Compare and Contrast essay (RENG 92)

2

Prem Singh Badal

Professor Brown

RENG 92

24 November 2020

Joe Biden

Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election to become the 46th president-elect of the United States. He previously served as the vice president of the United States with Democratic president Barack Obama for two terms, from 2009 to 2017. In Biden's earlier political career in the 1970s, he gained a reputation as an outspoken and candid U.S. senator. He later ran for president in the 1988 and 2008 races, dropping out of each one. Democratic presidential nominee Obama chose Biden as his running mate in the 2008 campaign, and the pair won the subsequent election. Biden was sworn in as the forty-seventh vice president of the United States in 2009 and was reelected with Obama in 2012. As Obama's term wound down, rumors existed that Biden would make a bid for the 2016 presidency. However, in May of 2015, he suffered a personal tragedy when his son Beau died of brain cancer. Although Biden declined to run for the White House in 2016, he threw his hat into the ring in 2019 for the 2020 presidential election. After a major victory on Super Tuesday in March of 2020, Biden went on to become the Democratic nominee for president. With vote counts extending several days beyond the Nov. 3 election night, he became the first challenger to defeat an incumbent first-term president in almost 30 years.

Early Life and Education

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was born on November 20, 1942, son of a working-class family in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The family moved to suburban Wilmington, Delaware, where he played rugby and football. Childhood friend Marty Londergan told Esquire in 1982 that when he and Biden played football together, Biden was such a fierce competitor that he often got into on-field fights. "The guy just wanted to win too much," Londergan observed.

Biden enrolled at the University of Delaware, where he played safety on the football team. In the classroom, he depended less on hard study than on his native intelligence and glib wit. "He had a talent for getting it done when it had to get done," college roommate and future law partner David Walsh told the Wilmington News Journal. During spring break of his junior year, Biden met Syracuse University student Neilia Hunter. He quit football before his senior year to spend more time with her, and after graduating in 1965, he enrolled in Syracuse University Law School. The two married in 1966 and two years later moved to Delaware, where Biden opened a law practice. He quickly became prominent in Wilmington by defending the accused in the toughest criminal cases.

Political Career

Biden, who registered as a political independent in 1970, was asked to run for the New Castle County Council by Delaware Republicans impressed with his legal oratory skills. He eventually decided to run as a Democrat. Although the district was 65 percent Republican, Biden won by a large margin. The next day, he began planning his U.S. Senate campaign. In 1972, at age 29, Biden challenged J. Caleb Boggs, 63, a two-term senator who had held office in Delaware for 26 years. No other Democrat wanted to challenge the popular Boggs, who was said to have known every state resident on a first-name basis and sent cards to every Delaware family at Christmas. When the unknown Biden entered the race, people saw him as a sacrificial lamb. He expected the race to cost $80,000 and obtained a second mortgage on his home for the first $20,000. "We had trouble getting money from the regular Democratic sources because none of them wanted to invest in what looked like a losing campaign," his sister, Valerie Biden Saunders, told Good Housekeeping.

But Biden gained recognition by meeting voters in six coffee klatches a day throughout the state and by deploying battalions of high school students to pass out leaflets. He argued that Boggs was a do-nothing senator who would prefer to retire. His tenacity impressed donors, and money began to pour in to the campaign. In the end, the campaign spent $300,000, the most for a statewide campaign in Delaware at that time.

On election night, Biden took Boggs' seemingly safe seat by 3,162 votes. "Upstairs in his suite," Esquire reported, "Joe Biden took the concession call from Boggs and then began to cry. 'I didn't want to hurt him,' he said. 'I didn't want to do that.'" At 29, Biden was the youngest senator ever popularly elected and the fourth-youngest ever chosen to serve at the time. His political future shone so brightly that Time mentioned him as a presidential possibility before he even arrived in Washington.

Suffered a Tragedy

On December 18, 1972, not long after his election victory, tragedy struck. Biden's wife and three children were returning from shopping for a Christmas tree, when on a highway west of Wilmington, their station wagon was hit by a hay truck. The car was thrown over an embankment, killing Neilia Biden and infant daughter Naomi. Biden's two sons--Beau and Hunt--were hospitalized with serious injuries.

Biden called Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield and told him he wanted to give up his seat. "They can always get another senator," he said, "but my boys can't get another father." Mansfield convinced Biden to stay and gave him several prestigious committee assignments. In January of 1973, Biden was sworn into office in his sons' hospital room, where he had lived for a month.

Biden then went to Washington, but--raising his two sons alone--he decided to commute daily from Delaware, an 80-minute trip each way. Some said Biden's commuting hurt his effectiveness as a senator. "It's a club here," Senator Fritz Hollings (D-South Carolina) told the Washingtonian in 1985. "The atmosphere of club is missing with Joe. You never really get to know the others unless you go on a trip or to parties with them." Biden conceded that might be true, but he told the Washingtonian, "Family has always been the beginning, the middle and the end with me." He had gone to Washington with no interest in making friends among his Senate colleagues. "There used to be great senators here who made a difference, men like Daniel Webster and Henry Clay," he told Good Housekeeping in 1975. "But not anymore. There are still a few guys you can trust and respect but there is not much greatness here anymore." In that same article, Biden lived up to his reputation as an enfant terrible. "Why should I be here just to be one of 100 guys who vote?" he said. "I want to be one of those guys who change people's minds."

During a 1975 Judiciary Committee hearing, Biden interrupted himself in mid-sentence to say, "I obviously don't know what the hell I'm talking about." Such statements earned him a reputation for unblushing candor. "He's candid--maybe to a fault," Senator Bill Cohen (R-Maine) told the Washingtonian. Senator Hollings, a sort of foster father to Biden, told the Washingtonian, "Joe gets worked up. Some people think he gets too candid sometimes, but that's a mark of his generation. Better his short fuse than no fuse at all."

Mansfield placed Biden on several plum Senate panels, including the steering, judiciary, foreign relations, budget, and intelligence committees. He became friendly with Senate leaders Hubert Humphrey and Edward Kennedy. In the late 1970s, he was President Jimmy Carter's chief Senate salesman on the SALT II treaty. Colleagues considered him a lively debater, quick on his feet and nimble with his questions. But some saw him as a senator who wouldn't do the grunt work, was not always prepared or interested, and thought making a speech was enough. Senator Gary Hart (D-Colorado), a potential competitor for the 1988 presidential nomination, called Biden "a buzz saw, all noise and bite."

"Joe just didn't give a damn," brother Jim Biden told Esquire in 1982. "He didn't give a damn about anything. [Sons] Beau and Hunt were the sole exceptions." Biden admitted he felt disjointed during his first term. "I viewed the Senate as a way station," he told National Journal. "I was going to serve my time and get out."

Focused on Career

That feeling changed in 1977, when Biden met Jill Jacobs, who was finishing college in Delaware. They married that year and had a daughter in 1981. Biden's new wife gave him stability at home, he said, and helped him to pursue his career without feeling that he was abandoning his family.

In 1978 Biden was reelected to the Senate with 58 percent of the vote. Much of his support came from his position as the Senate's leader in opposing busing for school integration. In the mid-70s, Biden successfully proposed an amendment to prevent the Department of Health, Education and Welfare from ordering school districts to institute busing. Two years later, he proposed a bill that failed by two votes on the Senate floor to restrict court-ordered busing. "Is it racist because people don't want to send their kid instead of across the street to a school six miles away?" he asked on the Senate floor.

Such stands created a confusing image of Biden. For every liberal act--opposition to U.S. involvement in Vietnam in the 1970s and El Salvador in the 1980s, grilling of the CIA over covert espionage--there was an equal and opposite conservative act--opposing busing, aiming to cut off federal funds for abortion, and beefing up the defense budget. Yet by 1984, Biden ranked fifth in how often he had voted in opposition to President Ronald Reagan, according to Congressional Quarterly. Two years later, the Democratic Party recaptured control of the Senate, elevating Biden to the post of chairman of the powerful Judiciary Committee. He came to be regarded as an expert on criminal justice and foreign policy. In 1983 he cosponsored a comprehensive anticrime bill criticized by some as anti-liberal. He was a Senate leader on such issues as the MX missile, arms control, Lebanon, U.S.-Soviet relations, and civil rights.

Made a Failed Bid for Presidency

That record, plus Biden's oratorical skills and attractive demeanor, spurred talk as early as 1983 that he would make a run for the presidency. He backed away from a 1984 run and was easily reelected to the Senate. In 1987 he ran for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination, but his candidacy was wounded when an opponent's campaign released a videotape showing Biden using, without credit, parts of speeches originally delivered by British politician Neil Kinnock. He dropped out of the race in September of 1987, saying he wanted to focus on chairing Senate hearings over a controversial Supreme Court nominee.

President Reagan had nominated arch-conservative judge Robert Bork to the Supreme Court. As Judiciary Committee chairman, Biden presided over Bork's contentious Senate confirmation hearings, and he also led the opposition to his nomination. The Senate rejected Bork in the fall of 1987. That battle helped make Biden well known to the American public, as did a second debate over a Supreme Court nominee. In 1991, when Clarence Thomas was nominated for the court, Biden's committee heard dramatic testimony from Anita Hill, a former employee of Thomas's who accused him of sexual harassment. As Thomas defended himself before the committee, the conflict gripped the nation's attention. The Senate voted narrowly to confirm Thomas.

