I Still Can’t Believe It’s Donald. Trump.
“I’ll never get over it…
IT’S DONALD TRUMP.
DONALD. TRUMP.”
– Bo Burnham screaming what we’re all still feeling
And yet… here we are.
He’s back in power.
He’s burning it down again.
And people are still pretending this is normal.
So here’s what I did: I made a timeline from 1973 to 2025, with just ONE major issue he had. Trust me, there are way more.
A personal, political, and public record of how one man weaponized whiteness, wealth, and bullshit to break America — and how millions went along with it.
History can be fun…this isn’t. It’s a living warning label.
Trump Timeline of Controversy (1981–1990)
1970s: The Pattern Begins
Before the towers, before the TV shows, before the presidency—there was racism, denial, and lawsuits. In 1973, Trump’s empire began with a federal discrimination suit for refusing to rent to Black tenants. His response? Deflect. Deny. Spin. The blueprint for everything that followed was written right here: hurt people, deny everything, and call it business.
📆 1973 – Housing Discrimination Lawsuit
Event: The U.S. Department of Justice sued Trump Management, co-owned by Donald and his father Fred Trump, for violating the Fair Housing Act by refusing to rent to Black tenants.
Impact: Marked Trump’s first major brush with federal scrutiny, and a lasting stain that would follow his reputation. The case was settled with no admission of guilt but required the Trumps to take anti-discrimination measures.
📆 1974 – Defiant Response to DOJ Oversight
Event: After the 1973 lawsuit settlement, Trump was accused of violating the agreement by continuing discriminatory practices.
Impact: Showed early signs of Trump’s pattern of resisting accountability, even when legally bound to reform.
📆 1975 – Public Denial of Discrimination
Event: Trump claimed the DOJ suit was “without merit” and falsely framed the government’s actions as “reverse racism.”
Impact: Trump began building his brand as a media-savvy contrarian, framing himself as a victim while ignoring systemic racial bias.
📆 1976 – Media Spin Becomes a Strategy
Event: Trump started courting tabloids and real estate press, using exaggerated claims about his properties and wealth to build mystique.
Impact: He learned how to weaponize press attention, setting the stage for decades of media manipulation.
📆 1977 – Marriage to Ivana Trump
Event: Trump married Ivana Zelníčková, a Czech model and skier. The wedding was widely covered, boosting his profile in social circles.
Impact: Introduced Trump to elite media culture, where he further cultivated his image as a flashy real estate mogul.
📆 1978 – Construction Begins on Trump Tower
Event: Trump made a deal to tear down the historic Bonwit Teller building in Manhattan to build Trump Tower, using political connections to sidestep regulation.
Impact: This deal previewed Trump’s ability to leverage power, exploit loopholes, and bulldoze history for personal gain.
📆 1979 – Political Aspirations Surface
Event: Trump began floating political ambitions, giving interviews where he criticized government inefficiency and hinted at running for office.
Impact: This marked the beginning of Trump as a "law-and-order outsider" figure, a brand he'd ride all the way to the White House.
📆 1980 – Exploits Undocumented Labor for Trump Tower
Event: Trump used an undocumented Polish workforce (the “Polish Brigade”) to demolish the Bonwit Teller building, allegedly under unsafe conditions and with unpaid wages.
Impact: This scandal showed his willingness to exploit vulnerable workers, prioritize profits over ethics, and deny wrongdoing when caught — a playbook he'd repeat for decades.
Trump Timeline of Controversy (1981–1990)
1980s: Greed, Glamour & Corruption
This was Trump unchained — flashing wealth he didn’t have, building with mob-connected unions, and walking over workers to build a brand. He bought gold toilets, ran casinos into bankruptcy, and plastered his name on everything. Behind the scenes? Unpaid workers, fraudulent deals, and a rising body count of lawsuits. He wasn’t the American Dream — he was what it looks like when greed wins the PR war.
📆 1981 – Tax Breaks for Trump Tower Deal
Event: Trump finalized a deal for Trump Tower that included $50 million in tax abatements from New York City.
