DONALD TRUMP
AGE: 70 PARTY: Republican CAMPAIGN SLOGAN: “Make America great again.” CLAIM TO FAME: Real estate tycoon and star of the reality TV show The Apprentice STRENGTHS: Everyone already knows who he is. As a successful businessman he has a track record of striking hard bargains. He has deep pockets, breath-taking self-confidence and a blunt, no-holds-barred style that some see as refreshingly honest. WEAKNESSES: Trump knows almost nothing about government or public policy. His racist and sexist comments have alienated him in some quarters. HOW HE’S LIKELY TO FIGHT HILLARY: “Trump will do what he does best – insult, attack, try to define his opponent and try to distract attention from questions that require serious thought about policy,” predicts Andrew Rudalevige, a political scientist at Bowdoin College in Maine.
KEY POLICIES
ECONOMY: Get smart businessmen to run the economy – they know more than the politicians. Create jobs. Americans earning less than $25 000 (R375 000) annually would pay no income tax. They’d have to submit nothing more than a single page tax form that reads, “I win.” FOREIGN POLICY: “America comes first.” Trump thinks the US foots too much of the bill to keep the rest of the world safe and wants other countries to pay more for their own protection. All the same, he has promised to “bomb the s***” out of terrorist group Isis. IMMIGRATION: Build a wall along the Mexican border to keep immigrants out. Deport 11 million undocumented migrants. LOW POINTS OF HIS CAMPAIGN:
In the wake of the terrorist attacks in San Bernardino, California, in which 14 people were killed, he called for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States”. During an interview in March he said he’d push for abortion to be made illegal and that women that sought these procedures would be punished. He later backtracked and said only doctors who performed abortions would be prosecuted. WHAT KIND OF PRESIDENT WOULD HE BE? Experts say he’d have to tone down his comments in order to unify the country – and this more cautious attitude might make him rather boring. WHAT TRUMP SAYS ABOUT HIMSELF: “I’m the most successful person to ever run for the presidency, by far.” ON HILLARY: “If Hillary Clinton were a man, I don’t think she’d get five percent of the vote. The only thing she’s got going is the woman’s card, and the beautiful thing is, women don’t like her.” CAMPAIGN CHEST: Trump, who claims to be worth as much as $10 billion (R150 billion), has reportedly raised $3 million (R15 million) through donors.