In early 1988, Biden collapsed in a hotel in Rochester, New York, from an aneurysm. He underwent emergency surgery, suffered a second aneurysm later that year, and had another surgery performed. When he returned to his Senate work later that year, he dedicated himself to developing experience in foreign policy. He eventually became chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Shortly after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Biden met with top Middle East leaders to discuss the war on terrorism and conflicts in the Middle East. In 2002 he voted to authorize war with Iraq, a decision he later regretted. He later became strongly critical of President George W. Bush's Iraq policy. In 2004 Biden, addressing the Democratic National Convention in Boston, said history would judge the administration of Bush "harshly for the mistakes it has made."

Another Bid for the Presidency

Twenty years after his first run for president, Biden made another attempt, announcing his candidacy in January of 2007. He performed well in the Democratic presidential candidates' many debates. In a debate in Philadelphia in October of 2007, he mocked Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani for dwelling on terrorism as a campaign issue. "There's only three things he mentions in a sentence: a noun and a verb and 9/11," Biden complained (according to Elisabeth Bumiller of the New York Times).

After winning 1 percent of the vote in the first contest of the campaign, the January 3, 2008, Iowa caucus, Biden pulled out of the race. However, he had improved his political reputation by running and displaying his seasoned knowledge of foreign policy. Political observers speculated that if a Democrat won the White House, Biden might be a leading contender for a cabinet position, possibly secretary of state.

But Barack Obama, who won the Democratic nomination for president that June, had even bigger plans for Biden. On August 23, 2008, Obama announced he had chosen Biden as his vice-presidential running mate. Biden was viewed as a shrewd choice, given his years of political experience, including deep knowledge of foreign policy and in national security issues, which helped offset the Illinois senator's youth.

During his acceptance speech at the convention, Biden criticized Obama's Republican opponent, U.S. senator John McCain, who had served in the Senate with Biden for decades. Like Obama, Biden derided McCain for supporting Bush on the Iraq war. "Again and again," he said (according to John M. Broder of the New York Times), "on the most important national security issues of our time, John McCain was wrong, and Barack Obama was proven right." Biden attempted to undercut the political appeal of McCain's history as a Navy pilot and prisoner of war in Vietnam. "These times require more than a good soldier," Biden said (according to Broder). "They require a wise leader."

On October 2, 2008, Biden debated Sarah Palin, the Republican candidate for vice president, in St. Louis, Missouri. Rather than challenge Palin directly, Biden used the platform to attack McCain, portraying the Republican presidential candidate's response to the Wall Street financial crisis as out of touch and erratic. Biden defended his ticket's plan to withdraw combat troops from Iraq within sixteen months, arguing that McCain and Palin did not have a plan to end the war.

Role as Vice President

After a spirited campaign, the Obama-Biden ticket won the November election. Biden won his Senate race in Delaware as well, and did not resign from the Senate seat until shortly before he was sworn in as vice president in January of 2009. As vice president, Biden planned on reinventing the office after his predecessor, Dick Cheney, turned it into an extremely powerful position. Biden did not want to be a "do nothing" vice president either, but he worked to strike a balance that would allow him to be active but subordinate to Obama. In his first few months in office, for example, Biden was put in charge of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, traveled to Georgia in Eurasia to pledge American support in the face of Russian threats, and tried to garner international support for an escalated war in Afghanistan.

Biden's expertise in foreign relations played a large role in his vice presidential duties. In September of 2009, he made a surprise visit to Baghdad, Iraq, where he met with Iraqi officials and U.S. soldiers. Biden traveled to Iraq eight more times in two years, including a trip in December of 2011 to mark the end of the war.

In March of 2010, Biden embarked on a Middle East trip to meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. According to CNN, Biden, speaking with Israeli president Shimon Peres during the trip, commented that he had been a friend of Israel's since his first visit to the country as a 29-year-old senator. In early 2011, Biden traveled to Afghanistan as Obama considered drawing back military forces in the area. Biden, who believed the president should greatly reduce the number of troops in the country, was said to have influence on the president's eventual decision to draw down the number of troops in the region. The vice president also supported the administration's efforts to strengthen relations in Asia Pacific, and he traveled to China, Japan, and Mongolia in 2011. In February of 2012, Biden met with China's then vice president, Xi Jinping, to discuss a number of key commercial and trade issues between the two countries.

Biden also played a domestic role in the Obama administration, particularly dealing with the economy and clean energy alternatives. Biden and Obama hosted a meeting at the White House in July of 2010 that included former president Bill Clinton and various business leaders to discuss cooperation between the public and private sectors in creating new jobs and more opportunities for investments in clean energy initiatives. In August of 2011, Biden spoke at the National Clean Energy Summit in Nevada, where he noted that the United States must lead the way in clean cars, solar arrays, and wind turbines. "If we don't lead in clean energy, we'll follow. I'd hate to see us replace the importing of foreign oil with the importing of foreign technology," he is quoted as saying in Forbes. Biden was key in implementing the stimulus package, known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, to help rebuild the American economy, and he served as chair of the administration's Middle Class Task Force, a White House initiative to build a strong middle class in America.

Second Term as Vice President

Biden was sworn in for a second term as vice president after Obama was reelected in November of 2012. After the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December of 2012, in which 26 people--including 20 children--were killed, Obama assigned Biden to a task force aimed at reforming gun control laws. Some of the proposed provisions included a ban on semiautomatic weapons, background checks, and increased security at schools. However, the ban on certain automatic weapons and increased background checks failed to pass Congress.

In January of 2014, Biden and his team proposed that states be given the ability to provide the National Instant Criminal Background Check System with mental health information about gun purchasers. The proposal, Biden said, would prevent firearms from being sold to those mentally unfit to carry them. At the same time, Biden and Obama publicly urged Congress to reconsider the background check legislation.

That same month, Obama appointed Biden co-chair of the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault. In its first report, the group recommended that the problem be identified and measured; that bystanders, particularly men, be made part of the solution in preventing sexual assault; and that there be an effective response from the college or university--that is, schools should have a policy, trained officials, and a disciplinary system in place to deal with sexual assault cases. "No more turning a blind eye or pretending it doesn't exist," said Biden. "We need to give victims the support they need--like a confidential place to go--and we need to bring the perpetrators to justice."

In early 2014, Biden said in an interview with CNN that though he had not decided whether he would run for president in the 2016 election, he did not rule out the possibility. Later that year, he told CBS News that he couldn't think of a good reason not to run but would decide by the summer of 2015. Biden traveled to numerous states in late 2014 and into 2015, delivering speeches on Obama's economics and plans for infrastructure improvement. The media noted that Biden's schedule suggested a possible 2016 run, as he was visiting what would become key voting states in the election.

In April of 2015, former first lady and secretary of state Hillary Clinton announced her bid for the Democratic nomination in the 2016 presidential election. A month later, Biden suffered a personal tragedy when his son Beau died of brain cancer. After weeks of delaying his decision, Biden announced he would not seek office.

Sought Presidency

In 2019, after much speculation, Biden announced he would run for president in 2020 against incumbent Republican President Donald Trump. His campaign platform included support for women's abortion rights, though as a practicing Catholic he was personally opposed to abortion; support of transgender Americans to serve in the military; support for free college education and universal kindergarten and pre-K; universal background checks for guns; and higher taxes on wealthy Americans with tax relief for the middle class. Biden faced a deep bench for the Democratic nomination, including Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. During the first set of Democratic candidate debates, Biden was confronted by an unexpected foe: Senator Kamala Harris. While they were on friendly terms in general, Harris lobbed an attack on Biden over his position on school busing during the June of 2019 debate. Biden had opposed federally mandated busing to integrate schools.

Throughout the early months of his campaign, Biden consistently polled lower than several of his opponents, and he ended up placing fourth in the Iowa Caucuses behind Sanders and Warren. His campaign made a major comeback in March of 2020 when he won ten states in the Super Tuesday primary elections. The wins put him in the overall lead among candidates, and several of his opponents including Warren dropped out of the race shortly after. In April, Sanders suspended his campaign, making Biden the presumptive nominee. Sanders and Warren both went on to endorse Biden. Biden was also formally endorsed by former President Barack Obama.

After a major victory on Super Tuesday in March of 2020, Biden went on to become the Democratic nominee for president. With vote counts extending several days beyond the Nov. 3 election night, Biden was named the winner, becoming the first challenger to defeat an incumbent first-term president in almost 30 years. The win made Biden the oldest president in American history, a title previously held by Ronald Reagan.

PERSONAL INFORMATION:

Full name, Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.; born November 20, 1942, in Scranton, Pennsylvania; son of Joseph (a car salesman) and Jean Biden; married Neilia Hunter, 1966 (died, 1972); married Jill Tracy Jacobs (a teacher), June 17, 1977; children: (with Neilia Biden) Joseph Robinette III ("Beau") (died, 2015), Robert ("Hunt") Hunter, Naomi Christina (died, 1972), (with Jill Biden) Ashley Blazer. Education: University of Delaware, BA, 1965; Syracuse University Law School, JD, 1968. Politics: Democrat Religion: Roman Catholic.

