the Stop Trump movement) and Democrats (who decried Trump's anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim policies, his behavior toward critics, his treatment of the media, and his support from the ethno-nationalist alt-right). Although some prominent Republican leaders declined to endorse Trump after he won the Republican nomination,[48][49] many Republican congress-members showed support for Trump and his policy positions despite major personal or political conflicts with him.[50] Some such supporters of Trump's campaign were accused, by both conservatives and liberals, of prioritizing party loyalty and avoiding alienation of Trump supporters to ensure re-election, thereby refraining from condemning Trump's actions.[51][52]
On January 6, 2017, the United States government's intelligence agencies concluded that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 United States elections against the campaign of Hillary Clinton and in support of Trump.[53][54] As president, Trump repeatedly rejected the conclusions of the U.S. intelligence agencies.[55][56]
Primary front-runner
Trump had high poll numbers during the primaries.[183][184] A survey conducted by The Economist/YouGov released July 9, 2015, was the first major nationwide poll to show Trump as the 2016 Republican presidential front-runner.[185] A Suffolk/USA Today poll released on July 14, 2015, showed Trump with 17 percent support among Republican voters, with Jeb Bush at 14 percent.[186] A The Washington Post/ABC News poll taken on July 16–19, showed Trump had 24 percent Republican support, over Scott Walker at 13 percent.[187] A CNN/ORC poll showed Trump in the lead at 18 percent support among Republican voters, over Jeb Bush at 15 percent,[188][189] and a CBS News poll from August 4 showed Trump with 24 percent support, Bush second at 13 percent, and Walker third at 10 percent.[190]
A CNN/ORC poll taken August 13–16, 2015, in the swing states of Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania showed Trump ahead of, or narrowly trailing Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in direct match-ups in those states.[191] In Florida, Trump led by two points, and in both Ohio and Pennsylvania, he was within five points of Clinton.[184]
Trump had a persistently high popularity among Republican and leaning-Republican minority voters.[192][193][194][195] Surveys taken in late 2015 showed Trump polling unfavorably among women and non-white voters, with 64 percent of women viewing Trump unfavorably and 74 percent of non-white voters having a negative view of the candidate, according to a November 2015 ABC News/Washington Post poll.[196] A Public Religion Research Institute survey in November 2015 found that many of his supporters were working-class voters with negative feelings towards migrants (in addition to holding strong financial concerns).[197][198]
Trump's status as the consistent front-runner for the Republican nomination led to him being featured on the cover of Time magazine in August 2015, with the caption: "Deal with it."[199]
Presumptive nominee and party reaction
On May 3, Trump became the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party after his victory in Indiana and the withdrawal of the last competitors, Ted Cruz and John Kasich, from the race.[242]
Some Republicans declined to support Trump's candidacy, including former primary rival Jeb Bush (who announced that he would not vote for Trump) and Bush's father and brother, former presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush (who announced that they would not endorse Trump).[243] Paul Ryan announced that he was "not ready" to endorse Trump for the presidency.[244] On May 8, Trump's campaign said that he would not rule out a bid to remove Ryan from his post as chairman of the 2016 Republican National Convention,[245] and the following day, Ryan said that he would step down as convention chairman if asked by Trump to do so.[246] On June 2, Ryan announced that he would vote for Trump.[247]
Senator Jeff Sessions was the first sitting U.S. senator to endorse Trump.[248] Other prominent Republicans, such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, governors Bobby Jindal and Rick Perry, and former senator and Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole, followed.[243][249][250] McConnell stated, "The right-of-center world needs to respect the fact that the primary voters have spoken."[251]
On May 26, Trump secured his 1,238th delegate, achieving a majority of the available delegates.[252]
