The Most Atrocious Moments in Donald Trump’s Political Career

The American people love a clown. Back in the day, clowns were relegated to the margins, putting on their acts in circus tents, sideshows, and county fairs. A changing media landscape and the growing attention economy of the 21st century, however, put clowns at the forefront. Be it movies, television, or even literature, clowns were suddenly everywhere. In retrospect, it seemed inevitable that they would find the realm of politics.

Enter Donald Trump, billionaire businessman, spray-tan enthusiast, and all-around blunderbuss. He made his name in the 1980s, appearing larger than life in the media and always ready with a soundbite. A fortuitous turn of events, mostly involving the courting of controversy and the spreading of conspiracy theories, suddenly thrust Trump into a contender position in the Republican party. After a divided election, and even more divided results, Trump became the 45th president of the United States of America.

Since then, nothing's been the same. Along the way, Trump has charmed half of the country and infuriated the rest. Say what you will about Trump and his politics but he has the sensibility of a standup comedian. Much like a comedian, however, he loves to ride the line between polite and offensive. It almost seems like he has a preternatural skill for making people angry. Let's be real, there are almost too many outrageous Trump moments to count. Considering the number of times Trump has set off a firestorm, however, let's take a look at some of the most atrocious moments in Trump's political career. (For presidential trivia, learn which U.S. presidents were or are left-handed.)

To compile a list of the most atrocious moments in Donald Trump's career, 24/7 Tempo consulted a range of news and political publications like CNN.com, The Hill, and People Magazine. Next, we selected moments of hilarity, absurdity, and controversy from Trump's political career. After that, we confirmed our research using sites like BBC.com and NPR.com.

It's hard to say if it's a weakness or advantage, but Trump tends to say the quiet part out loud. This became especially apparent during a speaking engagement in Detroit on Oct. 10, 2024. While speaking to a crowd of would-be supporters at the Detroit Economic Club, Trump earned the city's anger. He told them point-blank that electing Kamala Harris as president would result in the rest of the country turning into Detroit. He said, "Our whole country will end up being like Detroit if (Harris is) your president. You're going to have a mess on your hands."

Now, everyone knows Detroit hasn't been doing well for the past couple of decades. It earned a reputation for a dwindling economy and symbolized the fall of American industry as it was once home to a majority of the country's auto industry. It's true that many people picture boulevards full of bombed-out houses when they think of the city. Though Detroit's economic might waned in the first decade of the 21st century, it's been on the up and up in recent years.

After recovering from bankruptcy proceedings in 2013, the city took great pains to improve. It revitalized its downtown area, attracted new business opportunities, and took measurable steps to improve its reputation. That newfound growth remains a point of pride for many residents. Unsurprisingly, various Detroit-adjacent political figures came out of the woodwork to defend the city against Trump's comments. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, in particular, said, "Lots of cities should be like Detroit. And we did it all without Trump's help."

The summer of 2020 was an explosive time in America. The killing of unarmed George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis kicked off a firestorm of protests, riots, and general discontent regarding the racism enacted by police departments across the country against people of color. Two days after Floyd's murder, the unrest had spread as far as Washington D.C. That day, Trump spent the better part of the morning reinvigorating his "law and order presidency" promise by delivering a speech to state governors urging them to deploy the National Guard to take over the streets. If they didn't, he threatened to deploy the actual military in a quasi-martial law engagement with the American public. Never one to forgo publicity, Trump decided to walk the streets of Washington D.C. in a show of power and presumed reinforcement of the rule of law. It didn't go exactly as planned.

Instead, Trump had police and other law enforcement officials clear a path through the D.C. streets by any means necessary. Using riot control tactics, including the use of tear gas, officers violently made a path for Trump to walk through the streets before reaching St. John's Church. Once there, Trump held up a bible in a pithy and ambiguous display of power as he stood in front of the fire-damaged and graffiti-ridden parish house of the church. The aftermath of this incident is too lengthy to get into here. Just know that it symbolized Trump's inability to read the room. It also reinforced the public's worries about the use of the American military to deal with civil matters.

Leave it to Donald Trump to insult a group of people while they reel from a tragedy. In the fall of 2017, Hurricane Maria hit the Caribbean and the southern coast of the United States. Puerto Rico, an unincorporated Caribbean territory under the United States commonwealth, took the brunt of the storm's destruction. In the first few days of the aftermath, with dozens of people killed, many looked to Trump as a leader to help the Puerto Rican people in a time of need.

