It would be right and proper to praise Donald Trump’s shifting policy positions as signs of shift to sanity (rather than any particular wing of politics). It would also be right to applaud the appointment of some of his harsher critics to be aides and members of his cabinet. Equally, it would be deeply worrying if Mr Trump showed signs of wanting to surround himself only with members of his family and a variety of sycophants. The world would also be concerned if the President-elect seemed intent on actually implementing some of what might be termed the political locker-room talk of the campaign.

With Mr Trump, unpredictably, we see evidence of both encouraging and deeply dispiriting trends. In his recent interview with The New York Times, Mr Trump completed a series of policy “flip-flops” that give hope to those who believe that he might yet prove a more pragmatic and sensible statesman than seemed possible only a few weeks ago. Indeed, his choice of newspaper was itself symbolic, as he had routinely abused the title during his rallies. In his Thanksgiving Day message Mr Trump was uncharacteristically emollient. He is a difficult man to read.

In any case, we now know, or have had it confirmed by the man himself, that he isn’t going to waste time or rub salt into the nation’s wounds by going after Hillary Clinton. So much for “jail her”. We know, more remarkably, that he is softening his stance on climate change, which offers some chance that the Paris Treaty on the environment will be endorsed by him and ratified by the Republican-controlled Senate. Mr Trump has proposed two important female appointments recently as well, with no sexist braggadocio attached to them – Nikki Haley, Governor of South Carolina, to ambassador to the UN, and Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary. Both women made no secret of their dislike for the Trump style. An even more outspoken critic, former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, is still in with a chance as Secretary of State. If Mr Romney were appointed that would be an enormous reassurance to America’s Nato allies in Europe, and offer the prospect of a more measured approach to American diplomacy.

Then again, we also know that Mr Trump is capable of some appalling misjudgements, such as his suggestion that Nigel Farage be appointed HM Ambassador to the United States, tearing up the TTP treaty and, more grievously, making Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions the Attorney General in the Trump administration, news that was met with wide condemnation. And we also know that members of the Trump family may exercise undue influence over his decision-making (though this would be far from the first time in American history that this sort of thing had happened).

So, more than any other president in recent times, Mr Trump’s actions in office will probably be as surprising as some of the outlandish things he did on the campaign trail. Some will undoubtedly be unwelcome, even dangerous; but there is at least the possibility, based on the evidence of recent days, that some may lead to a kinder, gentler Donald Trump. We can only hope.</s>President-elect Donald Trump has chosen South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, a daughter of immigrants from India who has little international experience, to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, The Post and Courier newspaper and other media reported on Wednesday.

The 44-year-old governor has accepted the offer, the Charleston, South Carolina, newspaper reported, citing unidentified sources.

The choice of Haley, who embraces tolerance, may be aimed at offsetting Trump's divisive comments about immigrants and minorities, as well as accusations of sexism during his campaign for the Nov. 8 election in which he defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Haley, who last year signed a bill to remove the Confederate flag from the grounds of the South Carolina state capitol, condemned Trump during the Republican presidential primary campaign for not speaking out more forcefully against white supremacists. The Civil War flag, an emblem of the American South, is long associated with slavery.

Haley supported Trump rivals in the primary before saying last month she would vote for Trump despite reservations about his character. Trump, a Republican, is due to succeed President Barack Obama, a Democrat, on Jan. 20.</s>Injecting the first diversity into his Cabinet-to-be, Donald Trump selected two Republican women on Wednesday who had unflattering things to say about him during the presidential campaign: South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and charter school advocate Betsy DeVos to lead the Department of Education.

Gov. Haley has little foreign policy experience, yet Trump praised her as “a proven dealmaker.” DeVos, like Trump, is new to government but has spent decades working to change America’s system of public education.

DeVos and Haley are the first women selected for top-level administration posts as the president-elect works to shape a White House team from scratch. Haley is the daughter of Indian immigrants, so she also would be his first minority selection after a string of announcements of white men.

Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson said “an announcement is forthcoming” on his role, which would make him the first black choice — possibly as secretary of Housing and Urban Development — but he also suggested he’d be thinking about it over the Thanksgiving holiday.

“I feel that I can make a significant contribution particularly to making our inner cities great for everyone,” Carson wrote on his Facebook page.