 

CAREER:

Admitted to Bar of the state of Delaware, 1968; practiced law as a defense attorney on criminal cases in Wilmington, Delaware, 1968-70; elected to the New Castle, Delaware, County Council, 1970, served, 1971-73; elected to the U.S. Senate from the state of Delaware, 1972, served 1973-2009; chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 2001-02; elected vice president, 2008; took office, 2009; reelected vice president in 2012; took office, 2013; announced campaign for president of the United States, 2019; won presidential election, 2020.

Joseph R. Biden

American Vice President Joe Biden (born 1942) had a long career in public service at the federal level, including two unsuccessful presidential runs, before winning the nation's second-highest executive office in 2008, as the running mate of Barack Obama. Most of Biden's career was spent representing the state of Delaware in the U.S. Senate, to which he won election in 1972 as one of the youngest men ever to hold that office. As a senator, Biden became particularly recognized for his expertise in foreign policy and for his forthright speaking style. After ascending to the Vice-Presidency, Biden used his experience in the Senate to advise the administration on ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and to act as negotiator in key financial debates, among other duties. "The best thing about Joe is that when we get everybody together, he really forces people to think and defend their positions, to look at things from every angle, and that is very valuable for me," assessed Obama to Jeanne Cumming of POLITICO. "I also know, when he gives me his advice, he gives it to me straight."

Had a Modest Upbringing

The eldest of the four children of car salesman Joseph and homemaker Catherine Eugenia "Jean" (Finnegan) Biden, Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., was born on November 20, 1942, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Joe Biden, Jr. came from a well-off Baltimore family as his father had held a lucrative job as an executive for a company that made sealant for merchant marine ships during World War II. A series of business setbacks after the war, however, damaged the family's fortunes; a partner in a planned furniture store stole Biden's investment, and a nascent crop-dusting business failed just a few years later. The family lived for a time with the young Biden's maternal grandparents before moving into a small apartment in Wilmington, Delaware, where he attended Catholic school and struggled with a stutter. These experiences proved formative for Biden, who developed an attitude toward facing adversity as a challenge to be overcome. "My dad always said, 'Champ, the measure of a man is not how often he is knocked down, but how quickly he gets up,'" Biden was quoted as recalling by John M. Broder of the New York Times.

Although never an especially talented student, Biden excelled in other aspects of high school life. He played on the football team and twice served as class president. While attending high school, Biden--who faced taunting nicknames such as "Dash" and "Joe Impedimenta" in reference to his speech impediment--also managed to eliminate his stutter by memorizing poems that he repeated in front of a mirror. By studying his facial muscles in this way, Biden was eventually able to control his speaking patterns and stop stuttering. He graduated from the prestigious Catholic prep school Archmere Academy and enrolled at the University of Delaware. There, he continued to play football until meeting future wife Neilia Hunter, who attended Syracuse University; the couple married in 1966. Biden had moved to Syracuse after completing his bachelor's degree in 1965, where he enrolled at Syracuse University Law School.

Biden was far from a stellar law student, and his academic record was marred by an incident of plagiarism. While taking a legal methods class, Biden directly plagiarized several pages of a Fordham Law Review article for his own paper. Upon discovery of the borrowing, Biden pled his case to the law school's administration, hoping to avoid being expelled from the program. "My intent was not to deceive anyone," he wrote in a letter quoted by E. J. Dionne, Jr., in the New York Times. "For if it were, I would not have been so blatant....if I had intended to cheat, would I have been so stupid?" Instead, Biden claimed, he had simply not understood the importance of thoroughly citing his sources. The law school allowed him to remain a student, but gave him a failing grade in the class; he later retook that course and, ultimately, completed his law degree in 1968 near the bottom of his class. The incident was not entirely forgotten, however, and would later prove damaging to Biden's political career.

Elected U.S. Senator

After completing his law degree, Biden returned to Wilmington, where he opened a law practice focusing on criminal defense. He soon won recognition for his public speaking skills, and in 1970, he was asked by a group of Delaware Republicans to stand for the New Castle County Council. Biden agreed to run, but as a Democrat; he won the largely Republican district easily. Two years later, Biden managed a surprising upset victory over popular incumbent U.S. Senator J. Caleb Boggs in a race in which Boggs had been so heavily favored that no one wanted to run against him. Biden carried the race by just over 3,000 votes, and at the age of 29 became the youngest popularly elected senator in U.S. history. Just as his star was on the rise, however, personal tragedy struck. Biden's wife and three children were involved in a car accident shortly before Christmas that killed his wife and young daughter Naomi. Biden spent the next several weeks near his sons in their hospital room, assuming his Senate seat only reluctantly. Even after his sons were released, Biden decided to retain residency in Wilmington, famously taking the train to and from Washington each workday. In 1977, he remarried to Jill Jacobs; the couple had a daughter, Ashley, in 1981.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Biden established himself as an outspoken and influential moderate Democrat. He served on several key Senate committees, particularly the Senate Judiciary Committee, and formed friendships with Democratic leaders such as Massachusetts Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy. His positions were not always in line with traditional liberal ideology; although Biden strongly supported civil rights, for example, he opposed school integration through mandated busing during the 1970s. He gained a reputation as a knowledgeable figure on criminal justice and a compelling if sometimes long-winded speaker.

In 1987, Biden threw his hat into the highly competitive ring for the Democratic presidential nomination. A popular long-time legislator and chair of the high-profile Judiciary Committee, Biden seemed at first like a strong contender. His moderate record was appealing in a time of conservative political strength and his skill as an orator helped him generate early excitement for a potential run. At an event in the crucial primary caucus state of Iowa in September of 1987, however, Biden included a story meant to reflect his middle-class roots, talking about his family's experiences working as miners and their inability to attend college. Within days, however, a video sent to Iowa media outlets, most likely from the competing campaign of Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, revealed the speech to be closely modeled on a speech previously given by British politician Neil Kinnock. Further investigation revealed that Biden's family in fact had no history as miners, and that his mother's family contained many college graduates. Scandal quickly erupted as the story spread to the national media. Biden's law school plagiarism landed in the papers along with other instances of apparent uncredited borrowing. Biden's own honesty and trustworthiness came under public fire. Despite initial insistence that he would remain in the race, the candidate withdrew just days later.

The controversy ended Biden's executive aspirations for the time, but it did not completely derail his political career. He continued to serve in the Senate, serving as a leading opponent to Reagan's ultimately unsuccessful Supreme Court nominee Robert H. Bork even as the scandal over his borrowed speech swirled. In 1988, he suffered from a series of aneurysms, undergoing emergency surgeries but ultimately fully recovering and returning to the Senate. He next commanded national attention when he presided over the confirmed hearings of another controversial Supreme Court nominee, Clarence Thomas, who was accused of sexual harassment by former employee Anita Hill during the confirmation process. Through his leadership on the Judiciary Committee, Biden helped enact strong anti-crime legislation including the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Enforcement Act, which made sweeping changes to reduce and deter crime, such as a federally banning assault weapons and increasing funding for initiatives to reduce violence against women.

Throughout the 1990s, Biden also worked to deepen his understanding of foreign affairs, and this growing expertise helped him become the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1997. During the waning years of the Clinton administration, Biden encouraged the president to oppose Yugoslavian leader Slobodan Milosevic and his ethnic cleansing; in 1999, he was a strong supporter of the air strikes that eventually forced Milosevic to leave Kosovo. After the George W. Bush administration gained power in 2001, Biden emerged as a critic of what he considered its scattered and overly isolationist foreign policies. Thrust into international tumult following the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, he nevertheless supported the administration's decision to wage wars in Afghanistan and, later, Iraq. His initial commitment to the Iraq War quickly wavered, however; he believed that insufficient thought and attention was being paid to the nation-building that would be required in the wake of a military victory, and that Bush was poorly informed and in denial about the realities on the ground. He remained a vocal critic of the administration's foreign policy throughout Bush's two terms.

Became Vice-President

In 2007, Biden again announced that he would stand for the Democratic presidential nomination. As in 1987, the field was a competitive one; former First Lady and then-U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton was widely considered the frontrunner, with U.S. Senator Barack Obama and former legislator and vice-presidential nominee John Edwards also posing strong challenges. Biden turned in strong and memorable debate performances during the Democratic primaries, but ended his candidacy after winning only a tiny minority of votes in the Iowa caucus in January of 2008. His involvement with the election was far from over, however. In August of 2008, Obama--who had secured the nomination after a long and hard-fought primary campaign--announced Biden as his vice-presidential running mate. Media outlets quickly hailed the choice as a smart one: Biden's foreign policy expertise and decades of political experience were seen as a counterbalance to Obama's brief career at the national level. "Joe Biden is what so many others pretend to be: a statesman with sound judgment who doesn't have to hide behind bluster to keep America strong," Obama was quoted as stating of his decision by S.A. Miller of the Washington Times.