At first, Trump seemed to meet that need by traveling to Puerto Rico to survey the damage. He met with area leaders and went on a tour to distribute aid. When he reached Calvary Chapel in San Juan on Oct. 3, however, things took a bit of a turn. While standing behind a table in front of a crowd of people, Trump started pitching paper towel rolls as if they were basketballs. The White House press suggested that people in attendance loved Trump's sports game-like antics. However, it did not go over too well in the continental United States.

People immediately decried Trump's little act of celebration and enthusiasm as inappropriate for a disaster situation. Furthermore, many felt it minimized the tragedy that had befallen Puerto Rico by making a game out of it. It didn't help that Trump told the audiences that their tragedy was nothing in comparison to Hurricane Katrina. For his part, Trump later defended his paper towel-throwing antics. He said to Mike Huckabee during an interview on Trinity Broadcasting, "… I came in and there was a crowd of a lot of people. And they were screaming and they were loving everything. I was having fun, they were having fun. They said, 'Throw 'em to me! Throw 'em to me, Mr. President! So, the next day they said, 'Oh, it was so disrespectful to the people.' It was just a made-up thing. And also when I walked in the cheering was incredible."

Long before Donald Trump became president of the United States, he was at war with the American media. In many ways, it functioned along the lines of a symbiotic relationship. Trump would do or say something outrageous, the media would lambast him for it, and he would fire back unflinchingly. It worked for everyone involved. The media got their ratings and Trump got his much-coveted publicity. On one occasion, however, Trump took the tit-for-tat too far when he mocked journalist Serge Kovaleski at a rally in 2015. While speaking to supporters in South Carolina, Trump referred to an article by Kovaleski to support his claim that thousands of Muslims in New Jersey celebrated the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Strangely enough, Trump complimented Kovaleski first, saying he was "a nice reporter."

From there, however, he continued to speak about Kovaleski. Trump said, "Now the poor guy, you gotta see this guy," before launching into an offensive impersonation of Kovaleski by throwing his arms around with his hands at unconventional angles. Kovaleski happens to suffer from arthrogryposis, a condition that affects joints and their stiffness, particularly in the wrists and hands. Immediately, The New York Times responded by saying, "We think it's outrageous that he would ridicule the appearance of one of our reporters." Though Trump traffics in outrageousness, even he realized this might have been a bridge too far as his campaign team refused to officially comment on the incident.

As mentioned previously, 2020 was a watershed year for the United States. Besides the George Floyd protests sweeping across the country, something else was making its way through American cities: COVID-19. For the first time in at least half a century, the country faced a legitimate pandemic. COVID moved quickly and easily through the populace, killing many elderly people and those with weakened immune systems. As the pandemic grew to biblical proportions, Trump took to his pulpit for what seemed like weekly stream-of-consciousness updates about the developing situation. Those weeks saw Trump say nothing in particular except the usual back-patting and weak affirmation of the country's ability to fight off COVID. On April 23, 2020, however, Trump gave a press conference that shocked everyone.

After blustering through morning updates regarding the situation, Trump talked to reporters. At first, he spoke of the obligatory "voluntary use of face coverings" and how "continued diligence is an essential part of our strategy." From there, Trump seemed to devolve and go on a disorganized rant regarding the nature of COVID. He began riffing about the role of disinfectants in stopping the spread of infection. Next, Trump began musing about ostensibly using bleach injections to cure the disease. He said, "I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning. Because you see it gets in the lungs, and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it would be interesting to check that."

If people had been worried about Trump's bumbling response to the COVID pandemic, this cemented those fears. It resulted in confusion for the public and embarrassment for the medical experts. It also became something of a rallying cry for the Biden campaign as it illustrated Trump's ineffectiveness as a leader. In response, Trump suggested he was merely being sarcastic. Nevertheless, it remained a sore spot for members of his cabinet for the rest of his presidency. After being dismissed from her position as Trump's coronavirus response coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx spoke to ABC. She told reporters: "I didn't know how to handle that episode. I still think about it every day." (For disease success stories, learn about 7 diseases that have been eliminated from the United States.)

If Trump has a kryptonite, it's probably his unabashed love of compliments and flattery. He spent a better part of his presidency talking tough about world leaders, that is, until, they met. Like a little dog that's all bark and no bite, Trump showed a tendency to throw accusations and belittlement at other heads of state before he met them with nothing but smiles. This reversal of opinion was best symbolized by his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

During his successful campaign for president in 2015-2016, Trump made references to the dictatorship of North Korea and how bad it was, how much the people there were oppressed, etc. When he became a head of state himself, however, Trump found new favor with the hermit kingdom's leader Kim Jong Un. He met with him several times before making history when he became the first American president to set foot in North Korea on June 30, 2019.