Trump is also expected to select billionaire investor Wilbur Ross Jr. to lead the Commerce Department, a senior Trump adviser said Wednesday, speaking only on condition of anonymity because the adviser was not authorized to disclose internal deliberations. The 78-year-old Ross, who is white, is chairman and chief strategy officer of private-equity firm W.L. Ross & Co., which has specialized in buying failing companies.

Wednesday’s picks came as Trump worked to distance himself from the “alt-right,” a movement of white supremacists who continue to cheer his election.

He announced his two new choices in a statement released as he gathered with family behind closed doors at his Palm Beach estate for Thanksgiving. He’s spending the holiday there after a week of interviews of potential appointees in New York, punctuated by announcements of members of his national security team.

In a Thanksgiving message posted on social media, Trump acknowledged that the nation “just finished a long and bruising political campaign.”

“Emotions are raw and tensions just don’t heal overnight,” he added. “It’s my prayer that on this Thanksgiving we begin to heal our divisions and move forward as one country strengthened by shared purpose and very, very common resolve.”

Bad blood between Trump and his new Cabinet selections had been evident through much of this year’s campaign.

“The people of South Carolina are embarrassed by Nikki Haley!” Trump wrote in March. Haley denounced several of his campaign comments and urged voters to “reject the siren call of the angriest voices.”

DeVos, from Michigan, told The Associated Press in July, “A lot of the things he has said are very off-putting and concerning.”

On Wednesday, Trump said of his U.N. selection: “Gov. Haley has a proven track record of bringing people together regardless of background or party affiliation to move critical policies forward for the betterment of her state and our country.”

She said she loved her South Carolina post but “when the president believes you have a major contribution to make to the welfare of our nation, and to our nation’s standing in the world, that is a calling that is important to heed.”

While Republicans praised Haley’s selection, DeVos faced criticism from left and right.

The president of the National Education Association, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, said in a statement that for years DeVos “has lobbied for failed schemes, like vouchers — which take away funding and local control from our public schools — to fund private schools at taxpayers’ expense.”

And Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, tweeted, “Trump has chosen the most ideological, anti-public ed nominee since the creation of the Dept of Education.”

At the same time, some conservatives warned that the longtime Republican donor, who has spent millions of dollars — along with her husband — to promote candidates who favor charter schools and school vouchers, also supports the Common Core education standards that Trump railed against during the campaign.

Conservatives already were grappling with Trump’s Tuesday concession that climate change may be connected to human activity and his reversal of a campaign vow to pursue a criminal investigation into Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

DeVos addressed criticism head-on, posting a “Q&A” statement that said directly about Common Core: “I am not a supporter — period.”

“I do support high standards,” she said. But along the way Common Core “got turned into a federal boondoggle.”

Just two weeks ago, Trump shocked the political world — including many in his own party — by winning the presidential contest. The billionaire New Yorker has yet to take any formal steps to separate from his international business empire as experts in both parties warn of potential conflicts of interest.

Trump will be sworn into office in less than 60 days. Beyond his Cabinet, he must fill hundreds of high-level administration posts.

Spokesman Jason Miller said Trump now is focusing on his choice for secretary of state in particular. Among those under consideration: former New York Mayor and Trump loyalist Rudy Giuliani and 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, formerly an outspoken Trump critic.

After secretary of state, the U.N. ambassador is the highest-profile diplomatic position, often serving as the voice for U.S. positions on the international stage.

As for DeVos, her family has been active in Republican politics for decades, especially as donors. Her husband, Dick, is an heir to the Amway fortune and a former president of the company.

The American Federation for Children Action Fund, which DeVos chairs, and its state-affiliated PACs invested in 121 races in 12 states in the general election, spending spent $210,000 to support “pro-school choice” candidates in Oklahoma alone.

“Under her leadership we will reform the U.S. education system and break the bureaucracy that is holding our children back so that we can deliver world-class education and school choice to all families,” Trump said.

DeVos said in her own statement, “The status quo in education is not acceptable.”</s>President-elect Donald Trump is abandoning traditions left, right and centre before he’s even gotten into office, and has already preferred to communicate to the public through Facebook and Twitter rather than giving interviews to the media.

Now anchor and friend of Trump Sean Hannity has suggested he give no access to the press whatsoever, except for, presumably, Hannity’s own Fox News.

“If I were @realDonaldTrump NO ACCESS!” he tweeted, adding that he felt the New York Times, CNN, CBS and more were all “biased and corrupt” and “fake news” sites.