In June 2016, two groups of Republican delegates opposed to Trump emerged. Free the Delegates sought to change the convention rules to include a 'conscience clause' that would allow delegates bound to Trump to vote against him.[253][254] Delegates Unbound engaged in "an effort to convince delegates that they have the authority and the ability to vote for whomever they want".[255][256] According to the group, "There is no language supporting binding in the temporary rules of the convention, which are the only rules that matter" and "barring any rules changes at the convention, delegates can vote their conscience on the first ballot."[255][256]
Post-election
In an unprecedented move, Trump kept his presidential campaign organization in place after he assumed the presidency. As of January 2017 the campaign office in Trump Tower continued with a staff of about ten people, led by Michael Glassner. It focused on data-building and fundraising for a 2020 re-election campaign.[315]
In May 2017, a senior aide to the campaign, Healy Baumgardner-Nardone, disclosed that she was lobbying for the Malaysian government.[316] The former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, left a lobbying firm he had co-founded after the election, because it solicited in Eastern Europe.[317]
A joint report published in June 2019 by the Center for Public Integrity, NBC News and CNBC detailed that the 2016 and 2020 Trump campaigns have yet to pay bills totaling over $800,000 to 10 city governments for costs incurred to ensure public safety with regard to Trump campaign rallies. The rallies took place from January 2016 to August 2016 in Burlington, Vermont, Tucson, Arizona, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Spokane, Washington, Green Bay, Wisconsin, and from September 2018 to February 2019 in Billings, Montana, Erie, Pennsylvania, Lebanon, Ohio, Mesa, Arizona, and El Paso, Texas.[318]
Supporter demographics
Surveys showed that significant proportions of Trump supporters hold negative views of immigrants, Muslims, and African-Americans. The Pew Research Center found that 69 percent of Trump supporters viewed immigrants as a burden, rather than a benefit, to the US, and 64 percent believed that American Muslims should be subject to greater scrutiny solely on the basis of their religion.[636] Reuters found that Trump supporters were more than twice as likely as Clinton supporters to view Islam negatively.[637] Trump supporters were also more likely than supporters of other candidates to hold negative views of African-Americans. Reuters reported that 40–50 percent of Trump supporters viewed African-Americans as being more "lazy", "rude", "violent", or "criminal" than whites, compared to 25–30 percent for Clinton supporters; while 32 percent of Trump supporters believed that African-Americans were less intelligent than whites, compared to 22 percent of Clinton supporters.[638]
University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers, analyzing a national survey of likely Republican primary voters from December 2015, found that having an authoritarian personality and a fear of terrorism were the only two variables among those tested that were statistically significant predictors of Trump support.[639][640] Another study based on a different survey, conducted by professors at the University of Chicago and University of Minnesota, concluded that Trump supporters were no more authoritarian than supporters of other Republican candidates, but rather were characterized primarily by a strong nationalist identity and a mistrust of experts, intellectuals, and perceived elites.[641]
A geographical study found support for Trump in the Republican primaries was correlated positively with the following factors (in order of statistical strength): (1) proportion of white lacking a high school diploma; (2) ethnicity reported as "American" on the census; (3) living in a mobile home; (4) jobs largely in agriculture, construction, manufacturing or trade; (5) having a history of voting for segregationists such as George Wallace in 1968; and (6) residents born in the United States and being an evangelical Christian.[642]
Campaign finances
Primary campaign
As of January 31, 2016, the Trump campaign had received $7.5 million in donations from individuals, $250,318 donated directly by Trump himself, and a $17.78-million loan from the candidate.[643] The loaned amount can be repaid to Trump as other donations arrive.[643] According to reports to the FEC, the campaign had $1.9 million on hand as of February 20.[644]
As of March 31, he had raised $48.4 million, spent $46.3 million, and had $2.1 million cash on hand. His total spending including $3.2 million by outside groups, total $49.5 million.[645] As of May 31, he had raised $63.1 million, spent $61.8 million, and had $1.3 million cash on hand. His total spending including $3.0 million by outside groups, total $64.7 million.[646] As of June 30, he had raised $89.0 million, spent $68.8 million, and had $20.2 million cash on hand. His total spending including $7.6 million by outside groups, total $76.4 million.[647][648]