Impact: Critics slammed the move as corporate welfare. It established Trump’s pattern of squeezing public systems for private gain — while claiming to be a business genius.
📆 1982 – Lawsuits Over Union-Busting
Event: Trump was accused of evading union labor and underpaying workers on the Trump Tower project.
Impact: Early proof of Trump’s antagonistic relationship with labor rights, often favoring non-union and undocumented labor to cut costs.
📆 1983 – Trump Tower Opens with Controversy
Event: The completed Trump Tower opened with gold, marble, and flash — but also lawsuits from tenants and workers alleging unsafe conditions and broken promises.
Impact: Trump’s brand of “luxury at all costs” began clashing with real-world impacts — a theme that would continue across his properties.
📆 1984 – Allegations of Mob Ties in Construction
Event: Multiple investigations, including by The Village Voice and later the FBI, explored Trump’s connections to mob-controlled unions and concrete suppliers during construction.
Impact: These ties never led to charges, but added to Trump’s reputation as someone who’d make shady deals to get the job done.
📆 1985 – Buys Mar-a-Lago (and Starts Legal Fights)
Event: Trump purchased the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, quickly entering legal disputes with Palm Beach over zoning and his plans to convert it into a private club.
Impact: Begins a multi-decade pattern of using lawsuits to strong-arm local governments, and eventually turns Mar-a-Lago into a political power base.
📆 1986 – Calls for Death Penalty on Crack Dealers
Event: Amid the crack epidemic, Trump gave interviews advocating for the death penalty for drug dealers, disproportionately targeting Black communities.
Impact: Foreshadowed his later tough-on-crime stance that ignored systemic inequality and contributed to mass incarceration narratives.
📆 1987 – Publishes The Art of the Deal
Event: Trump releases his best-selling book, ghostwritten by Tony Schwartz, launching his national image as a “master negotiator.”
Impact: The book creates the Trump myth — carefully edited, half-true, and built for media. Schwartz later regrets helping create it, calling Trump a sociopath.
📆 1988 – Takes Out Political Ad Blaming Allies for U.S. Problems
Event: Trump took out full-page ads in major papers accusing U.S. allies of exploiting America and promoted militarism and nationalist pride.
Impact: The ad mirrored themes from his future campaigns: America First, anti-foreign aid, militaristic rhetoric, and zero diplomatic nuance.
📆 1989 – Central Park Five Ad
Event: Trump pays $85,000 for full-page ads in four NYC newspapers calling for the death penalty for five Black and Latino teens accused of assault — who were later exonerated.
Impact: Perhaps one of the most racist and enduring scandals of his early life. Trump never apologized — even decades later.
📆 1990 – Trump Taj Mahal Bankruptcy
Event: Trump’s casino empire began to collapse with the bankruptcy of the Trump Taj Mahal, racking up over $3 billion in debt.
Impact: Set the tone for multiple bankruptcies, failed ventures, and lawsuits that defined his “successful businessman” myth as propped up by debt and deception.
Trump Timeline of Controversy (1991–2000)
1990s: Failure Dressed in Flash
The 90s should’ve been Trump’s downfall. His marriages crumbled. His casinos tanked. His debts nearly took down banks. But instead of disappearing, he rebranded — as a reality-hungry tabloid king. The press gave him a platform. And Trump learned a dangerous lesson: collapse doesn’t matter if you control the narrative.
📆 1991 – Taj Mahal Bankruptcy & Massive Personal Debt
Event: Trump’s flagship Atlantic City casino, the Trump Taj Mahal, filed for bankruptcy. He personally owed over $900 million.
Impact: Despite branding himself a business genius, Trump used bankruptcy laws to shield himself while investors, workers, and small businesses suffered.
Theme: Fail upward. Spin it as success.
📆 1992 – Second Casino Bankruptcy & Public Divorce
Event: Trump Plaza Hotel filed for bankruptcy. In the tabloids, he was also battling a high-profile divorce from Ivana, who accused him of rape in court documents (which she later partially retracted under pressure).
Impact: Marked Trump as a figure of toxic excess, ego, and tabloid spectacle, not legitimate leadership.