Hannity, who did a victory lap when Trump clinched the election, has also been praising the President-elect for his behind-closed-doors meeting with the NYT.

“President-elect Donald Trump continued his beatdown of the abusively biased, alt-radical left mainstream media this week,” he wrote on Fox News’ Opinion site, “calling out the press that openly colluded with the Clinton campaign and tried to undermine his candidacy every single step of the way.”

Obama has given interviews to a wide range of publications and even podcasts. Last week, he spoke in the New Yorker about how he remains so calm in the face of Trump replacing him in the White House.</s>US president-elect Donald Trump has picked South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, who was critical of him during his election campaign and who has little foreign policy experience, to be US ambassador to the UN.

Two sources familiar with the decision also said the ambassadorship will be a cabinet-level position.

The choice of Ms Haley was announced in a statement on Wednesday from Trump’s transition team.

“Governor Haley has a proven track record of bringing people together regardless of background or party affiliation to move critical policies forward for the betterment of her state and our country,” the Republican president-elect said in the statement.

Ms Haley, a 44-year-old Republican, sharply criticised Mr Trump during the presidential campaign over his harsh rhetoric about illegal immigrants and for not speaking forcefully enough against white supremacists.

The choice of Ms Haley, a daughter of Indian immigrants who is an active voice for tolerance, may be aimed at countering criticism of Mr Trump’s divisive comments about immigrants and minorities, as well as accusations of sexism, during his campaign for the November 8th election, in which he defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Ms Haley led an effort last year to remove the Confederate flag from the grounds of the South Carolina state capitol after the killing of nine black churchgoers in Charleston.

The flag was carried by pro-slavery Confederate forces during the US civil war and is viewed by many as a racist emblem.

She condemned Mr Trump during the Republican presidential primary campaign for not disavowing the support of white supremacist group the Ku Klux Klan and one of its former leaders, David Duke.

In her rebuttal to president Barack Obama’s state of the union address in January, Ms Haley called for tolerance on immigration and civility in politics in what some saw as a rebuke of Mr Trump.

“During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices,” she said. “We must resist that temptation.”

Ms Haley also criticised Mr Trump for not releasing his tax returns, prompting the New York real estate mogul to hit back on Twitter: “The people of South Carolina are embarrassed of Nikki Haley!”

In the early days of the primary contest to pick this year’s Republican presidential nominee, Ms Haley was mentioned as a possible vice-presidential pick.

She supported Trump rivals Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz in the primary before saying last month she would vote for Mr Trump despite reservations about his character.

Mr Trump is due to succeed Mr Obama, a Democrat, on January 20th.

Ms Haley, a state politician before becoming governor, has little experience in foreign relations.

According to the Post and Courier of Charleston, her international experience involves negotiating development deals with international companies who want to work in South Carolina.

She has led seven overseas trade missions as governor, it reported.

“She is also a proven dealmaker, and we look to be making plenty of deals. She will be a great leader representing us on the world stage,” Mr Trump said in the statement announcing his appointment.

Ms Haley would succeed Mr Obama’s UN envoy, Samantha Power, in the high-profile position.

The US is one of five permanent veto-powers on the 15-member UN Security Council, along with Russia, China, France and Britain.

Ms Haley will be working with a new UN secretary-general after the UN General Assembly appointed former Portuguese prime minister António Guterres to the position in October for a five-year term beginning January 1st, 2017.

He will replace Ban Ki-moon of South Korea.

Washington is the largest funder of the 193-member UN, paying more than one-quarter of the $8 billion (about €7.6 billion) peacekeeping budget and 22 per cent of the several billion dollar regular budget.

Meanwhile, in an interview with the New York Times, Mr Trump denied there could be conflicts of interest due to a lack of separation between his presidency and his many businesses.

He said: “The law’s totally on my side, the president can’t have a conflict of interest.”

Mr Trump took his strongest stance yet against the so-called “alt-right”, a term often used as code for the white supremacist movement.

Though members are celebrating his victory, he said: “It’s not a group I want to energise. And if they are energised, I want to look into it and find out why.”</s>Donald Trump gained a reputation for his bold statements and promises during the campaign for the White House. But in the days and weeks since his election, the future president appears to have backtracked on several of his commitments.

Here are some of Mr Trump’s most significant U-turns.

Mr Trump has questioned global warming and suggested it may be a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese to force US manufacturers to comply with environmental regulations.

