Image via Complex Original
You don't need to worry about Donald Trump becoming president. Many media outlets have been quick to report that he is currently number one in some GOP primary polls, but the same was true in 2012, and nothing came of it. The fact of the matter is that at this stage, name recognition means something in a crowded primary field, and Trump's popularity will fade as the election comes into focus. Furthermore, his past behavior has taught us that name recognition is all that matters to Trump. The man isn't so much interested in being president as he is in continuing his decades long campaign of self-mythologizing celebrity.
Since the early '80s, Trump has been actively playing the role of the billionaire celebrity America loves to hate. While he has made, lost, and made his fortune again in the real estate market (which, we should mention, he initially inherited), his other passion in life has been chasing the spotlight. With his trophy wives, reality television shows, sports promotions, beauty pageants, controversial quotes, and general braggadocio, Trump has systematically set himself up as one of America's greatest villains of the last half-century. When you take a look at all the fame-whoring moves Trump has pulled over the years, you realize that these aren't the moves of a delusional fool, but of a fame whore who feeds off any attention no matter how negative.
In honor of The Donald's dubious return to the public eye, let's take a look back at Trump's brushes with pop culture fame. Like him or not, you have to admit that he has led quite a life in the public eye. Here is A Brief History of Donald Trump's Public Life.
His Wives (1977-Present)
Donald Trump's life is so completely public, it is no surprise his private life has long served to feed his public persona. His marriage to his first wife, model and ski enthusiast Ivana Trump, was notable due to Ivana's ambition and business acumen. During their marriage Ivana oversaw large swaths of Trump's business empire.
Rumor spread that Donald had begun an affair with former beauty queen Marla Maples. This culminated in a ski slope confrontation between Maples and Mrs. Trump, which became nationwide tabloid fodder, earning front page status in the likes of People Magazine and The New York Post. Although she landed a few gigs early on as a model and actress, Maples never found much success outside of gossip columns, and divorced Trump in 1999. In 2005 Trump married yet another model, Melania Knauss, who has covered Vogue and graced the pages of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. While his taste for models hasn't changed, Trump's taste for Page Six seems to have subsided with old age. One can only hope there's still time for he and his third wife to get involved in some TMZ-worthy antics.
Cameo Appearances (1981-Present)
If you have even a passing familiarity with American media, you know Trump's ego knows no bounds. But, for those who remain unconvinced or don't own a television, let's run through the film and TV in which Trump has made a cameo as (or closely resembling) himself:
The Jeffersons (1981)
Home Alone 2 (1992)
The Little Rascals (1994)
Eddie (1996)
The Nanny (1996)
The Associate (1996)
Spin City (1996)
54 (1998)
Celebrity (1998)
Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1998)
Sex and the City (1999)
Zoolander (2001)
Monk (2002)
Marmalade (2004)
Be Good to Johnny Weir (2010)
Horrorween (2011)
After 2011 Trump realized it's far easier to get media attention by making absurd political claims (don't worry, we'll get to that), and Hollywood film and television is better off for it.
The United States Football League (1983-1986)
A brief foray into football was Trump's first attempt at turning a profit in the world of sports. In 1983 Trump bought the New Jersey Generals of the short-lived United States Football League, a league designed as a competitor to the NFL. To the surprise of no one, the league failed after only a few seasons. Many blame Trump for the hasty demise of the league, as he was a vocal advocate for placing the season in the fall, head-to-head with the NFL. In 1986 Trump was preparing for his biggest assault yet on the NFL after merging two teams together and securing top flight NFL talent like Jim Kelly and Ricky Sanders. Before this "Dream Team" could take the field, a disappointing outcome in an anti-trust suit folded the league and foiled his plans.
Trump's love of football never totally went away despite this intense disappointment. He expressed interest in purchasing the Buffalo Bills following Ralph Wilson's death in 2014 but came up short once again.
If you want to know more about the USFL, ESPN's Arash Markazi dug into Trump's experience with the league.
Mike Tyson's Finanical Advisor (1988)
Mike Tyson and Donald Trump definitely had some kind of personal and business relationship in the late '80s, but the exact details are still a bit murky to this day. It is historical fact that Trump was the promoter for a number of Tyson's title bouts. From there the details become unclear.
Shortly after the successful fight promotions Trump became Mike Tyson's "business advisor" in contract negotiations. Trump's eagerness to get involved with Tyson led The New York Times' Dave Anderson to speculate, "For all the whispers about Jose Torres eventually emerging as Tyson's manager for boxing matters, Trump soon will be calling all the shots on boxing matters as well as finances."
Anderson was proven wrong later in the year when Tyson signed a contract with Don King, leaving Trump behind. A bitter Trump presented Tyson with a $2 million bill for "services rendered," and their relationship became further strained. Trump continued to promote and host fights, but he never again became so intimately involved with a fighter's career.
Author (1987-Present)
Over two dozen books have been authored by Donald Trump since 1987, with his first, Trump: The Art of the Deal, remaining the best known. The Art of the Deal was a triumph, holding the top spot on the New York Times Best Seller List for just shy of a year. It's hard to imagine a book like this by a man like Trump commanding widespread national attention today, but this was a very different time. He released the book at the very height of the Me Generation. Oliver Stone's Wall Street was released just one month after the book was published.
