Google's top 12 questions about Donald Trump answered
How rich is Donald Trump? And is he dead? We answer the questions the world is asking the internet
Is Donald Trump married?
Yes, Donald Trump is currently married to former model Melania Trump (neé Knauss). The 45-year-old was born in Yugoslavia (now Slovenia), emigrated to America in 1996 and met Trump at a fashion week party in 1998. They were married in January 2005.
Trump has been married twice before: to Ivana Zelníčková, with whom he has three children, and Marla Maples, with whom he has a daughter. Marples claimed Trump was “the best sex I ever head”. The marriage dissolved in 1999.
Is Donald Trump a Democrat?
It might seem a strange question to ask about the likely Republican candidate for President, but many believe Donald Trump is a secret Democrat. No, don’t laugh.
There is a certain vein of bizarre conspiracy theory that argues Trump is a Democrat ‘plant’, designed to win the Republication nomination and deliberately crash the GOP’s chances in the election.
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They point to past associations between Trump and the Clintons, including donations to the Clinton Foundation and the fact Bill and Hilary attended his last wedding. They also point to the fact he has previously registered as a Democrat.
Of course, as two powerful New York families, the Trumps and the Clintons can be expected to bump into each other frequently. Moreover, Trump has also registered as a Republican, Independence Party supporter and 'Do Not Wish to Say' since 1987.
Nevertheless, many continue to float the idea. As conservative political commentator George Wil put it: "If Donald Trump were a Democratic mole placed in the Republican Party to disrupt things, how would his behaviour be any different? I don't think it would be."
It's a charge that Trump's rivals have tried – and thus far failed – to use against him.
Of course, all of this begs the questions of whether the Democrats are better at running the Republican party than their own.
No, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination is not dead, although some in the party might wish otherwise. It might seem odd that this is the first search result for a man who is omnipresent on the news at the moment, but Trump is just one of many celebrities who have been the victim of online ‘death hoaxes’. This one seems to have been stoked by Facebook pages and online ‘satire’ sites that seemingly aim to mislead, rather than make you laugh.
Is Donald Trump in Home Alone?
No, not exactly. The property tycoon actually appears in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, where he made a cameo as a guest of the Plaza Hotel who helps Kevin find the lobby.
Note: the Plaza is only two blocks up Fifth Avenue from Trump Tower and a ten minute walk away from Trump International Hotel & Tower, which makes us wonder why he was checking in at a rival hotel.
Is Donald Trump Hitler?
First things first: on a literal and legal level, Mr Trump is not the German dictator who led the Nazi party from 1925 to 1945. But a lot of people are making the comparison, especially in the wake of his incendiary statements about Muslims and Mexicans. A favourite gag is passing off Hitler quotes as Trump’s and seeing if anyone notices.
A strange version of this didn’t involve Hitler, but the fascist Italian leader Mussolini. Gawker created a bot that published Il Duce’s quotes under Trump’s name, and eventually managed to trick Trump into retweeting one from his own account.
Is Donald Trump Left Handed?
No, Donald Trump appears to be right handed, signing his name with his right hand…
…and wearing his watch on his left wrist.
The more controversial issue concerning the Donald’s hands? Is he a “stubby fingered vulgarian”?
This is a fraught question, as Trump’s personal net worth is a topic of much discussion. He claims to be worth more than $10 billion dollars, but Fortune magazine believe it might be less than half that. Critics and rivals allege that four of his businesses have claimed bankruptcy, in order to poke holes in his claims of being a great businessman.
Yesterday, former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney called him a ‘conman’ and predicted that The Donald is refusing to disclose his tax returns – a standard and traditional part of running for president, and something he previously claimed to be working on – as he has “too much to hide” and there was a “bombshell” lurking in the details. Trump has said he will not release his returns until after the IRS – the American tax body – finish an audit by their ‘Wealth Squad’.
So, Trump’s exact wealth is up for debate, but it’s fair to say he probably has more money than you.
Is Donald Trump an entrepreneur?
Well, entrepreneur.com believes Trump can teach other entrepreneurs a lesson, but then they also believe that Santa can teach them a thing or two. Being an entrepreneur is a romanticised vocation in American culture – it speaks to their sense of freedom and financial success. As such, it has become a hazy and ill-defined job, and can sound vaguely cultish. “I may not exactly know what it is,” a writer on Forbes says, “but I know what it is not.”
That’s nice, but what an entrepreneur is, according to the Collins Dictionary, is “the owner or manager of a business enterprise who, by risk and initiative, attempts to make profits.”
By that definition, yes, Donald Trump is an entrepreneur.
Is Donald Trump?
An existential question we’re sure Trump asks himself every day. Hilariously, comedian John Oliver is trying to change ‘Donald Trump’ to ‘Donald Drumpf’, apparently a former family name.
He’s even released a browser plug-in that will change every mention of Trump to the new name online.
Is Donald Trump buying the Buffalo Bills?
No, not anymore. Back in 2014, Trump was engaged in a bidding war for the New York state American football team. Trump reportedly offered $1 billion dollars, “all cash, no contingencies, immediate closing.” However the team eventually went to Terry Pegula –a fellow billionaire who also owns the Buffalo Sabres hockey team and the Buffalo Bandits lacrosse team – for a reported $1.4 billion.
Trump took the loss in typical good grace.
Is Donald Trump for Obama?
Leading on from the question of whether Trump is a Democrat double agent, some Google users wonder whether he is actually a pal of the current president. Conspiracists point to seemingly supportive comments Trump has made about Obama in the past. “ I think he’s lived up to his challenges in a big way,” he wrote on the Trump University website, and gave him a “strong B+” for his first 100 days in office.
How times change. After years of flirting with the idea of running for president, The Donald arguably entered the political spotlight in 2011, when he led the bizarre charge that the President of the United States was not an American. He mulled the possibility that Barack Obama was not from Hawaii at all, but Kenya, and campaigned for the president to make his birth certificate public.
Trump had his fun on cable news for a while, before Obama released his certificate and put the issue to bed.
However, it led to one of the most epic and definitive insults Trump has ever endured. In the same week Obama released his certificate, he was hosting the White House Correspondents' Dinner, where the president traditionally cuts loose and makes jokes.
Donald Trump was in the audience, and Obama didn’t hold back.
[It’s all worth watching, but the fireworks start at 3 minutes in.]
"All kidding aside, we all know about your credentials and breadth of experience.
[Laughter from the audience]
"No seriously, just recently in an episode of Celebrity Apprentice, at the steak house, the men’s cooking team did not impress the judges from Omaha Steaks. And there was a lot of blame to go around but you, Mr Trump, recognised that the real problem was a lack of leadership, so ultimately you didn’t blame Little John or Meat Loaf, you fired Gary Busey.
"And these are the kind of decisions that would keep me up at night."
The fact Trump has managed to come back from that either shows self-belief or a complete lack of shame. It’s fair to say that, after that epic burn, Trump is no fan of Obama.
Is Donald Trump on Facebook?
Yes, as you would expect for a presidential candidate, Donald J. Trump has a verified Facebook account here. At the time of writing, it has more than 6 million likes, but it’s relatively serious for Trump, mostly posting policy statements and positive press clippings.
Trump has most of his fun on Twitter (@realdonaldtrump) where he has 6.65 million followers and lets loose on whatever his on his mind.