But on Tuesday, he said he would “keep an open mind” about withdrawing the US from the Paris Agreement and said he thought there was “some connectivity” between human activity and climate change.

Mr Trump repeatedly pledged to build an “impenetrable, physical, tall” wall spanning 1,000 miles between the US and Mexico if he was elected as president.

But in an interview with CBS after winning the election, he conceded that the wall would include “some fencing”.

The president-elect had vowed to jail “crooked Hillary” and supporters were often heard to chant “lock her up” at his campaign rallies.

In an interview with The New York Times on Tuesday, he did not rule out prosecuting Hillary, but said: “It’s just not something that I feel very strongly about.” He added: “I don’t want to hurt the Clintons, I really don’t. She went through a lot and suffered greatly in many different ways.”

Mr Trump branded the healthcare reform programme a “total disaster” during his presidential campaign and said he would “repeal and replace” the 2010 law.

But the president-elect has now said he may keep some parts of the bill in place. He told the Wall Street Journal that he approved of the ban on insurers denying coverage because of a patient’s existing conditions and rules allowing young adults to be insured on their parents’ policies.

Mr Trump launched scathing attacks on the president in the lead-up to the election. He notably questioned whether Mr Obama was born in the US and said he was “one of the worst presidents” in US history.

After meeting Mr Obama following his election victory, Mr Trump told The New York Times he “liked him a lot”. He added: “He said very nice things after the meeting and I said very nice things about him.”

Mr Trump branded the US Electoral College a “disaster for a democracy” in a tweet in November 2012, but his opinion appears to have shifted following his successful presidential campaign.

On November 15, just a week after his victory, he tweeted: “The Electoral College is actually genius in that it brings all states, including the smaller ones, into play. Campaigning is much different!”

The president-elect vowed to bring back waterboarding and “tougher” techniques in the fight against terrorism.

Mr Trump suggested he had changed his mind after talking to James N Mattis, a retired Marine Corps general, who headed the United States Central Command. The president-elect told The New York Times torture is “not going to make the kind of a difference that a lot of people are thinking”.
• Ban on Muslims in the US

The Trump campaign issued a press release in December 2015 that called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on”.

But in May, he told Fox News the ban was “only a suggestion” and stressed the measure would be temporary.</s>U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has called on Americans to “speak with one voice and one heart” after a long and bruising political campaign.

Trump’s plea was made in a video posted on YouTube after he announced the selection Wednesday of two more Cabinet officials on Wednesday.

The officials are South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley who was appointed as ambassador to the United Nations and Michigan billionaire Betsy DeVos who would work as secretary of Education.

“It is my prayer, that on this Thanksgiving, we begin to heal our divisions and move forward as one country, strengthened by a shared purpose and very, very common resolve..

“We have just finished a long and bruising political campaign; emotions are raw and tensions just don’t heal overnight.

“It doesn’t go quickly, unfortunately, but we have before us the chance now to make history together to bring real change to Washington, real safety to our cities, and real prosperity to our communities, including our inner cities.

“This is so important to me and to our country. But to succeed, we must enlist the effort of our entire nation,” Trump said.

Donald Trump began to broaden the base of his future cabinet Wednesday, nominating two conservative women including a critic, after his earlier picks rewarded campaign loyalists.

Trump’s nomination of South Carolina’s 44-year-old governor, Nikki Haley, as US ambassador to the United Nations will be seen as a sign he is ready to forgive some foes to raise a bigger tent.

But his choice of wealthy activist Betsy DeVos, a champion of alternatives to local government schools, as education secretary, was another victory for social conservatives.

Trump’s one-time presidential rival, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, appeared to be next in line for the nod — reportedly as housing secretary — after he posted on social media that an announcement was imminent.

Trump’s choice of Haley for the UN was announced amid reports that Trump is considering another vocal critic — former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney — for the key post of secretary of state.

And it followed a cordial chat between Trump and The New York Times, a newspaper he considers hostile, in which he softened his stance on climate change, torture and prosecuting his defeated rival Hillary Clinton.

The 70-year-old property tycoon also told the Times that he is “seriously, seriously considering” appointing widely respected retired Marine general James Mattis as his defense secretary.

The UN ambassador post is of cabinet rank and if Haley — a staunch conservative with no foreign policy experience — is confirmed by the Senate she will become a powerful figure in world diplomacy, despite previously clashing with Trump.