📆 1993 – Marla Maples Marriage & Continued Business Failures
Event: Trump married actress Marla Maples and launched Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts, a publicly traded company with massive losses.
Impact: Investors were burned as Trump used the public market to fund his lifestyle, while his businesses hemorrhaged money.
📆 1994 – Creditor Bailout to Avoid Total Collapse
Event: Trump narrowly avoided personal bankruptcy by striking deals with 70+ banks and lenders. He had to sell his yacht, airline, and stakes in properties.
Impact: Wall Street learned the hard way: Trump was a brand, not a business. He made deals — and defaulted on them.
📆 1995 – Trump Takes Company Public, Then Loses Millions
Event: Trump launched Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts (THCR) as a public company. Within a few years, it lost over $1.5 billion.
Impact: A playbook emerges: Sell the name. Pocket the cash. Let investors eat the loss.
📆 1996 – Buys Miss Universe Pageant & Begins Sexualizing It
Event: Trump bought the Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA pageants, often bragging about walking into dressing rooms uninvited.
Impact: He turned the pageants into a personal PR machine — and faced numerous allegations of sexual misconduct.
📆 1997 – Business Weak, Media Strong
Event: While THCR posted more losses, Trump began positioning himself as a “straight shooter” in magazines and political talk shows.
Impact: He started testing out the themes that would define his presidential run — anti-trade, anti-immigrant, tough on crime.
📆 1998 – Early 2000 Presidential Rumors Begin
Event: Trump floated a Reform Party presidential run, publicly testing campaign slogans and holding exploratory meetings.
Impact: Showed how Trump used politics to fuel brand awareness, long before taking it seriously.
📆 1999 – Trump University Is Born
Event: Trump launched a “success education” business that would become Trump University — a future magnet for fraud lawsuits.
Impact: It was promoted as a way to "learn from Trump’s genius,” but turned out to be a pay-to-play, unaccredited scam.
📌 In case anyone needs a recap…themes of the '90s Trump Era:
Using public spectacle to deflect from failure
Normalizing bankruptcy as a business strategy
Objectifying women and monetizing controversy
Building the blueprint for populist performance politics
Trump Timeline of Controversy (1991–2000)
2000s: The Lie Goes Prime Time
NBC gave him a boardroom and a tagline: “You’re fired.” America gave him their attention. The Apprentice turned a con man into a kingmaker. Trump didn’t become a better businessman — he became a better illusion. And by the time the decade ended, he wasn’t just selling bad steaks or bankrupt casinos — he was selling himself as inevitable.
📆 2000 – Quits Presidential Run, Blames Reform Party ‘Wackos’
Event: After teasing a Reform Party presidential campaign, Trump bowed out, calling the party "too full of wackos" — including David Duke (who he pretended not to know later).
Impact: The move gave him national political headlines without the risk of running — a testing ground for his 2016 strategy.
From bankruptcy to the birther lie — the reality TV con begins.
📆 2001 – Trump Hotels Declares Bankruptcy Again
Event: Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (again). This time, Trump had to give up majority control.
Impact: While investors lost millions, Trump kept his name on the building, continuing the illusion of success.
Pattern: Everyone loses — except him.
📆 2002 – Lawsuits Mount Over Trump Properties
Event: Condo buyers and contractors began suing Trump for breach of contract, unpaid work, and false advertising on multiple projects.
Impact: Established a consistent record of overpromising, underdelivering, and lawyering up.
📆 2003 – Launches The Apprentice
Event: Trump debuted The Apprentice on NBC — a show that portrayed him as a genius executive in control of his empire.
Impact: Gave Trump a false image of competence that millions believed, setting up the cult of personality he would later ride into politics.
📆 2004 – Trademark Frenzy: Trump Stakes, Trump Water, Trump Everything
Event: Emboldened by his TV fame, Trump began licensing his name on steaks, vodka, water, real estate, and more. Most failed.
Impact: Trump’s empire wasn’t built on business — it was built on branding deception and licensing grift.
📆 2005 – Marries Melania & Launches Trump University
Event: While marrying Melania, Trump also founded Trump University, promising to teach the secrets of real estate success.