Gone were the hawkish comments about North Korea and its dictator. Instead, Trump seemed to spark something of a friendship with the incredibly controversial Kim Jong Un. Despite a record of human rights violations, statewide oppression, and famines, Kim Jong Un received nothing but compliments from Trump during his undoubtedly historic visit. Many Democrats criticized Trump for glamorizing North Korea's dictator and making no effort to stop the country's controversial nuclearization.

While this newfound friendship seemed quaint, even charming, and suggested a possible reconciliation between the two countries, it also worried many experts. Trump's loyalty could be bought with some kind words and put the security of the country in jeopardy. Later, it was revealed that Trump and Kim Jong Un exchanged a series of letters complimenting each other's style of leadership. Nevertheless, at the end of Trump's term in January 2021, Kim Jong Un declared the United States as North Korea's arch-enemy.

While many have called Trump stupid, it's hard to argue he has some predatory sense for opportunity and advancement. The man weaponized being a laughing stock and used it to become the most powerful person in the United States. That said, some moments of Trump's lack of awareness are simply too hard to ignore. Take his actions during the summer solar eclipse in 2017. With a unique solar/weather phenomenon on the horizon, many people waited in anticipation to see the once-in-a-lifetime event. Trump, too, took part in the action when he and his family emerged from the White House to observe the solar eclipse on Aug. 21, 2017.

The only precaution that needed to be taken was for the eyes. Solar eclipses make the sun's rays more powerful than usual, so most experts and commentating scientists urged people to wear some type of eye covering when watching the eclipse occur At first, Trump, his wife Melania, and his son Barron emerged on a White House balcony in lock-step with the experts' suggestion. They all donned protective eye gear and looked up at the sky. It seemed like another benign photo opportunity for the president. That is until he did the unthinkable.

Out of nowhere, at the apex of the eclipse action, Trump took off his protective eyewear and stared directly into the glowing solar eclipse. Even though such an action can easily make a person go blind if they keep it up for too long, Trump seemed unconcerned. As he squinted at the sky, his aids on the floor below shouted up to him to not look. He didn't listen and kept staring at the eclipse unprotected for at least a minute. Finally, he put his eye protection back on. It may seem like a silly moment but it's emblematic of Trump's act-before-thinking sensibility. While his supporters dismissed the moment as nothing, his opponents pointed to it as another in a long line of unbelievable Trump blusters.

For four long years, people suffered through Trump's inability to show decorum or grace when dealing with the country's most pressing issues. He may have made some inroads in terms of the economy and business interests but he didn't show much improvement in the arena of civil concerns or improvements. His opponents thought they were finally out of the fire when his presidential term expired. During his attempt at reelection, however, things went from bad to worse.

Despite his opponent's fears, the country did not burn down with him at the helm of the Oval Office. Instead, Trump seemed to try and burn it down when he didn't get the results he wanted in the election. Two months after his defeat by Joe Biden in the presidential election, Trump changed the course of history. His atrocious actions in the aftermath of the election called into question the legitimacy of his presidency, the legality of his actions, and the fate of the country as a whole.

Trump has never been known for his ability to take criticism. He definitely proved himself to be a sore loser in the fallout of the 2020 election. To affirm his disputing of the election results, his supporters took to the streets of the country's capital and made history. What first started as a political protest became an attempted self-coup d'état. With Trump's encouragement, his supporters rushed the capitol building and prevented a joint session of Congress from counting Electoral College votes. While the attempt was ultimately unsuccessful, the chaos resulted in the deaths of five people, including a police officer. To spur on his supporters, Trump told them: "If you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore."

In the aftermath of the insurrection, the country was furious at Trump. It seemed like he created a multiple-point plan to take over the country. The House of Representatives impeached him for incitement of insurrection for his part in the highly illegal attack. Later, a bipartisan committee indicted Trump on four federal charges. While his supporters usually followed Trump's actions in lock-step, this was a bridge too far. People, leaders, and dignitaries across the world widely condemned his actions in the Jan. 6 insurrection. Trump remains the only U.S. president to be impeached twice. (For other famous criminals, discover 10 of the most famous people currently in jail.)