Donald Trump: Unusual

01VOA Learning English presents America's Presidents.

02Today, we are talking about Donald Trump, the 45th U.S.

03President.

04He was elected in 2016.

05Because his presidency is so new, this program will not discuss his time in office.

06Instead, it will discuss his early life.

07And it will note a few ways that Trump's background is unusual compared to most U.S.

08presidents.

09Donald Trump was born in Queens, a borough of New York City.

10He was the fourth child.

11He had two brothers and two sisters.

12His mother had been born in Scotland.

13His father, whose relatives were German, became a successful businessman in New York.

14Donald and his two brothers helped their father in the family business.

15At the time, the business was called Elizabeth Trump and Son, after his grandmother and father.

16The work related to building, buying, and managing property.

17By his own telling, young Donald often created trouble in school.

18Donald said that, for the most part, he enjoyed the experience.

19Other students there remembered him as a good baseball player, as popular with girls, and as someone who wanted to succeed.

20Trump went on to college first at Fordham University in New York, and then at the University of Pennsylvania.

21He earned a degree in economics.

22He was also already investing in real estate.

23After he graduated, Trump quickly returned to New York City and his career.

24In time, he became the head of the family business.

25He renamed it the Trump Organization.

26As its president, Trump developed and put his name on luxury buildings, casinos, hotels, and golf courses around the world.

27Later, he became linked to the entertainment industry, too.

28He became a part owner of beauty pageants, hosted a television show, and wrote a book about how to succeed in business.

29During those years, Trump also married three times and divorced twice.

30The media wrote especially about his first and second marriages, because he openly had a relationship with his second wife while he was married to his first.

31In 2005, he married Melania Naus, a former model from Slovenia.

32She is only the second first lady who was not born in the United States.

33The first was Louisa Adams, who came from Britain in 1801.

34Altogether, Trump has three sons and two daughters.

35Because Trump has been a public figure for most of his life, many Americans were familiar with him before he ran for president.

36To some, he is linked to success in business and branding.

37To others, notes journalist Jackie Combs, he is linked to debt and legal battles.

38But until he officially entered the 2016 campaign as a Republican candidate, few linked him to politics.

39Trump is unusual among past presidents in that he had never worked in the government before.

40Nor has Trump served in the military.

41Only presidents Taylor, Grant, and Eisenhower had no past government experience.

42However, they had all been generals.

43During the campaign for president, other candidates spent money to buy advertising.

44But Trump spread his message on free television, radio, and social media.

45Trump won the Republican nomination over 16 candidates.

46He went on to defeat Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton to win the presidency.

47Trump was 70 years old when he was sworn in.

48Trump was unusual in how he communicated with the public.

49As a president, he continued to use Twitter, now known as X, to communicate his thoughts directly to anyone who wanted to follow him.

50Many earlier presidents also used changes in technology to interact with the public.

51Woodrow Wilson was the first to hold press conferences regularly with reporters.

52Franklin Roosevelt famously spoke to Americans on the radio.

53John F.

54Kennedy, and later Richard Nixon, are credited with using television to their advantage.

55While the long-term effects of Trump's presidency are not yet known, he will likely be remembered in part for his direct and unscripted style of communication.

56I'm Katie Weaver.