Trump's further releases have met mixed success and somehow average a collective four-star rating on Amazon. If you scroll through his Amazon author page, you'll find it's difficult to figure out which title to hate most. Trump: The Best Golf Advice I Ever Received and The America We Deserve are strong contenders, but there's so much more where those came from.
WWE (1991-Present)
To anyone remotely familiar with either man, it should come as no surprise that Vince McMahon and Donald Trump are longtime friends and hold each other in high esteem. Two Wrestlemanias have been hosted at Trump Plaza, and The Donald has appeared in numerous WWE events. The most notable of Trump's appearances in the squared circle was the "Battle of the Billionaires" at Wrestlemania XXIII. In this match Trump and MacMahon had proxy fighters, and when McMahon's wrestler lost Donald shaved Vince's head in the center of the ring.
Trump is such a frequent guest of the WWE it's posted a video of his greatest hits on the WWE website.
Trump's relationship with professional wrestling produced in one of the greatest GIFs of all time: Trump receiving a Stone Cold Stunner.
Beauty Pageants (1996-Present)
As the owner of the both the Miss Universe and Miss U.S.A. pageants, Trump holds the distinction of running two beauty pageants that make Miss America look forward thinking and classy. Both pageants were founded in 1952 by a swimsuit manufacturer after the 1951 Miss America winner refused to wear the company's bathing suits in promotional photos. Over the years the pageants changed hands several times before Trump purchased them in 1996.
Following Trump's recent comments about immigration, compounded by his decades of general asshattery, NBC chose to cut ties with the Miss U.S.A. and Miss Universe pageants. Going forward they will be broadcast on Reelz, aka the cable network you never knew you had. It's hard to imagine the pageants would have lasted much longer on a broadcast network, given that, in 2015, beauty pageants are only watched by people who will be writing obligatory takedown pieces for the Internet. Hopefully, the pageants' move to the farthest reaches of the cable wasteland signals the beginning of the end for the outmoded, sexist competitions.
Comedy Central Roast (2011)
In 2011 Trump joined the illustrious ranks of Flavor Flav and Larry the Cable Guy and subjected himself to a Comedy Central Roast. Although the event was by no means an all-time great Roast, like Bob Saget's filthy turn in front of the dais, the assembled comedians got in a few good punches. Seth McFarlane served as roast master, which proved to be a far better fit for him than Oscar host. Regulars Anthony Jeselnik, Lisa Lampanelli, and Jeffrey Ross performed as expected. The most memorable part of the roast might have been its low point, however. Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino's "humor" was so widely panned that several of his jokes were pulled from the television presentation of the roast.
The Apprentice (2003 - Present)
This month, upon declaring his candidacy for the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump disclosed that he has made more than $215 million from The Apprentice over his 14-season stint with the franchise. The show was one of the most popular series at the height of reality television's era of dominance. Although ratings declined year after year for both The Apprentice and Celebrity Apprentice, both series enjoyed seasons averaging more than ten million viewers per episode. The entrepreneurial reality show franchise was such a cultural juggernaut Trump decided to apply for a trademark on the phrase "You're Fired!"
Both series have been an exercise in synergy for Trump, as he has used his shows as a platform to promote his properties, products, and even his family members. Despite a decade plus of commercial success, Trump elected to step away from The Apprentice franchise this year, presumably in preparation for his presidential run. Following his recent controversial comments NBC has distanced itself from Trump but has indicated Celebrity Apprentice will continue without him.
Obama Birtherism (2011)
Birtherism was around long before Donald Trump stepped into the fray. According to an article in Politico, it was actually Hillary Clinton's camp who brought the Obama origin issue out of the lunatic fringe and into the national conversation. For the next several years a chorus of prominent Republican politicians and talking heads kept the theory alive. In 2011, when he was weighing a presidential run, Trump join the ranks of the birthers well after the rumors had been discredited and many who had initially fanned the anti-Obama flames had distanced themselves from the idea.
That didn't stop Trump from going on Good Morning America, The View, and anywhere else that would have him and claiming that there were unanswered questions regarding Obama's birth. After they had had enough of Trump's badgering, the White House released the longform birth certificate. Trump responded by holding a press conference in which he proclaimed, "I am really honored, and I am really proud that I was able to do something that nobody else could do."
You might wonder why Trump went through all of this despite the mountain of evidence to the contrary. If you're curious about Trump's motives you aren't giving him enough credit. This is political theater, no different than his work in the boxing ring or alongside Stone Cold Steve Austin.
And in case you're wondering, Trump is still a birther.
Presidential Campaign (2016)
Trump's last several attempts to bask in the spotlight have been political. We covered his part in popularizing birther conspiracy theories. He's dabbled in the anti-vax movement. He has flirted with running for president on several occasions. Finally he has officially thrown his hat in the ring as a candidate for the 2016 race. Of course, he immediately embarrassed himself. While declaring his candidacy he managed to offend a huge percentage of the population and stir up a public outcry with comments on immigration.
"When do we beat Mexico at the border?" he said. "They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."
In light of his long history of publicity stunts, you can't help but wonder if these comments are just another ploy to keep The Donald in the spotlight. If his personal life and fortune are worth sacrificing on the altar of fame, why shouldn't his political beliefs be used as fuel for the fire as well?