Impact: It became one of his most notorious frauds, eventually costing him $25 million in a class-action settlement.
📆 2006 – Mocked for Failing Trump Steaks & Mortgage Company
Event: Trump launched Trump Steaks (sold through Sharper Image) and Trump Mortgage, which collapsed in under two years.
Impact: Trump’s business record was full of flops — but The Apprentice kept his image intact.
📆 2007 – Calls Global Warming a Hoax
Event: Trump publicly mocked climate change, calling it “nonsense” and a “Chinese hoax.”
Impact: Foreshadowed his anti-science presidency and climate denial agenda.
📆 2008 – Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago Collapses
Event: Trump’s luxury condo/hotel project was hit with lawsuits as buyers backed out and investors lost millions during the recession.
Impact: Another failed luxury development, another round of finger-pointing.
📆 2009 – Trump Models Faces Labor Violations
Event: Trump’s modeling agency was accused of bringing in foreign models on tourist visas, skirting immigration laws.
Impact: Hypocrisy on full display — while railing against immigration, his company was exploiting the system.
📆 2010 – Birther Conspiracy Starts Gaining Steam
Event: Trump began publicly questioning whether President Obama was born in the U.S., demanding to see his birth certificate.
Impact: This lie laid the foundation for Trump’s political rise, built on racism, nationalism, and disinformation.
📌 Themes of the 2000s Trump Era:
Built a TV character that erased decades of failure
Monetized the illusion of success while workers, investors, and buyers paid the price
Turned racism and conspiracy into a political launchpad
Proved that narrative, not results, wins in modern media
From bankruptcy to the birther lie — the reality TV con begins.
Trump Timeline of Controversy (2010–2020)
📆 2010 – Birther Conspiracy Starts Gaining Steam
Event: Trump began publicly questioning whether President Obama was born in the U.S., demanding to see his birth certificate.
Impact: This lie laid the foundation for Trump’s political rise, built on racism, nationalism, and disinformation.
From birtherism to the White House — and two impeachments later.
📆 2011 – Trump Becomes Face of the Birther Movement
Event: Trump became the most prominent figure pushing the racist conspiracy theory that President Obama was not born in the U.S.
Impact: This gave Trump a national political base rooted in white grievance, anti-Blackness, and disinformation.
📆 2012 – Uses Twitter as a Weapon of Misinformation
Event: Trump began tweeting dozens of conspiracies, false claims, and attacks daily, including pushing lies about climate change, vaccines, and voter fraud.
Impact: Began a trend that would define his presidency: govern by chaos, distract by outrage.
📆 2013 – Slams Obama, Women, and Immigrants Constantly
Event: Trump amplified his attacks on Obama and began openly insulting women, immigrants, and journalists in interviews and online.
Impact: Further built his “tell it like it is” persona, which masked deeply toxic, authoritarian communication.
📆 2014 – Teases Presidential Run (Again)
Event: Trump began seriously floating the idea of running for president in 2016, testing campaign slogans like “Make America Great Again.”
Impact: His political machine was now actively testing language, fundraising models, and populist themes.
📆 2015 – Launches Presidential Campaign, Calls Mexicans “Rapists”
Event: In his campaign kickoff speech, Trump said Mexico was “sending rapists” to the U.S., a line that would define his immigration policy.
Impact: Set the tone for a campaign based on fear, racism, and division — and it worked.
📆 2016 – Elected President After WikiLeaks, Racism, and Misinformation Campaign
Event: Trump defeated Hillary Clinton with the help of disinformation, Facebook manipulation, Comey’s letter, and Electoral College quirks.
Impact: His victory shocked the world and emboldened authoritarian, far-right movements globally.
📆 2017 – Muslim Ban, Charlottesville, and Tax Cuts for the Rich
Event: In one year, Trump implemented a Muslim travel ban, defended white supremacists after Charlottesville, and passed a tax bill heavily benefiting the wealthy.
Impact: His presidency became a direct assault on civil rights, truth, and economic equity.
