In a win that has surprised pundits and pollsters, the real-estate entrepreneur and reality-television star Donald Trump has been elected the next president of the United States.
His rise to the highest office in the country seemed improbable, as his campaign consistently provoked anger and criticism for statements and actions many viewed as outrageous—racist, xenophobic, and misogynist.
From his initial announcement, Trump sparked controversy, launching his run for the presidency with a speech that labeled many Mexican immigrants to the US “rapists.”
In the year that followed, there were many more provocative moments, at times involving personal attacks on Trump’s critics, or even mocking their physical appearances. The biggest blow came when a video surfaced in which Trump bragged about groping women without their consent.
At each turn, commentators predicted the demise of Trump’s campaign. Yet through each scandalous event, Trump consolidated his base and built his support.
Finally, even after Democrat Hillary Clinton maintained her commanding lead in the polls, Trump came out on top after the votes were tallied.
Time and again it seemed the Trump campaign should have died, and yet it didn’t. Here is a timeline of some of the events that might have, but never did, end his run for the presidency:
June 16, 2015: Donald Trump enters race, and GOP wonders: Presidency or reality TV?
June 16, 2015: Donald Trump Announces Presidential Bid By Trashing Mexico, Mexicans
July 19, 2015: Donald Trump says John McCain is not a war hero—and finally alienates the Republican base
August 8, 2015: Trump says Fox’s Megyn Kelly had ‘blood coming out of her wherever’
August 16, 2015: Trump: Eyes effort to deport native-born children of immigrants living illegally in US
September 9, 2015: Donald Trump mocks rival Carly Fiorina’s face: ‘Look at that face, would anyone vote for that?’
November 12, 2015: Donald Trump promises ‘deportation force’ to remove 11 million
November 19, 2015: Trump’s plan for a Muslim database draws comparison to Nazi Germany
November 26, 2015: Donald Trump under fire for mocking disabled reporter
December 8, 2015: Donald Trump: Ban all Muslim travel to U.S.
Jan. 24, 2016: Trump Says He Could ‘Shoot Somebody’ and Still Maintain Support
Jan. 31, 2016: Donald Trump Would ‘Strongly Consider’ Overturning Same-Sex Marriage
Feb. 22, 2016: Trump on protester: ‘I’d like to punch him in the face’
March 11, 2016: Donald Trump Says His Supporters Should ‘Hit Back’ At Protesters More Often
March 29, 2016: Trump Declares War On Conservative Reporter, Claims She Is Lying About Assault By Campaign Manager
March 30, 2016: Donald Trump Backs ‘Punishment’ for Women Who Get Abortions, Then Backtracks
April 5, 2016: Donald Trump Unveils His Plan to Make Mexico Pay for a Big, Beautiful Border Wall
May 5, 2016: Donald Trump’s Taco Bowl Hilariously Backfires
May 26, 2016: Donald Trump Now Apparently Supports North Carolina’s Anti-LGBT Law
June 3, 2016: Trump Says Judge’s Mexican Heritage Presents ‘Absolute Conflict’
June 12, 2016: Donald Trump on Orlando Shooting: “Appreciate the Congrats for Being Right on Radical Islamic Terrorism”
June 15, 2016: Donald Trump Claims Obama Secretly Supports ISIS, Cites Debunked Conspiracy Theory As Proof
July 19, 2016: Melania Trump Plagiarized Michelle Obama, a Woman Republicans Said Hated America
July 30, 2016: Trump stirs outrage after he lashes out at the Muslim parents of a dead U.S. soldier
Aug. 31, 2016: Donald Trump’s visit to Mexico is greeted with hostility
Sept. 30, 2016: Donald Trump Attacks Alicia Machado’s Past and Hillary Clinton’s Judgement in 3 A.M. Twitter Storm
October 7, 2016: Trump Was Recorded in 2005 Bragging About Grabbing Women “by the Pussy”
October: Trump Faces a Slew of New Allegations of Sexual Assault
Oct. 19, 2016: Donald Trump says he’ll keep country ‘in suspense’ on accepting election result
Nov. 9, 2016: All the moments the Trump campaign should have died but didn’t, told in headlines
(ThinkProgress|Politico|NBC|New York Magazine|The Huffington Post|Time|Slate|The Wall Street Journal|People|Daily Beast|The Guardian|The Atlantic|Quartz)