11 years ago today: Trump launches his first presidential campaign
OAN Staff Sophia Flores and Brooke Mallory
3:40 PM – Tuesday, June 16, 2026
Eleven years ago, Donald Trump forever changed history when he descended down a gold escalator to announce his campaign for president of the United States.
On Sunday, June 16, 2015, Trump, alongside his wife, Melania Trump, the current First Lady, descended into the marble-and-brass atrium of Trump Tower, where his eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, introduced him onstage to a crowd of Americans hoping for change in the country.
In the speech formally announcing his candidacy, Trump unveiled his campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again,” commonly abbreviated as “MAGA.” The phrase catalyzed a political movement that fundamentally reshaped the American political landscape.
Following his speech, Trump went on to become the 45th and now-47th president of the United States, after defeating then-Vice President and 2024 Democrat candidate Kamala Harris.
During his terms, he delivered the largest middle-class tax relief package in history, took executive actions to lower domestic energy costs, officially designated illicit fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction, combating international drug trafficking, restricted illegal entries at the Southern Border, and extended the U.S. border wall.
He has also focused heavily on his “Make America Beautiful Again” conservation and civic beautification initiative.
Judicial Overhaul
A structurally enduring achievement of Trump’s first term was reshaping the American legal system. He appointed three Supreme Court Justices, shifting the court’s balance and leading to landmark rulings like the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Additionally, he appointed over 200 federal judges, creating a stronger conservative imprint on the judiciary.
Permanent Tax and Deregulatory Legacy
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 stood as his premier first-term legislative achievement.
Moving into his second term, the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) in 2025 permanently extended those tax cuts. In a massive victory for government accountability, the administration successfully used executive authority to cut through decades of bureaucratic paralysis, culminating in a historic 2026 overhaul that strips protections from deep-state career civil servants and returns power to the American people.
Upending the Global Trade Consensus
Trump successfully forced a bipartisan shift away from free-trade agreements toward protectionism. He replaced NAFTA with the USMCA, heavily used Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum in his first term, and dramatically escalated this strategy in his second term — surging average U.S. tariff rates significantly by late 2025 to force supply chain reshoring.
Domestic steel and aluminum producers, along with industrial workers in the Rust Belt, argue it saved American mills from being wiped out by heavily subsidized, cheap foreign metals (especially from China) flooding the market, protecting a sector critical to national security.
What the Trump administration highlights as its primary victories and promises kept
Securing the Border and Mass Enforcement
The administration points to its hardline immigration agenda as its signature success. In his first term, this meant building hundreds of miles of border wall. In his second term, the administration highlights the signing of the Laken Riley Act, executive actions to curb birthright citizenship, and the mobilization of federal resources for large-scale deportations.
Dismantling the Bureaucracy (DOGE)
A central triumph in his second term is the launch of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The administration boasts about aggressively “shrinking the deep state” by executing mass layoffs of federal employees, cutting trillions in government waste, and outright closing redundant or bloated federal agencies to restore accountability to the American taxpayer.
The total volume of federal employees removed or pressured out under DOGE-coordinated initiatives is massive. The workforce reduction happened in rapid waves through early retirements, direct firings, and agency-wide Reductions in Force (RIFs). Nonetheless, the metric for success has been measured in spending rescissions and contract cancellations, rather than criminal prosecutions.
“America First” Energy and Economic Dominance
The administration highlights its “drill, baby, drill” energy policy, showcasing the removal of counterproductive restrictions on federal lands and the protection of the traditional energy grid, like the clean coal power generation fleet. These actions, alongside cutting red tape for AI infrastructure and data centers, have been described as a “historic unleashing of American economic dominance,” Trump officials say.
Foreign Policy Through Strength
The administration touts massive success in rewriting foreign policy by avoiding protracted foreign entanglements while simultaneously projecting raw power. They point to the Abraham Accords in both terms, and broker-brokered ceasefires alongside military operations against adversarial regimes, such as Iran and Venezuela, in his second term as proof that peace is achieved solely through unmatched strength.
A broker-brokered transaction occurs when two separate intermediaries — each representing a different party — collaborate to finalize a deal.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news alerts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
What do YOU think? Click here to jump to the comments!
Sponsored Content Below
Advertising by Adpathway