As one of two women tapped so far for Trump’s cabinet, the daughter of Indian immigrants also injects a measure of diversity in a group that until now consisted solely of men.

Last year, after a white supremacist murdered nine black churchgoers in South Carolina, Haley supported a decision by legislators to remove the Confederate flag from the state house.

The decision drew protests from racist groups. This year, while campaigning for Trump’s primary rival Marco Rubio, Haley called Trump out for his failure to repudiate the Ku Klux Klan.

“I will not stop until we fight a man that chooses not to disavow the KKK. That is not a part of our party. That is not who we are,” she declared.

Trump, true to form, responded with one of his trademark Twitter insults, declaring: “The people of South Carolina are embarrassed by Nikki Haley!”

Trump’s choice last week of the self-described “economic nationalist” Steve Bannon, head of the right-wing news platform Breitbart, as his chief strategist delighted white supremacists.

But on Tuesday, after video emerged of fans of the so-called alt-right making straight-armed salutes and chanting “Hail Trump,” the president-elect disavowed the movement.

As he works with his advisers in his luxury Mar-a-Lago golf resort outside Palm Beach, all eyes will be on the appointments he makes for a sign of the direction his administration will take.

 

 When it comes to security threats and global issues, the president-elect has reportedly received just two classified intelligence briefings since winning the presidency, far less than his immediate predecessors, according to the Washington Post newspaper.

The Republican’s limited engagement with his team of intelligence analysts has some officials questioning the real estate mogul’s commitment to national security or international affairs, arenas in which he has no significant experience.

When Trump’s November 8 election victory still seemed an unlikely prospect, many Republicans and conservative policy experts condemned his anti-Muslim rhetoric, his affinity for Russia or his isolationist and protectionist positions.

Many of these figures are now moderating their tone and looking for work, whether they are lured by the prospect of a powerful job or are keen to serve US interests as a moderating influence inside a Trump administration.

The former Iraq and Afghan war commander, retired general David Petraeus — who resigned as head of the CIA after he was caught sharing classified data with his mistress — made his pitch on Wednesday.

“If you’re asked, you’ve got to serve, put aside any reservations based on campaign rhetoric, and figure out what’s best for the country,” he told BBC Radio.

In May, Petraeus described hardline rhetoric like Trump’s threat to ban all Muslims from traveling to the United States as “toxic” and “corrosive to our vital national security interests.”

This week a Trump aide was photographed carrying notes on a border security plan into Trump Tower. The first three points were legible in the picture, and pointed to stringent vetting for Muslim visa applicants.

Trump and his family will stay at Mar-a-Lago through Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday and the weekend. More meetings will be held on Monday with transition officials, his press office said.

Meanwhile, erstwhile Democratic candidate Clinton — who lost to Trump by carrying a minority of the electoral college which decides the election outcome — saw her national lead in the popular vote tally pass two million votes.</s>Do you remember Liberace? Yes, of course you do. Who could forget him? The Wisconsin-born son of a poor Italian immigrant, Liberace turned a natural talent for playing the piano into a vehicle for achieving celebrity and wealth. As a child, he was regarded as something of a musical prodigy, but he wasn’t tempted by success as a concert pianist. He sought and achieved stardom by transforming himself into a bizarre showman, extravagantly dressed in lace and velvet, bejewelled with enormous rings, playing an equally bejewelled grand piano with a candelabra placed on it, and engaging in constant joking banter with the audience.

He himself said, ‘I don’t give concerts, I put on a show,’ and most serious music critics took a dim view of these events. After one Liberace performance in the Carnegie Hall, a critic wrote, ‘It’s almost all showmanship topped by whipped cream and cherries,’ while another accused him of lacking respect for the great composers: ‘Liberace recreates — if that is the word — each composition in his own image. When it is too difficult, he simplifies it. When it is too simple, he complicates it.’ But Liberace was undismayed by bad reviews and responded famously that he ‘cried all the way to the bank’.

Liberace died of Aids in 1987 at the age of 67, having achieved all the fame and riches he wanted. But perhaps, if he were still alive today, he might have aspired to an even higher peak of celebrity, the presidency of the United States. As a conservative with a fervent belief in capitalism, he might even have had a chance of success. For somebody very similar to him has just shown that such an implausible thing can be achieved. It has only just occurred to me, but Liberace and Donald Trump have a lot in common.