Biden proved a tenacious campaigner, delivering stump speeches on the trail and vigorously debating the Republican vice-presidential nominee, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. In November of 2008, Biden was simultaneously elected to the vice-presidency and to his own seventh Senatorial term. He resigned his Senate seat shortly before being sworn in as the nation's forty-seventh vice-president. During Obama's first term, Biden contributed to the administration's foreign policy formation, serving as an adviser and frequently traveling abroad to conduct international relations. He was particularly influential in bringing the Iraq War to a graduated close by the end of 2011 and in winning Senate approval for a nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia. The Vice-President also was active in domestic affairs. Soon after taking office, Obama assigned Biden to head implementation of a large economic stimulus act. He also served as an advocate for policies and legislation aimed at supporting the U.S. middle class.

During 2012, Biden returned to the campaign trail to generate support for a second Obama-Biden term. His blunt speaking style and tendency to make verbal gaffes helped build excitement for that October's vice-presidential debate between Biden and Republican candidate Mitt Romney's running mate, Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan. Coming after a lackluster performance by Obama in his first presidential debate, Biden delivered sharp criticisms of the Republican ticket's economic plans and accused them of doing too little to protect the nation's lower- and middle-income residents. Biden won a second term in the following month's election and seemed set to continue his role as an administration foreign policy expert and middle-class advocate.

PERSONAL INFORMATION:

American Vice-President Joe Biden served for more than three decades in the U.S. Senate before becoming the nation's forty-seventh vice-president.

 AWARDS:

George Arents Pioneer Medal, Syracuse University, 2005; (with Richard Lugar) Crescent of Pakistan Award, government of Pakistan, 2008; Golden Medal of Freedom Award, government of Kosovo, 2009; inductee, Little League Hall of Excellence, 2009.

Donald Trump

Citation metadata

Before his career move into politics, Donald J. Trump was best known as a reality-show celebrity and real estate mogul. Recognized for the casinos and skyscrapers that once bore his name and made him rich, Trump announced his candidacy for the 2016 presidential election in June of 2015. During debates, interviews, and campaign stops, Trump made many controversial remarks, to the ire of many Republican voters. However, he emerged as the presumptive Republican nominee in May of 2016. In one of the most heated political contests in American history, Trump defeated Hillary Rodham Clinton in the U.S. Presidential Election on November 8, 2016. Trump took office on January 20, 2017; his inauguration was marked by days of protests and demonstrations. The Trump administration was been marked by low approval numbers and an unprecedented turnover rate for cabinet members. Trump’s presidency was also marred by scandal and controversy, much of which revolves around allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible collusion between Russian operatives and the Trump campaign. These allegations were at the center of the Mueller Report, the result of an extensive investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller that triggered calls for impeachment and numerous Congressional investigations into the Trump administration when it was released in 2019. On December 18, 2019, the House of Representatives impeached Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, although he was acquitted by the Senate on February 5, 2020. In June 2019, Trump officially launched his reelection campaign; he later officially received the nomination to run as the Republican candidate for president. After a close race against Democratic candidate Joe Biden that caused the vote count to extend several days past election night, Trump lost.

The Legacy of Donald Trump

In a narrative introducing an excerpt from his best-selling book, The Art of the Deal,  New York  magazine declared, "Donald Trump is one of the most remarkable figures of the roaring eighties---a true creature of the age. More than a New York real estate developer and deal-maker, Trump has become the personification of hustle and chutzpah, flogging Mayor Koch one day, raiding Holiday Inns or United Airlines the next, pronouncing on the Persian Gulf on the back page of the Times the day after that." He wrote a number of other books, including The Art of the Comeback (1999), The America We Deserve (2000), How to Get Rich (2004), Think Like a Billionaire (2005), Trump 101 (2006), Why We Want You to Be Rich (2006), Think Big (2008), Never Give Up (2008), Think Like a Champion (2009), Midas Touch (2011), Time to Get Tough (2011), Trump Tower 2011, and Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again.

Trump was a self-made billionaire by age forty. Aside from buying and selling the landmark hotels and luxury condominiums, the office towers and gambling palaces, what Trump really marketed was his image of success, megasuccess. More than making deals, Trump seemed to exist to publicize his deals, reveling in the high life he led. No matter how busy his day, he always seemed to find time to take calls from reporters, answer questions from television news people, and write diaries recounting his deals. Spoofing this aspect of the Trump persona, television personality David Letterman once showed up in the lobby of Trump Tower, unannounced, with his camera crew and, as props, an out-of-town couple visiting New York. Trump agreed immediately to an interview, and as they made small talk Letterman joked that Trump seemed to have nothing to do. Trump laughed and agreed with him.

In addition to managing his interests in real estate and casino gambling--and, increasingly, stock market speculating--the developer has also been active in the New York political arena, having taken out full-page advertisements in several major dailies in 1987, asserting his political views on national issues. "I'm not running for President," he told Newsweek in 1987. "But if I did, I'd win."

Trump kept busy enough during the 1980s marketing his image of top-of-the-line luxury to everyone who could afford his prices: Apartments at Trump Tower went for as much as $10 million. Among the contractors who built his projects, he was known as a hands-on, detail-oriented boss who made every decision, no matter how small. In a 1985 interview he explained his philosophy to the New York Times' William E. Geist: "You sell them a fantasy. Spend whatever it takes to build the best. Then, let people know about it. In New York, there is no limit to how much money people will spend for the very best, not second best, the very best."

To many, New Yorkers and out-of-town tourists alike, the Trump image was personified by three luxury midtown buildings that bore the developer's name: the Trump Tower, Trump Plaza, and Trump Parc. He also developed Trump Parc East and owned a 50 percent share in the country's largest gambling casino, the former Hilton Casino that he bought in 1985 and renamed Trump Marina Hotel & Casino; he sold the Atlantic City, New Jersey, facility in 2011. For a while, he owned a football team, the New Jersey Generals, of the defunct United States Football League.

Early Life and Success

Real estate deal-making was part of the Trump family tradition. Donald's father, Fred C. Trump, an entrepreneurial developer of Swedish descent, built and sold middle-class housing in Brooklyn and Queens, two residential boroughs of New York City. The business prospered, and the Trumps moved their young family--three boys and two girls--into a twenty-three-room mansion in Queens. Donald took an early interest in his father's work, tagging along to visit construction sites around the city. He attended military school and began working for his father part-time at age sixteen. The family business at the time was worth an estimated $40 million.

After graduating from military school, Donald attended Fordham University, then went on to complete his undergraduate education at the University of Pennsylvania's prestigious Wharton School of Finance. When he got bored with classes, he bought and sold parcels of Philadelphia real estate. He graduated in 1968 and returned home to the family business. At twenty-eight, he left Queens behind and moved out on his own. Setting himself up in Manhattan, he began scouting midtown for opportunities. Land was relatively cheap at the time; the city's financial status was beginning to worsen, and developers were shying away from projects. By 1975, New York City was staring bankruptcy in the face. When the crumbling Commodore Hotel came on the market, Trump studied the situation and decided the hotel's prime location in midtown--next door to Grand Central Station--was reason enough to buy. Against his father's advice, he bought the old hotel, then gutted it, and rebuilt it as a chrome-and-glass showplace. By 1982, when the hotel was reopened as the Grand Hyatt, New York was well on its way back to fiscal health.

Trump's second big deal was a $1 million land investment in Atlantic City, which he made prior to gambling's legalization there in 1976. He bought the land quietly, a few parcels at a time. By the early 1980s, the investment was worth an estimated $22 million. With construction under way on his casino hotel, he sold a half-interest in the property to Harrah's, the casino management company, for $50 million, also receiving Harrah's insurance against loss for many years into the future.

But it was in New York that he had most attracted public attention. Building on his father's lifelong connections in city government and local Democratic clubhouses, Donald Trump quickly mastered the art of obtaining zoning variances and tax abatements, without which his castles would have been built in the sky. He also learned how to make deals without putting his own money at risk. The 68-floor Trump Tower, for example, was built with $200 million provided by Equitable Life Assurance Society. Reported Business Week's Terry Thompson, "With a 10-year tax-abatement and no debt on the property, Trump and Equitable take in about $14 million a year each by renting retail and office space at some of the highest rates in New York."

It wasn't Trump Tower's financing, however, that seized the public imagination--it was the style, bold and brassy, that Trump gave it. The shimmering glass skyscraper on Fifth Avenue almost instantly became one of the city's most popular tourist attractions. There was the million-dollar waterfall in the lobby, the pink marble floors, the upstairs tenants like Johnny Carson, Stephen Spielberg, and Sophia Loren, the main-floor merchants such as Calvin Klein, the doormen who, outfitted in red military tunics, gold braid, and black bearskin hats, stood at attention beside revolving doors. There were two-foot high bronze "T"s in the lobby, and nearby were a pianist and violinist who wore tuxedoes and play duets. Describing the building's spirit of excess in a New York magazine profile, gossip columnist Liz Smith trumpeted: "I like his style. Because he isn't a phony and a fake. How can we really fault him? For isn't he the perfect synthesis of competition---striving, elbowing, wheeling, dealing, showing off, getting, and flaunting it?"