📆 2018 – Family Separation Policy at the Border
Event: Thousands of immigrant children were ripped from their families at the border under Trump's “zero tolerance” policy.
Impact: One of the most cruel and internationally condemned policies in modern American history.
📆 2019 – Impeachment #1: Ukraine Bribery Scandal
Event: Trump was impeached for pressuring Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, withholding military aid as leverage.
Impact: Senate Republicans acquitted him, emboldening him further. He called it a “perfect call.”
📆 2020 – Catastrophic COVID Response & Second Election Lies Begin
Event: Trump downplayed COVID, ignored science, promoted bleach injections, and mishandled the pandemic, contributing to hundreds of thousands of U.S. deaths.
Also: He refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power in the event he lost the election.
Impact: Set the stage for January 6th, widespread vaccine misinformation, and the rise of QAnon politics.
📌 Themes of the 2020s Trump Era:
Mainstreamed white nationalist talking points
Normalized authoritarian language in U.S. politics
Weaponized disinformation as a political strategy
Prioritized chaos, cruelty, and power over governance
Created permanent distrust in democracy and truth itself
The aftermath of insurrection, legal collapse, and a campaign under indictment.
2020s: Democracy on Fire
He lost. He lied. And people died. January 6 wasn’t an outburst — it was a strategy. Trump tried to steal the country on live TV and walked away with more power than before. He’s back in office now, proving once again that truth is no match for a cult that confuses cruelty with strength. And this time, he’s not pretending. He’s telling us exactly what he’ll do — and he’s doing it fast.
📆 2021 – January 6 Insurrection & Second Impeachment
Event: After months of pushing election lies, Trump incited a violent mob to storm the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 election results.
Impact: Five people died. Hundreds were injured. Trump was impeached for incitement — making him the only president impeached twice — but again, Senate Republicans acquitted him.
🔻 Democracy was tested. He called it “a beautiful day.”
📆 2022 – FBI Recovers Classified Documents from Mar-a-Lago
Event: After repeated warnings and subpoenas, the FBI raided Trump’s Florida estate and found dozens of classified documents he had unlawfully taken.
Impact: Sparked one of several federal investigations and led to a historic indictment for mishandling national secrets.
📆 2023 – 91 Felony Charges Filed Across Four Indictments
Event: Trump was indicted in four criminal cases:
Classified documents case
Election interference in Georgia
January 6th conspiracy case
Hush money payments and falsified business records
Impact: The former president of the United States became a criminal defendant on 91 felony counts — and still campaigned for re-election.
📆 2024 – Convicted in Civil Fraud & Defamation Trials
Event(s):
A judge ruled Trump committed civil fraud, ordering him to pay $355 million for inflating assets.
In the E. Jean Carroll case, he was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation, fined over $88 million.
He ran for president while simultaneously attending criminal court.
Impact: Despite being branded a fraud, sexual abuser, and facing criminal prosecution — his political base only grew louder.
And now, in 2024, Trump is once again President. History has shown us where this can go, not just in this country - but many others in history.
From 1973 to 2024, Donald Trump has built not a legacy, but a wreckage. One marked by bankruptcies, broken laws, shattered norms, and communities left behind. He has turned truth into a battleground, racism into rhetoric, and power into personal profit. And through it all, he’s never once taken responsibility — only credit, only vengeance.
And now, in 2025 — despite 91 felony charges, two impeachments, and a failed coup attempt — he’s president again.
Not because the country forgot,
But because too many people learned to admire the damage.
Because cruelty became currency.
Because chaos became familiar.
Because America never healed from the first time.
But the real threat isn’t just the damage he’s done. It’s how many now see that damage as a blueprint and where he is taking it. This isn’t about politics anymore. It’s about memory. It’s about survival. It’s about the kind of country we’re willing to live in — or leave behind.
So no, we don’t write this for clicks.
We write it because truth without action is just nostalgia.
And if we want a country that serves all of us — not just the loudest, richest, or whitest — then the time for observation is over.
We can dream big. But we have to act bigger.
Bo Burnham
“I’ll never get over… IT’S DONALD TRUMP.
DONALD. TRUMP.”
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