On June 23, Trump announced that he was forgiving $50 million in loans that he had made to his campaign for the primary.[649] His campaign refused to release evidence to the press that would prove that he had forgiven these loans.[650]
In October 2015 Trump had said: "I am self-funding my campaign and therefore I will not be controlled by the donors, special interests and lobbyists who have corrupted our politics and politicians for far too long. I have disavowed all super PACs, requested the return of all donations made to said PACs, and I am calling on all presidential candidates to do the same."[651][652][653] Politifact reports that Trump's claims that he is "self-funding" his campaign are "half-true." By the end of 2015, Trump's campaign had raised $19.4 million, with almost $13 million (about 66 percent) coming in the form of a loan from Trump himself and the remainder (34 percent) coming from others' contributions.[654] The announcement came a day after a main super PAC backing Trump closed amid scrutiny about its relationship to the campaign itself.[137][138] Although Trump attended at least two Make America Great Again Super PAC fundraising events, including one at the home of his daughter Ivanka's in-laws,[137] he later said he never gave his endorsement to the super PAC or any of the other eight super PACs supporting his run.[655][656] In addition to a $100,000 donation from Ivanka Trump's mother-in-law, the Make America Great Again super PAC accepted $1 million in seed money from casino mogul and longtime Trump business partner Phil Ruffin who, according to FEC filings, gave the money just two weeks after the super PAC was established; the super PAC spent about $500,000 on polling, consulting, and legal expenses before shutting down in the wake of The Washington Post's coverage.[136][138]
General election campaign
According to Bloomberg News, Trump's general election campaign raised over $500 million, roughly half the sum raised by the Clinton campaign. By October 19, Trump had "put $56.2 million of his own [money] into the campaign, leaving him with scant time to put in the rest of the $100 million he's pledged to spend."[657]
After becoming the presumptive nominee in early May, the Trump campaign announced that it would be seeking large donations for the general election,[658] and that Trump would not be self-funding his campaign in the general election.[659] By the end of May, Trump was reported to have had $1.3 million available for his campaign, while Clinton had $42 million.[660]
Wall Street banker Steven Mnuchin was named finance chair of the Trump campaign in May 2016.[661] In May 2016, the campaign established the Trump Victory Committee to enable joint fundraising with the Republican National Committee and eleven state parties; longtime Republican financiers Diane Hendricks, Woody Johnson, Mel Sembler, Ray Washburne, and Ron Weiser (all of whom backed other candidates during the Republican primary) agreed to serve as vice chairs of the committee.[662][663]
In May 2016, casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson announced that he would spend $100 million in support of Trump's election.[664][665] Several months later, the Federal Election Commission had not yet reported any donations to the Trump campaign by Adelson,[666] but Adelson eventually donated $25 million and was the campaign's largest donor.[667]
A number of large-dollar donors who previously backed other candidates,[663] even some who were once mocked by Trump, changed their minds and joined Trump's campaign.[662] Other prominent Republican megadonors, however, more staunchly opposed Trump and opted to "sit out" the election, withholding their support and financial backing. These include Norman Braman, Paul Singer, Seth Klarman,[668] and the Koch Brothers.[669]
Several Super PACs were founded in support of Trump's campaign in the general election, including Great America PAC, Committee for American Sovereignty, and Rebuilding America Now.[670] Vice presidential nominee Mike Pence and former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort both endorsed Rebuilding America Now,[671] and Trump agreed to headline fundraising events for the organization.[672]
Reactions
Domestic reactions
President Barack Obama congratulated Trump on winning the election and stated that although he and Trump had differences of opinion, it is his goal to ensure a smooth transition for the incoming president.[819] Trump also received congratulations from fellow Republican primary rivals including Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, and Ohio Governor John Kasich. In addition, Mitt Romney, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush also congratulated him.[820]