As if he had suddenly discovered the stock market, he began investing some of the profits he seemed to make so effortlessly in real estate. The novice investor bought large chunks of three different companies--Allegis (formerly United Airlines), Holiday Corp. (owner of Holiday Inns), and Bally's--and watched as Wall Street rumors sent the price of the stock skyrocketing. Each time he sold his holdings and, in total, realized a profit in excess of $122 million.

Personal Life, Politics, and Business

Unlike most business tycoons, Trump clearly preferred the goldfish bowl to the seclusion of a penthouse citadel. While he professed a dislike for public appearances, he frequented such high-profile restaurants as the "21" Club, enjoyed walking the floor at his casino, and was often photographed at society galas or charity events. New Yorkers treated him like a celebrity, and his face was one of the best-known in town. Blanche Sprague, who managed condo sales at Trump Tower, told Geist of the New York Times, "When I walk down the street with Donald, people come up and just touch him, hoping that his good fortune will rub off."

On 7 October 1999, Trump announced the formation of an exploratory committee to inform his decision of whether he should seek the Reform Party's nomination for the presidential race of 2000. Later he told Fortune magazine: "If I feel I could win-win-then I'd run. I think I have a good chance... Hey, I've got my name on half the major buildings in New York... I went to the Wharton School of Finance, which is the No. 1 school. I'm intelligent. Some people would say I'm very, very, very intelligent." He added that he had written best-selling books, with the clarification, "Not bestsellers. No. 1 bestsellers." Then he concluded with, "You know I am the highest-paid speaker in the country?"

Certainly he had the name recognition to make a presidential bid. The Gallup Organization reported that 98 percent of Americans knew who he was, making him quite arguably the most famous business man in America. But as it turned out, Trump's candidacy was merely a flash in the pan, washed out as much by the disintegration of the Reform Party as fellow candidate John McCain's popularity surge in the polls.

Not one to succumb to failure, Trump continued to acquire properties and make investments into the new millennium. In 1999, he opened Trump International Hotel and Tower, a fifty-two-story super luxury hotel and residential building. In 2002, he began development of Trump Park Avenue, which was created out of his purchase of the Delmonico Hotel at 59th Street and Park Avenue. He expanded his ventures outside the northeast to include Trump Grande Ocean Resort and Residences in Miami Beach, Florida. He also had long-term plans for buildings in Chicago, Illinois.

Once the icon of successful, aggressive businessmen everywhere, Trump introduced himself to a new generation of wannabe-millionaires with the creation of the reality show The Apprentice in 2004. On the show, contestants vie for an opportunity to become his next employee. If they fail, the contestants are released with peremptory, "You're fired!" from Trump. The popularity of the phrase even led Trump to seek trademark status for the phrase. The popularity of the show led Trump to market himself in every medium possible. In June of 2004, he launched a short, syndicated radio show. In July he announced the launch of his magazine Trump World to the mass market. He also created a board game, Trump, The Game. The television series continued for many seasons, eventually shifting to a celebrity-contestant format. Trump hosted the show until 2015.

The year 2005 was a busy one for Trump's business ventures. Trump's company, Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts Inc., was given approval by a federal judge to begin voting on its bankruptcy plan. In May the company emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy with a new name: Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. Through the rest of the year, Trump continued his trademark gigantic real-estate transactions. In March of 2005, he signed off on the final plans for Trump International Hotel and Tower Chicago, a ninety-two-story condominium and hotel complex that opened in 2008. He told a reporter for Business Week Online, "I like height. It gives you the view. It gives you the drama. It gives you the architecture. And it has always worked for me."

In June of 2005, Trump set a record for the largest-ever residential real estate sale in New York City. Trump and other investors reached a tentative deal to sell 31 hectares (77 acres) of land and three buildings located on Manhattan's Upper West Side to the Extell Development Corp. and the Carlyle Group for $1.8 billion.

Outside of business matters, Trump was most concerned with the issue of nuclear disarmament. He has visited the Soviet Union, based in part on his expressed convictions, and has let it be known he would like to negotiate with Moscow as a representative of the United States. He believes that private enterprise could speed disarmament faster than the Washington bureaucracy, civil servants being a long-standing object of his derision. "There's a vast difference between somebody who's been consistently successful [in private business] and somebody who's been working for a relatively small amount of money in governmental service for many years," he told Ron Rosenbaum of Manhattan Inc. "In many cases because the private sector, who have seen these people indirectly, didn't choose to hire these people, any of them, because it didn't find them to be particularly capable. But then, years and years later they get slightly promoted, promoted, promoted. The private sector has passed them by and all of a sudden these people are negotiating the lives of you and your children, your families."

Ventures and Bankruptcies

Trump and the NBC Television Network were partners in owning and broadcasting the Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA pageants until 2015. His production company, which also managed The Apprentice until 2015, was based in Los Angeles. He also had a radio program on Clear Channel for a few years. In 2007, he received a star on the Walk of Fame for his work in television.

In 2008, Coastal Marina LLC, an affiliate of Coastal Development LLC, announced a deal to buy the Marina Hotel and Casino from Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. for $316 million. The sale was never completed, and in May of 2011 Landry's Inc., owners of the Golden Nugget casinos in Nevada, purchased the property for just $38 million--about a tenth of the expected price three years earlier. The previous summer, Trump Entertainment Inc. had emerged from its third bankruptcy court stint.

In early 2011, Trump bought a 757 airplane, considerably larger than his 727, which had been up for sale, with no takers, since 2009. That same spring Trump hinted that he would run for President in the 2012 election, and the purchase of the larger plane fueled media speculation about his run for the White House. He publicly questioned the validity of President Barack Obama's Hawaiian birth certificate, and when Obama released a copy of the long form, Trump took credit for this development. He announced on 16 May 2011, that he would not run for President. Despite this, Trump was anything but quiet about the 2012 presidential election. After throwing his support behind Mitt Romney and deriding President Obama on a near-constant basis, Trump went on a social media rampage when Obama was ultimately reelected, calling the decision a "sham and a travesty."

Trump or companies bearing his name had declared bankruptcy four times as of April of 2011. Though Forbes estimated his worth at $2.7 billion, in 1991, 1992, 2004, and 2009, Trump-branded ventures sought Chapter 11 protection. In 1991, he had $3.4 billion in debt with the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey, when the economy slumped. He turned over half ownership and half equity in the casino to the banks for time and a lower interest rate. He sold his Trump Princess yacht and Trump Shuttle plane. Bankers capped his personal spending. A year later, he owed $550 million on the Trump Plaza Hotel in Atlantic City. He remained chief executive in that deal, but lost his salary. In 2004, Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts Inc., with $1.8 billion in debt, filed for voluntary bankruptcy. Trump reduced his share in the company, from 47 percent to 25 percent, losing control of the company. The tanking economy of 2008 affected his real estate holdings. Trump Entertainment and affiliates were $1.74 billion in debt. His company missed a $53.1 million bond interest payment in December, and Trump Entertainment Resorts was in bankruptcy court. Trump, at odds with his board of directors, resigned as chairman in 2009. Months later, he had just a 10 percent share in the company. According to an analyst, most of Trump's debt came about through bonds sold to the public. The investors lost money, but Trump was relatively unscathed.

With strong completion in Pennsylvania and Maryland, Atlantic city's casinos began to decline; Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino was the fourth in the city to close during 2014. Donald Trump had removed his name from the business, and in February of 2015, a judge in Atlantic City ruled that Trump's name also must be removed from the Taj Mahal Casino, the last one associated with his brand. The casino, scheduled to close in December of 2014, received a last-minute reprieve when its union accepted a new deal and an investor supplied additional cash.

Trump again toyed with the idea of running for President prior to the 2016 election. He agreed to appear as the keynote speaker at a Lincoln-Reagan Day dinner in Iowa in May, feeding rumors of his intentions. According to United Press International, in an earlier speech in Iowa Trump asserted that he had answers for the country's problems. Trump reportedly said, "Our country is in such trouble, and it would be so easy to fix. We have such great potential. If I run for president, and if I win, I would totally succeed in creating jobs, defeating ISIS and stopping the Islamic terrorists."

Announced Bid for the Presidency

In June of 2015, Trump formally announced his bid for the 2016 presidency. Although he had toyed with running several times in the past, this marked the first time he was officially running on the Republican ticket. Early into the election season, Trump enjoyed a clear lead in the polls. His controversial comments about immigration, race, and other issues, however, angered many individuals and led to the end of his affiliations with NBC, The Apprentice reality show, and Miss America/Miss Universe pageants. Trump took part in the GOP debate in September of 2015, and afterward polls showed Trump in the lead.

Trump continued to lead in national polls in December of 2015, showing 27 percent approval early in the month. Republican opponents Marco Rubio and Ben Carson followed with 17 percent and 16 percent, respectively. On 3 December, Trump announced that within two weeks, his doctor would release a medical report showing Trump's health to be perfect. The media noted at the time that Trump would be the oldest person to assume the presidency if he were inaugurated in January of 2017.

In early 2016, Trump's campaign faced competition from Ohio Governor John Kasich, who easily won his home state's primary in March, and from Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who earned the most votes among more traditional Republican voters in the key state of Wisconsin in April. However, Trump won the Indiana primary--and 57 more delegates, bringing his total to 1,014--on 3 May 2016. With Trump as the presumptive Republican candidate, Cruz suspended his campaign that evening; Kasich suspended his bid for the presidency the following day.