The most obvious thing is their taste for flamboyant luxury. ‘Too much of a good thing is wonderful,’ was Liberace’s motto, but it could just as well be Trump’s. Donald’s triplex home in Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue may reflect his greater wealth in its grandiosity, but its décor and furnishings are strikingly similar to those of Liberace’s former house in Las Vegas. In both there is a proliferation of gold paint, chandeliers, candelabra, swirling frescoes and classical motifs. The president-elect may well find the White House depressingly restrained by comparison. At the same time, Liberace and Trump were both starstruck by people more glamorous than themselves. Liberace was certainly fascinated by royalty, and the British government clearly believes that Trump is too; for it is hoping that an invitation to stay with the Queen at Windsor Castle will be enough to save the ‘special relationship’ during the period of his presidency. There is also a similarity between the ways they have been popularly regarded. Despite his self-indulgence and obsession with luxury, Liberace was accepted by fellow Midwesterners as one of them; and Trump’s flaunting of his billions of dollars doesn’t deter people from regarding him as their champion against a selfish, wealthy elite.

Sexual impropriety also failed to dent the popularity of either of them, though each faced a different potential threat in this department. While Trump seemed to boast openly about assaulting women, Liberace lied about his homosexuality. Liberace won a libel action against the Daily Mirror when its columnist Cassandra (William Connor) wrote words that, in a London court’s judgment, suggested he was homosexual (which in fact he was). Writing in 1956, Cassandra called Liberace ‘a deadly, winking, sniggering, snuggling, chromium-plated, scent-impregnated, luminous, quivering, giggling, fruit-flavoured, mincing, ice-covered heap of mother love’. Nobody suggests that Trump is anything other than sexually straight, but there is nevertheless something camp about him, especially in the gesture in which he makes an ‘o’ with his thumb and forefinger like someone threading a needle. Trump and Liberace also look similar with their square faces and hair worn like helmets.

But the greatest thing they share is the pursuit of fame for its own sake. Just as Liberace would never have achieved celebrity as a straightforward pianist, Trump wouldn’t have done so simply by becoming a successful property developer. It was his relentless promotion of the Trump brand, attaching his name to all his buildings and projects, and even more his television career in the American version of The Apprentice, that did it for him; and without this celebrity he would never have won the greatest prize.</s>A colourful billionaire businessman with a propensity to court controversies, Donald Trump single-handedly ran one of the most unconventional presidential campaigns in which political correctness was tossed out of the window.

Upending the 162-year old Republican Party, the 70-year-old real estate mogul from New York tapped into the disillusionment of the average American against the establishment, moulding it into vicious anti-immigrant rhetoric which proved to be an electoral gold mine.

In the bitterly-fought presidential campaign against Democrat Hillary Clinton, Trump was often synonymous with controversy, with divisive pronouncements on Muslims, immigrants, economy and terrorism.

A succession of women accused him of sexually assaulting them. He also hogged headlines for several suggestive and denigrating remarks against women, including his own daughter, developments that threatened to derail his campaign.

Most prominent was a video that resurfaced after 5 years, in which Trump is heard boasting about being able to sexually assault women and get away with it for being ‘a star’.

Trump had teased the idea of running for the presidency since 1987, but many feel the final straw for him was the 2011 White House Correspondents' dinner when he was made the unwitting target of President Barack Obama’s pointed jokes.

The incident had unfolded amid Trump upping the ante on the birther row, as he questioned whether the United States President was an American citizen.

The annual dinner happened just a couple of days before the US Navy Seals raid that killed al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in May 2011 in Pakistan. The killing of the man who masterminded the 9/11 terror attacks unified the nation and Trump faced a backlash for questioning the nationality of the President who took the world’s most wanted man out.

Four years later, the tycoon entered the crowded field of the Republican Party’s presidential campaign.

With 17 candidates in the fray including Jeb Bush, the second son of former President George H W Bush and younger brother of former President George W Bush, Trump’s candidature was instantly dismissed as a reality stunt by many, including his own party members as well as Obama.
• How the world was Trumped

But far from being entertaining, the Trump campaign shocked people with divisive statements that threatened to undermine the long-cherished secular and Democratic American traditions.

Trump was also criticised by his party for insulting the parents of a decorated Muslim-American soldier who died in the line of duty in Iraq.

Such was his rhetoric in the campaign that top leaders of his own party, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and US Senator Ted Cruz, did not endorse him till close to the end of the election cycle.

