All Eyes are once again on Donald Trump

The Republican front-runner who has dominated the polls and the airwaves since he launched his presidential bid in June clinched his first electoral victory on Tuesday night.

But Trump's road to New Hampshire has rarely been one of playing into expectations. Rather, Trump has consistently defied convention and proved the punditry and political elite wrong.

The real estate mogul and TV reality star launched his presidential campaign on June 16, ending more than two decades of persistent flirtation with the idea of running for the Oval Office

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"So, ladies and gentlemen, I am officially running for president of the United States, and we are going to make our country great again," Trump told a crowd of supporters and curious observers in a lengthy and meandering 45-minute announcement speech.

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Trump's announcement speech debuted a controversy-laden campaign that defied political gravity as the billionaire businessman uttered one divisive and controversial statement or policy proposal after the next.

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Flirting with a run for years

It wasn't the first time Trump had floated a presidential run, coming closest to throwing his hat in the ring four years earlier before ultimately bowing out and endorsing former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. And many thought Trump's toying with a presidential run in 2015 was just the latest in a long line of presidential flirtations that started in 1987 and were revived in 1999, 2004 and 2008 as well.

In between, Trump had become known not just for building skyscrapers and golf courses around the world, but as a reality television star through his 14-season run as host of "The Apprentice."

The show not only helped make Trump a household name but cemented the real estate mogul's image as a tough, bold businessman with a knack for deal-making -- a key plank of Trump's appeal to voters as he has forged an increasingly plausible path to the White House.

But Trump's celebrity status was also something he had to overcome as he worked to pitch himself to voters as a serious candidate capable of running the country.

He has flaunted his wealth and success in business as a centerpiece of his presidential platform, trumpeting a $10 billion net worth -- though Forbes estimated it at roughly $4 billion.

The billionaire pledged from the start to self-fund his presidential campaign, not only ridding himself of some outside influences, but also freeing up more time to campaign as candidates often devote a tremendous amount of time to raising funds.

"I'm really rich," Trump famously said during his announcement speech, adding that his confident attitude is what the country needs after having "losers" run the country.

Trump has still accepted $6.5 million in contributions to his campaign since launching his id, but has also injected about $12 million of his own money and disavowed any super PACs looking to support him early in the race.

 

Not New to politics

While campaigning as an outsider, Trump is no stranger to politics.

For years before officially announcing his bid, Trump courted right-wing talk show hosts and hardline conservative politicians and activists for years.

He famously fanned the flames of the "birther" movement in 2011 and today takes credit for President Barack Obama's decision to release his birth certificate.

Trump will now do battle for the Republican nomination with a crowd of more conventional politicians, including a scrum of governors and senators.

And he'll stand out in another way beside his brash, attention-grabbing public persona -- he's hardly an orthodox conservative on a range of issues. Trump regularly bashes trade deals with China, Mexico and other countries. He's spoken favorably about higher taxes on the wealthy. And he talks up protecting Social Security and Medicare in the social insurance programs' current forms, rather than making them more state-based, as some other Republican candidates advocate.

Source: CNN