In July, Trump formally accepted the nomination to serve as the Republican Party's presidential candidate at the GOP Convention held in Cleveland, Ohio. Many Republicans felt uneasy about Trump leading their party to the election in November, but the candidate still drew crowds at his rallies and speeches. In the race to the White House, Trump faced Democratic candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton--the first woman nominated to run for President from a major U.S. political party. In what many saw as a divisive campaign, Trump attacked Clinton, calling out his opponent's use of a private email server during her time as U.S. Secretary of State. With unedited language that matched his bold attitude, Trump faced Clinton three times in televised debates. In each debate, Trump maintained he would be able to defeat terrorism, secure America's borders, repeal "Obamacare," and promote job growth.

As the election drew near, Trump's character was repeatedly called into question. Of particular concern was a tape that emerged of Trump using language disparaging to women--a revelation many saw as harmful to his bid for the presidency. Undeterred, Trump pushed forward with his campaign. In addition, Trump steadfastly refused to release his personal financial information, as news reports revealed a strong possibility that Trump did not pay federal income tax for as many as eighteen years. While many polls favored a Clinton victory on 8 November 2016, Trump secured the majority of electoral votes and emerged as the winner. Many Americans and observers around the globe were stunned by Trump's victory, and many people expressed sadness and fear. In his victory speech, Trump called for a time of unity; he hoped the country would not remain divided, and he gave his pledge: "I will be president for all Americans." In December 2016, official election results showed that Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, with 65,844,954 votes; Trump earned nearly 3 million fewer votes, with a total of 62,979,879. Trump's win was secured by winning the majority of Electoral College votes.

Presidency

Trump was sworn into office on 20 January 2017. The day was filled with the standard presidential pomp, including the motorcade down Pennsylvania Avenue and the inaugural luncheon. However, the cheers of supporters were mixed in with catcalls and jeers from protestors. The next day, hundreds of thousands attended the Women's March on Washington, a demonstration that dwarfed the inauguration crowd and sent a powerful message of inclusion and openness--a clear rejection of the new President's platform.

In the first weeks of his administration, Trump began setting his policies in place; these included his approval of the controversial Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines, an executive order to begin construction of a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border, and a notable reorganization of the National Security Council to include his chief strategist, Steve Bannon. The most impactful presidential action was Trump's "travel ban" involving seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Travelers from these countries faced a 90-day ban. Additionally, refugees from all countries faced a 120-day ban, with Syrian refugees banned indefinitely. According to numerous reports, the order was poorly executed. News spread of people being stranded with nowhere to go, or having their visas revoked without explanation, with widespread confusion among immigration and border agents regarding how to implement the ban. Demonstrators gathered at airports around the United States to show their support for the people impacted by Trump's order, which was seen by many as a "Muslim ban."

On 6 April 2017, Trump launched a U.S. airstrike against a Syrian airbase in retaliation for a chemical attack ordered by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against civilians. This marked a shift in U.S. intervention in the Syrian Civil War. In early May 2017, Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, a move that drew shock from both political parties; the timing of Comey's dismissal coincided with his plans to investigate a possible link between Russia and Trump's presidential campaign.

In June 2017, Trump announced that the United States would pull out of the historic Paris accords for climate change. The move was praised by conservatives, but was heavily criticized by liberals. That same months, allegations that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia during the election were raised. Trump denied these allegations.

In July of 2017, the Republican attempt to repeal or heavily reform Obamacare failed. It did not have the necessary number of votes in the Senate to continue. After a White Nationalist march in Charlottesville resulted in violence, Trump condemned the violence on both sides.

The following month, Trump ordered a series of new sanctions on North Korea in response to missile testing actions carried out by North Korea. He also warned the nation of potential military action if North Korea failed to curtail its nuclear testing.

In early 2018, porn star Stormy Daniels alleged that she was paid $130,000 to never speak about her affair with Trump. Daniels offered to repay the money in exchange for freedom to speak about her experiences, but was refused. In February of that year, Trump announced another round of sanctions against North Korea, with the intent of pressuring the rogue state into giving up its nuclear missile program. In April 2018, North Korea suspended nuclear and long range missile tests. Later that year, Trump attended a summit with North Korean leaders. Denuclearization talks continued after the summit.

In July of 2018, Trump took part in a joint press conference with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland. During the event, Trump refused to endorse the American government's conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. Trump's decision to publicly side with Putin over his own country's intelligence community sparked an immediate backlash. While Trump attempted to argue the next day that he simply misspoke, he also floated the idea that other, non-Russian agents could have be responsible for the alleged election meddling.

The following month, two former members of Trump's inner circle found themselves heading to prison. Michael Cohen, who previously served as Trump's personal lawyer, plead guilty to a series of eight federal charges that included two campaign finance violations. He was later sentenced to three years behind bars. At the same time as Cohen entered his plea, former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort was convicted on eight counts of federal financial crimes. He was eventually sentenced to 47 months in prison.

In November of 2018, Trump released a statement officially supporting Saudi Arabia in the aftermath of the murder of Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi, an outspoken critic of the Saudi regime who was killed at a Saudi consulate in Turkey. While the Saudi government denied having any involvement in Khashoggi's death, U.S. intelligence officials suggested that the incident likely could not have occurred without the approval of Saudi leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a staunch Trump ally.

On December 22, 2018, the U.S. government was plunged into the longest partial shutdown in its history after Trump demanded $5.7 billion in border wall funding before he would sign a federal funding package. The shutdown dragged on for just over a month until Trump finally signed a short-term spending measure designed to provide three weeks of stopgap funding on January 16, 2019. Because this measure did not include a provision for border wall funding, Trump eventually sought to get the money he desired by declaring a national emergency on February 15. A second government shutdown was averted later that day when Trump signed a border security measure negotiated by Congress that allocated $1.375 billion for border barriers. Just three days later, a group of 16 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging Trump's national emergency declaration.

On February 28, Trump attended a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam. The two failed to reach a joint agreement after Kim demanded the U.S. lift all sanctions on North Korea.

Departures from the Trump Administration

Trump's administration was plagued by constant cabinet changes. In July 2017, Sean Spicer stepped down as White House press secretary, and Reince Prebius was removed from his position as White House chief of staff. The following month, Anthony Scaramucci removed himself from the position of White House communications director after just eleven days of work. In August, the White House chief strategist Steve Bannon was removed from his position. In September, Tom Price resigned from the post of Secretary of Health and Human Services. In December, Omarosa Manigault Newman resigned as an advisor to the President. In February 2018, Hope Hicks resigned as the President"s communications director. In March, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was fired by the President. More departures followed, with some of the most notable figures leaving the White House including Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen and Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. This higher than average number of cabinet replacements has been heavily criticized by the mainstream media.

Impeachment and 2020 Campaign Plans

In March of 2019, Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who nearly two years earlier began an extensive investigation into the possibility of coordination between the Russian government and members of the Trump campaign, concluded his inquiry and delivered his final report to Attorney General William Barr. Barr subsequently released a letter summarizing the Mueller Report that said there was insufficient evidence to suggest that members of the Trump campaign participated in a criminal conspiracy with the Russian government. However, when the full report was released a few weeks later, Congress learned that there was actually a great deal of evidence against not only members of the Trump campaign, but also Trump himself. In fact, Mueller pointedly declined to fully exonerate Trump of obstruction of justice and stopped short of suggesting charges only because of a Justice Department rule stating that a sitting president could not be indicted. These revelations led many Democratic members of Congress to call for impeachment. In the months that followed, Judiciary committees in both the House and Senate launched investigations into the Trump administration and its activities.

On December 18, 2019, the House voted to impeach Trump, making him only the third president to be formally impeached. The move was based on two charges: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. When voting moved to the Senate, however, Trump was far more protected by the Republican majority. Senate Republicans voted to acquit the incumbent, with the sole exception of former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who stated that he believed Trump had abused the power of that office. On February 5, 2020, Trump was officially acquitted of both charges against him, thus ending the impeachment proceedings that had dominated much of the government for months. Trump did not mention the impeachment during his State of the Union address, and the entire affair did little to hamper his momentum leading into the election year.

In May of 2019, Trump threatened to impose new tariffs on Mexico in an attempt to strong-arm the country into stepping up its immigration-enforcement actions. Just days later, Trump announced that he would suspend implementation of the proposed tariffs after U.S. and Mexican officials were able to reach an agreement on how to proceed with immigration enforcement.

On June 18, 2019, Trump officially launched his 2020 reelection campaign at a rally in Orlando, Florida. Three days later, Trump announced that he cancelled a planned retaliatory attack on Iran at the last minute. The aborted attack was meant to be a response to an incident in which an American drone was shot down over the Strait of Hormuz on June 20. Trump's campaign continued with minimum impact from the impeachment hearings. In February of 2020, Trump was the clear forerunner for the Republican nomination. Republican leaders have stated their support for Trump and his only challenger for the nomination is former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld, an outspoken critic of the incumbent.

Trump officially received the nomination to run as the Republican candidate for president. After a very close race against Democratic candidate Joe Biden, with vote counts extending several days past election night, Trump lost the election. He continued to have his legal team fight against the results. His refusal to accept the loss put transition work on hold.

