Media interactions, statements, and social media
Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump faced off in their only general election debate on ABC, in a contentious exchange where Harris put Trump on the defensive and Trump repeated debunked claims about immigrants eating pets.
Recordings from journalist Bob Woodward's interviews revealed that President Trump privately acknowledged COVID-19 was deadly and airborne as early as February 2020, even as he publicly downplayed the virus for months.
Federal officers used tear gas and rubber bullets to forcibly clear peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square so President Trump could walk to St. John's Church and pose for photographs holding a Bible.
During a White House coronavirus briefing, President Trump mused publicly about whether injecting disinfectant or using ultraviolet light inside the body could treat COVID-19, prompting immediate alarm from medical professionals.
As COVID-19 spread rapidly across the United States, President Trump repeatedly downplayed the severity of the virus, comparing it to the common flu and predicting it would soon disappear.
During a visit to hurricane-devastated Puerto Rico, Trump tossed rolls of paper towels into a crowd of disaster survivors in a widely criticized display, while downplaying the death toll and praising his administration's response to a catastrophe that killed nearly 3,000 Americans.
On his first full day in office, Trump sent his press secretary to falsely claim the inauguration had the 'largest audience ever,' and counselor Kellyanne Conway defended the lies as 'alternative facts.'
In the weeks following the Access Hollywood tape, more than a dozen women came forward publicly to accuse Trump of unwanted kissing, groping, and sexual assault, directly contradicting his claim that the tape was mere 'locker room talk.'
The Washington Post published a 2005 recording in which Trump bragged about kissing and groping women without consent, saying 'when you're a star, they let you do it,' triggering the most severe crisis of his campaign.
After Gold Star father Khizr Khan delivered a powerful DNC speech challenging Trump's proposed Muslim ban, Trump attacked the Khan family, suggesting Khan's wife was not 'allowed' to speak and questioning their motives.
At a campaign rally in Iowa, Trump boasted that his supporters were so loyal he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue in New York City and not lose voters, a remark that became one of the most quoted lines of the 2016 campaign.
At a campaign rally in South Carolina, Trump physically mimicked the movements of New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski, who has a congenital joint condition, while disputing Kovaleski's reporting on 9/11 celebrations.
During the first Republican primary debate, Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly confronted Trump about his history of calling women 'fat pigs' and 'slobs,' prompting a prolonged feud in which Trump appeared to suggest Kelly was menstruating.
Donald Trump descended a golden escalator at Trump Tower in Manhattan to announce his candidacy for president, delivering a speech in which he called Mexican immigrants 'rapists' and promised to build a border wall.
In his presidential campaign announcement speech at Trump Tower, Donald Trump described Mexican immigrants as 'rapists' and criminals, sparking immediate backlash from Latino communities and setting the tone for his candidacy.
President Obama used his speech at the White House Correspondents' Dinner to deliver a pointed, comedic takedown of Donald Trump, who sat stone-faced in the audience as the room laughed.
Donald Trump embraced and amplified the false conspiracy theory that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States, using it to build a political following and establish himself as a leading figure on the populist right.
Donald Trump was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his role as producer of The Apprentice, cementing his crossover status as an entertainment celebrity.
During a visit to the set of 'Days of Our Lives,' a hot microphone captured Donald Trump making vulgar and predatory remarks about women to Access Hollywood host Billy Bush, a recording that would surface eleven years later during the 2016 campaign.
NBC debuted 'The Apprentice,' a reality television show starring Donald Trump, which drew over 20 million viewers and transformed Trump from a regional real estate figure into a national brand and household name.
The Trump divorce from Ivana became the biggest tabloid story in New York, fueled by revelations of Trump's affair with Marla Maples and a public confrontation in Aspen, consuming months of front-page coverage.
Trump spent an estimated $85,000 on full-page newspaper ads in four New York City dailies demanding the return of the death penalty, in response to the Central Park jogger case involving five Black and Latino teenagers who were later exonerated by DNA evidence.
