With a bombastic, unapologetic attitude and a gravity-defying hairstyle bigger than his ego, Republican presidential candidate Donald  John Trump initially seemed like an unlikely pick for the future leader of the United States of America. However, many were surprised to see unprecedented leaps in his popularity, and at some points, he had huge gains on the second place candidate Ben Carson. Recently, though, there are signs of a decline in his lead as his controversial statements, once considered to be a strength by Americans who were tired of typical middle-of-the-road politicians, go under fire for their inaccuracy and tactlessness.

Keep on reading for a quick overview on his ideas and beliefs:

Background: Donald Trump was born on June 14, 1946 in Queens, New York. After success in high school, he enrolled in Fordham University and eventually transferred to Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania; he graduated in 1968 with a degree in economics. He joined his father’s company, later renaming it “Trump Organization” after taking over. After some trouble initially, his company began to grow, especially after he opened the popular Grand Hyatt hotel. He gained national fame after building the Trump Tower, a $200 million, 58-story building right next to the famous Tiffany & Company location. His empire expanded across the nation, with more buildings and casinos, and he went on to entertainment, starring on NBC reality series The Apprentice and The Celebrity Apprentice. 

Foreign Policy: 

• Wants sanctions on Iran, more support for Israel and possible “boots on the ground” to fight the Islamic State if political advisors agree with him.
• One of his most controversial stances is that of immigration. After receiving fire for his comments on Mexican immigrants — stating that immigrants are “rapists” and are “bringing drugs, […] crime” — he qualified the statement with a lukewarm, “some, I assume, are good people.” Wants to deport illegal immigrants ASAP and build a wall separating Mexico and America.
• Trump believes America needs to amp up its protection and update its arsenal of nuclear weapons.

The Economy:

• Has said repeatedly that America needs a businessman, not a politician, to bring it back, insinuating that he would be that businessman.
• Won’t cut Medicare or Social Security and has said that he will use overall economic growth in order to keep the programs. He hasn’t come out with a detailed plan saying how exactly he’ll do this, though.
• However, one thing that Trump does want to cut is government spending. He states that current cuts are nowhere near close enough to get America out of its high national debt.
• In his book “Time to Get Tough,” Trump describes a plan to lower taxes in addition to ending corporate taxes. He believes that through a low 1% tax on the poor and a higher 15% tax on the rich, he can help alleviate the national debt.

Domestic Issues: 

• Against gun control, strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment. However, he does support the banning of some assault guns and a longer purchase waiting period.
• Trump wants vaccines to be delivered in smaller quantities, in order to “avoid autism” (although no connections have been made between vaccines and autism…). Strongly against Obamacare, although he may support another form of universal healthcare, as he wrote in his book “In America We Deserve” that he wanted a system that would mirror Canada’s government-controlled health care system.
• Doesn’t believe in global warming and climate change. Trump has also expressed a strong dislike of wind turbines. He has also tweeted that he would approve the Keystone XL pipeline, arguing that there is no environmental impact and would help increase jobs.

Social Issues: 

• Trump has changed his stance on abortion many times, saying that “[he has] evolved on the abortion issue, like Reagan evolved.” Originally pro-choice for many years, then strongly pro-life, now wants to ban late abortions except for special situations such as rape, incest or health.
• Conservative on gay marriage — Trump believes it should be a state-decided policy. Also banned from RedState gathering after misogynistic comments about FOX News correspondent Megyn Kelly. Doesn’t believe in political correctness, which some consider a strength; others, a weakness.
• Trump is staunchly against Common Core and believes that education should be controlled locally. He has stated that he would cut the Department of Education in the past, and is also quoted saying that Americans are “tired of spending more money on education than any nation in the world per capita” and still lagging behind 25 other nations.
• Tough on criminal punishment and drugs; however, he once did say that he believed America should legalize drugs and use the tax revenue on drug education in order to “take the profit away from [the] drug czars.”

Famous Quotes:

“Money was never a big motivation for me, except for a way to keep score. The real excitement is playing the game.”

“I never attacked [Rand Paul] on his looks and believe me, there’s a lot of subject matter there.”

“When was the last time anybody saw us beating, let’s say, China in a trade deal? They kill us. I beat China all the time. All the time.”

Muppet he most resembles: Statler (right). Also, this video from Sesame Street is eerily relevant. 

 Sources include: On The Issues and Biography.com.