PERSONAL INFORMATION:

Full name, Donald John Trump; born 14 June 1946, in New York, NY; son of Fred C. (a real estate developer) and Mary (MacLeod) Trump; married Ivana Winkelmayr (an interior designer, business executive, and former fashion model), 1977; divorced; married Marla Maples (an actress), 1993; divorced, 1999; married Melania Knauss (former model), 2005; children: Donald, Ivanka, and Eric (with Winkelmayr); Tiffany (with Maples); and Barron (with Knauss). Education: Attended Fordham University for two years; University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Finance, BA in economics, 1968.

 

CAREER:

The Trump Organization, New York City, began working in various jobs while attending school; owner of subsidiary companies, including Trump Enterprises, Inc., The Trump Corp., Trump Development Co., Wembly Realty, Inc., Park South Co., and Land Corp. of California, through 2017; President of the United States, 2017-20.

 WORKS:

Writings

· Trump: The Art of the Deal (with Tony Schwartz), Random House, 1987.

· Trump: Surviving at the Top (with Charles Leerhsen), Random House, 1990.

· Trump: The Art of the Comeback (with Kate Bonher), Random House, 1997.

· The America We Deserve (with Dave Shiflett), Renaissance Books, 2000.

· Trump: How To Get Rich (with Meredeth Mciver), Random House, 2004.

· Trump: Think Like a Billionaire (with Meredeth Mciver), Random House, 2004.

· Trump: The Way to the Top, Random House, 2004.

· Trump: The Best Golf Advice I Ever Received, Random House, 2005.

· Why We Want You to Be Rich: Two Men, One Message, Rich Press, 2006.

· Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Thomas Nelson, 2006.

· Trump 101: The Way to Success, Wiley, 2006.

· Think Big and Kick Ass in Business and Life, HarperCollins, 2007.

· Trump: Never Give Up: How I Turned My Biggest Challenges into Success, Wiley, 2008.

· Think Like a Champion: An Informal Education in Business and Life, Vanguard Press, 2009.

· Midas Touch: Why Some Entrepreneurs Get Rich and Why Most Don't, Plata Publishing, 2011.

· Time to Get Tough: Making America #1 Again, Regnery Publishing, 2011.

· Trump Tower, Vanguard Press, 2011.

· Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again, Threshold Editions, 2015.

Donald John Trump

· 1946: Born.

· 1971: Moved to Manhattan from Queens.

· 1975: Purchased Penn Central Railroad for $62 million.

· 1986: Renovated Wollman Skating Rink in Central Park.

· 1986: Purchased large stakes in major corporations.

· 1986: Acquired Eastern Airlines' shuttle operation.

· 1986: Made unsuccessful bid to purchase American Airlines for $7.5 billion.

· 1988: Wrote best-selling Trump: The Art of the Deal.

· 1990: Missed $73 million in payments; creditors put him on a $450,000-a-month living expense limit.

· 1997: Estimated net worth of $2.5 billion.

· 1999: Suggested he might consider running for U.S. president as Reform Party candidate.

· 2000: Co-authored The America We Deserve.

· 2002: Purchased Delmonico Hotel and developed into super luxury hotel and residential units.

· 2004: Produced and starred in popular reality series The Apprentice.

· 2005: Married for third time.

· 2007: Received star on Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Overview

Billionaire real estate developer Donald Trump showed the world that millions could be made in developing expensive commercial and residential properties. His intuitive sense of business and sharp eye for spotting a deal made Trump one of the most respected--and most hated--business persons of the 1980s. Without question, Trump became one of the most famous poster boys of an era known for its big-time financial wheeling and dealing and conspicuous consumption.

Personal Life

Born Donald John Trump in 1946, he was the fourth of five children of Frederick C. and Mary MacLeod Trump. He was raised in Queens,  New York , where his father was a builder and real estate developer who later specialized in constructing and operating middle-income apartments in Queens, Staten Island, and Brooklyn. Donald was a bright, energetic, and assertive child who grew up in a 23-room house with his siblings. But by the time Donald was 13, his parents realized he lacked discipline, so they sent him to the New York Military Academy. Trump did well there both socially and academically, and became a star athlete and student leader by the time he graduated in 1964.

While at the Academy, Donald spent his spare time looking around at construction sites and renovating old houses. It seemed Trump would follow in his father's footsteps, but on a much grander scale. He attended Fordham University but later transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned an undergraduate degree in finance from its Wharton School of Business in 1968. Following graduation, he worked in his father's business, the Trump Organization. Soon, Trump began putting his newly acquired business training to use, and was able to finance an expansion of the company's holdings by convincing his father to be more liberal in the use of loans based on the equity in the Trump apartment complexes. Eventually, Trump bypassed his older brother and became president of his father's company, which concentrated on building houses and apartments. Though this was an important position, it was not really fulfilling for Trump. He had bigger dreams of putting his signature on the Manhattan skyline.

Yearning for bigger, more profitable projects, Trump used $200,000 to move his residence to a small studio apartment in Manhattan in 1971. There, he was closer to the affluent and influential set who, he felt, could make dreams come true. "If I ever wanted to be known as more than Fred Trump's son, I was eventually going to have to go out and make my own mark," Trump once said.

In 1973, Trump persuaded his father to invest in the Manhattan real estate market. By then, the company's worth had grown from $40 million when Donald had joined the firm to a whopping $200 million.

Four years later, Trump married New York fashion model Ivana Zelnickova Winklmayr, who had been an alternate on the 1968 Czech Ski Team. After their first child was born, Trump named his wife vice president in charge of design in the Trump Organization. Ivana, an attractive and stylish woman, had a flair for design, and played a major role in supervising the renovation of the Commodore Hotel. She nicknamed her husband "The Donald," and added a touch of style that he appreciated and welcomed, like color- coordinating his tie to her outfit. But later, as Trump's empire began to crumble, so did his marriage. There were constant reports in the tabloids that Trump and his wife were having marital problems, and that the source of those problems was model Marla Maples. Trump and Ivana, who had three children, divorced, and Trump married Maples in 1994. Time magazine recorded the moment, reporting that "more than a thousand guests attended the 15-minute ceremony in the Grand Ballroom of Trump's Plaza Hotel, causing limo-lock in the surrounding streets. In their wake trailed 17 television-camera crews, 90 paparazzi and a small army of bodyguards." The new Mrs. Trump wore an off-the-shoulder white satin dress, topped off with a $2 million tiara. For all the pomp and circumstance, however, the marriage was brief, and ended in divorce. Trump and his second wife have a daughter, Tiffany. In 2005, Trump married for a third time. He and former model Melania Knauss were married in an extravagant ceremony held in Palm Beach, Florida. The couple had a son, Barron, in March of 2006.

Career Details

Trump's climb to the apex of the business world was remarkable. His strategy was to buy dilapidated properties when prices were cheap, fix them up, and then make a huge profit selling or leasing space when the economy picked up. He made his first major deal in 1975, when he acquired the bankrupt Penn Central Railroad's Commodore Hotel and rail yards near the Hudson River. Trump then sold the rail yards to the city for a hefty commission, and won an unprecedented $120 million, 46-year tax abatement to tear down the Commodore and build the new Grand Hyatt Hotel in partnership with the Hyatt Corporation. To that amount he added $70 million in loans to construct the hotel. The deal incensed a number of community and political people in New York, who claimed that he used political connections to broker a deal with the city. But Trump had supporters, too. Urban analysts credit Trump with helping to ignite a building renaissance in a deteriorating part of town. "Nobody believed I could pull it off," he boasted.

Ignoring naysayers and supporters alike, Trump continued to negotiate complex deals that made him the best-known and most controversial developer in New York. Against the wishes of New York City, Trump was able to convince the courts that he was entitled to substantial tax abatements, which the city was forced to pay. Trump used the abatements to help finance his flagship building, the posh Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue at 56th Street, completed in 1980. The 58-story building featured a six-story atrium lined with pink marble, and included an 80-foot waterfall. The luxurious building attracted well-known retail stores and celebrity renters. Residential condominiums sold for a pricey $10 million and higher. Of course, all this overt show of opulence and wealth attracted national attention for Trump, as the Trump Tower became a major tourist attraction. As quoted in the New York Times, Trump dubbed the project "the finest apartments in the top building in the best location in the hottest city in the world."

By now, a pattern had emerged. Trump had a penchant for glitzy, controversial deals, and maintained this interest throughout the 1970s and 1980s. In 1978 he bought the site of the Bonwit Teller department store and built a 68-story tower on Fifth Avenue, complete with a $2 million marble indoor waterfall. In the early 1980s he purchased a team in the upstart United States Football League, the New Jersey Generals, which sparked the league's antitrust lawsuit against the National Football League. But even Donald Trump could not make every deal happen. He once offered to construct a project on the site that later was occupied by the Jacob Javits Convention Center if New York City would name the building after Trump's father; the city declined. City officials balked at Trump's plan to build a $5 billion complex on a strip of land running along the Hudson River from 59th to 72nd streets.

