The first tenure of Donald Trump as the president of the United States began on January 20, , when Trump was inaugurated as the 45th president , and ended on January 20, Trump, a Republican from New York , took office following his electoral college victory over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the presidential election.
Upon his inauguration, he became the first president in American history without prior public office or military background. Trump made an unprecedented number of false or misleading statements during his campaign and first presidency. His first presidency ended following his defeat in the presidential election to former Democratic vice president Joe Biden , after his first term in office.
Trump was unsuccessful in his efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act but rescinded the individual mandate. He sought substantial spending cuts to major welfare programs, including Medicare and Medicaid. Trump reversed numerous environmental regulations , withdrew from the Paris Agreement on climate change , and signed the Great American Outdoors Act but later issued an Executive Order undercutting its impact.
He signed the First Step Act aimed at reforming federal prisons. He enacted tariffs , triggering retaliatory tariffs from China , Canada, Mexico, and the European Union. Trump oversaw the third-biggest federal deficit growth of any president; it significantly increased under Trump due to spending increases and tax cuts. Trump implemented a controversial family separation policy for migrants apprehended at the United StatesβMexico border, starting in His demand for the federal funding of a border wall resulted in the longest US government shutdown in history.
He deployed federal law enforcement forces in response to the racial unrest in Trump's " America First " foreign policy was characterized by unilateral actions, disregarding traditional norms and allies. His administration implemented a major arms sale to Saudi Arabia ; denied citizens from several Muslim-majority countries entry into the United States; recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel ; and brokered the Abraham Accords , a series of normalization agreements between Israel and various Arab states.