Trump continued moving from one deal to another. He opened casinos, and entered other real estate ventures. In time, he ventured beyond the real estate market in hopes of making a mark in the high-stakes game of corporate raiding.

Early in his career, Trump earned significant notoriety for artificially driving up real estate prices. He drew similar criticism as he sought to acquire companies that were not looking for suitors. Beginning in 1986, he engaged in stock market deals that made him look like a corporate raider. He bought large stakes in a series of publicly traded companies, including MCI and Pillsbury, fueling takeover speculation that raised stock prices and allowed him to sell at a handsome profit. Though many criticized Trump's deals, he was playing the game much as other speculators did in the high-stakes climate of the time. The process was simple: Trump would identify a company whose stock was undervalued, buy enough shares to take a noticeable position in the company, and make overtures of buying the company. This would immediately attract the attention of other stock traders, who would label the stock a buy, driving the stock price higher. Trump, of course, was never really interested in buying, nor was the company interested in selling; but his actions prompted a significant increase in the value of his shares, and enabled him to sell at a huge profit.

Some acquisitions, however, really did take place. In 1989, Trump acquired Eastern Airlines' shuttle operation for $365 million, and renamed it the Trump Shuttle. In 1990, he was interested in acquiring American Airlines, bidding $7.5 billion for it. But the parent company was not interested in selling.

Nonetheless, it seemed Trump was on a roll. A genius at self-promotion, Trump named several huge projects after himself--making his name a household word by the end of the 1980s. He built or bought a succession of hotels and apartment houses in Manhattan--including the Plaza Hotel, Trump Plaza, and Trump Parc--and became a major hotel and casino operator in Atlantic City, having astutely purchased property in the New Jersey seaside resort before the passage of a 1976 referendum legalizing gambling. This was where the Trump Princess Yacht was docked, and where the Trump Shuttle airplane landed. Trump's Castle and the Trump Plaza and Taj Mahal casinos quickly became big moneymakers and helped raise Trump's profile nationally by sponsoring boxing championships.

"The first time I did it, with Trump Tower, maybe it was ego," he once said. "But now it's economics. If somebody tells you you'll do a $100 million more business if you call a building Trump Parc than if you call it Tower on the Park or some other name, you'd have to be some kind of masochist not to do it."

By 1990 many wondered how much Trump was really worth behind his complex financing schemes. His net worth had been estimated by some at as much as $3 billion. Trump never confirmed or denied it. But Forbes magazine decided to take a closer look, concluding that his property was worth just under $3.7 billion, but he had debts totaling $3.2 billion, for a net worth of only a half-billion dollars. The magazine went on to predict that Trump could expect difficult times ahead.

This bleak prognosis proved accurate. The real estate market soured in 1990 and property values began plummeting. Trump's casinos suffered from oversaturation. Moreover, the credit market tightened, making it difficult for Trump to borrow additional money to cover his debts. Consequently, he missed $73 million in payments due in June 1990, and was extended an emergency $65 million loan, which the banks granted in order to save him from default and to protect their own investment. But that loan came at a hefty price: in return, Trump lost his freedom and was forced to relinquish much of his income, and clear important business decisions with his creditors. At the worst of the slump, his casinos filed for bankruptcy protection and Trump himself had a personal debt of approximately $900 million.

But somehow, Trump bounced back. With the help of Chinese investors, he was able to complete development of huge housing projects on Manhattan's West Side rail yards, and by 1999 was charging an astronomical $100 per-square- foot rent in the General Motors Building--by far the highest ever paid for office space in Manhattan. By early 2000, Trump reported his worth at around $5 billion--a figure disputed by many analysts. Forbes Magazine, for example, calculated his net worth at more like $1.6 billion. Since the Trump Organization is a private company, it is not required to disclose financial information, and analysts found it difficult to estimate the actual worth of Trump's complex real estate holdings.

After a relatively quiet period, Trump made headlines again in 1999 when he expressed interest in running for President in the 2000 election. His book, The America We Deserve, published in January 2000, outlined his views on social and political issues affecting the country. Among his ideas was a plan to eliminate the federal debt by a one-time tax on the wealthy. He also stressed that his success in earning his own fortune made him better qualified than professional politicians: "Politicians are on the take and looking for job security," he noted. "Not me."

Another major point was Trump's insistence that he would use his own money if he campaigned. This would free him from reliance on donations from special interest groups but also make him ineligible to receive federal matching funds. Many expressed doubt, though, that the mogul did, in fact, have access to the $100 million he pledged from his own funds to finance his political ambitions.

On October 7, 1999, Trump announced the formation of an exploratory committee to inform his decision of whether or not he should seek the Reform Party's nomination for the presidential race. Later he told Fortune magazine: "If I feel I could win--win--then I'd run. I think I have a good chance... Hey, I've got my name on half the major buildings in New York... I went to the Wharton School of Finance, which is the No. 1 school. I'm intelligent. Some people would say I'm very, very, very intelligent." He added that he had written three best-selling books, with the clarification, "Not bestsellers. No. 1 bestsellers." Then he concluded with, "You know I am the highest-paid speaker in the country?"

Certainly he had the name recognition to make a presidential bid. The Gallup Organization reported that 98% of Americans knew who he is, making him quite arguably the most famous business man in America. But as it turned out, Trump's candidacy was merely a flash in the pan, washed out as much by the disintegration of the Reform Party as fellow candidate John McCain's popularity surge in the polls.

After Trump withdrew his bid for president, he continued to make successful forays into real estate. His purchase and renovation of the Delmonico Hotel on Park Avenue resulted in a successful luxury hotel and residential unit called Trump Park Avenue. He also developed units in Miami Beach, Florida, and Las Vegas, Nevada. The year 2004 was filled with highs and lows for Trump. He partnered with reality television's leading propagator, Mark Burnett, to produce and star in one of the year's most successful reality series The Apprentice. Trump capitalized on the popularity of the series and launched a radio show, a magazine, and even a board game all bearing his name. On the down side, Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts Inc. was $1.8 billion in debt and was forced into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late 2004.

In 2005, the company was given approval by a federal judge to begin voting on its bankruptcy plan. In May, the company emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy with a new name: Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. Through the rest of the year, Trump continued his trademark gigantic real-estate transactions. In March of 2005, he signed off on the final plans for Trump International Hotel and Tower Chicago, a condominium and hotel complex that will be 1,360 feet tall, the second-tallest building in the Western hemisphere. He told a reporter for Business Week Online, "I like height. It gives you the view. It gives you the drama. It gives you the architecture. And it has always worked for me."

In June of 2005, Trump set a record for the largest-ever residential real estate sale in New York City. Trump and other investors reached a tentative deal to sell 77 acres of land and three buildings located on Manhattan's Upper West Side to the Extell Development Corp. and the Carlyle Group for $1.8 billion.

Trump's latest venture is "Trump University," an online business school. Courses started at a cost of $297 for 13 hours of online instruction, offered by moonlighting professors from more traditional schools. Although the school is called a "University," students do not get college credit for the courses, and the school has no physical location. The courses emphasize practical topics and their application in the real world; initial course offerings included introductions to real estate, marketing, and entrepreneurship.

Social and Economic Impact

Donald Trump is noted in the business world primarily for his impact on the real estate and casino industries, but he is perhaps best known to the public as a wealthy and eccentric celebrity. His businesses were major developers of real estate during the 1980s and contributed to the rapid growth--and later, decline--of the real estate market in that period. He wrote many books about his business acumen, including Trump: The Art of the Deal, Trump: The Art of Survival, Trump: Surviving at the Top, and Trump: The Art of the Comeback.

Although in many ways Trump seems a holdover from the 1980s, he has shied away in recent years from the sort of financial leveraging that almost brought him to bankruptcy in the early 1980s. These days he has taken to forming partnerships with financial backers, many of whom are willing to do so just to tap into the power of his name, which can in itself be worth millions. During 1999 and 2000, for example, he used his celebrity and wealth to support Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura's style of reformist politics. In 2004, Trump reintroduced himself and his luxurious lifestyle to the public. His popularity has risen and even though he's still the brash, outspoken Donald, he seems to have struck a positive chord with the public. In January of 2007, Trump received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

PERSONAL INFORMATION:

Addresses: 725 Fifth Ave., New York, NY, USA 10022 Phone: (212)832-2000.

Works Cited

"Joe Biden." Newsmakers, Gale, 1986. Gale In Context: Biography, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1618001182/BIC?u=bccc_main&sid=BIC&xid=0386d52f. Accessed 24 Nov. 2020.

"Joseph R. Biden." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, vol. 33, Gale, 2013. Gale In Context: Biography, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631009867/BIC?u=bccc_main&sid=BIC&xid=14ea93ed. Accessed 24 Nov. 2020.

"Donald Trump." Newsmakers, Gale, 1989. Gale In Context: Biography, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1618000623/BIC?u=bccc_main&sid=BIC&xid=4c98be81. Accessed 24 Nov. 2020.

"Donald John Trump." Business Leader Profiles for Students, edited by Sheila Dow and Jaime E. Noce, vol. 1, Gale, 1999. Gale In Context: Biography, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1604000209/BIC?u=bccc_main&sid=BIC&xid=7ae72c6a. Accessed 24 Nov. 2020.