Trump’s rhetoric, however, resonated with the American working class, who were fed up with the establishment and the Washington elite and were also angry at losing their jobs to immigrants or to companies shipping work abroad.

The real estate mogul ran an unconventional election and will be the most unconventional president in US history.

Trump was born in Queens, the fourth child of New York real estate tycoon Fred Trump. He attended the Wharton School and got into real estate with a ‘small’ $1 million (Rs 6.5 crore) loan from his father before joining the company.

He helped manage his father’s extensive portfolio of residential housing projects in the New York City boroughs, and took control of the company -- which he renamed the Trump Organisation -- in 1971.

Considered a ruthless businessman, Trump transformed his family's business from residential units in Brooklyn and Queens to high-class Manhattan projects.

Today his signature towers are among the most expensive and sought-after addresses in New York City.

Other properties bearing his famous name include Trump Place, Trump World Tower, Trump International Hotel and Tower. He has properties in Mumbai, Istanbul and the Philippines.

Behind this veneer of success, however, are a series of failed ventures -- Trump has filed for bankruptcies and has been accused of not paying his contractors and selling small businesses that work for him short.

He is known as much for being an entertainment tycoon as he is for owning prime real estate across the world. He built an empire in the entertainment business, and from 1996 until 2015, was an owner in the Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA beauty pageants.

In 2003, he launched a reality television show called The Apprentice in which contestants competed for a shot at a job within Trump’s organisation. The show, which became known for his firebrand and brutal tagline ‘You are fired’, ran for 14 seasons.

He married thrice and is currently husband to Melania Trump. His children are Donald Trump Jr, Ivanka, Eric, Tiffany and Barron.

Trump’s focus in the presidential election has been ‘Make America Great Again’ and he has run a campaign built on promises to strengthen the American economy, build a wall on the border of Mexico to keep out illegal immigrants and plans to ban Muslims ‘until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on’.</s>Donald Trump issued a unifying Thanksgiving message as he worked to include some of his former critics in his White House team.

The president-elect has given jobs to two Republican women who clashed with him on the campaign trail, and is considering offering arch-critic Mitt Romney the most senior post, secretary of state.

Mr Trump has travelled to Florida for Thanksgiving, and tweeted: “Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. We will, together, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Earlier, in a Thanksgiving message posted on social media, he acknowledged that the nation “just finished a long and bruising political campaign”.

He said: “Emotions are raw and tensions just don’t heal overnight. It’s my prayer that on this Thanksgiving we begin to heal our divisions and move forward as one country strengthened by shared purpose and very, very common resolve.”

Mr Trump picked South Carolina governor Nikki Haley to serve as US ambassador to the United Nations, and charter school advocate Betsy DeVos to lead the department of education.

Both had unflattering things to say about him during the presidential campaign, with Ms Haley denouncing several of his comments and urging voters to “reject the siren call of the angriest voices”.

Mr Trump hit back by saying: “The people of South Carolina are embarrassed by Nikki Haley!”

Ms DeVos, from Michigan, said in July: “A lot of the things he has said are very off-putting and concerning.”

On Wednesday, Mr Trump praised Ms Daley, who has little foreign policy experience, as “a proven dealmaker”.

She said she loved her South Carolina post but “when the president believes you have a major contribution to make to the welfare of our nation, and to our nation’s standing in the world, that is a calling that is important to heed”.

Ms DeVos, like Mr Trump, is new to government but she has spent decades working to change America’s system of public education, and her family has been active in Republican politics for decades, especially as donors.

“Under her leadership we will reform the US education system and break the bureaucracy that is holding our children back so that we can deliver world-class education and school choice to all families,” Mr Trump said.

Ms DeVos said: “The status quo in education is not acceptable.”

Mr Trump is expected to select billionaire investor Wilbur Ross to lead the commerce department.

The 78-year-old is chairman and chief strategy officer of private-equity firm WL Ross & Co, which has specialised in buying failing companies.

Retired neurosurgeon and former presidential candidate Ben Carson said “an announcement is forthcoming” on his role — possibly as secretary of housing and urban development — but he also suggested he would be thinking about it over the Thanksgiving holiday.

“I feel that I can make a significant contribution particularly to making our inner cities great for everyone,” he said.

Mr Trump has gathered with his family behind closed doors at his Palm Beach estate for Thanksgiving, spending the holiday there after a week of interviews of potential appointees in New York.

His spokesman Jason Miller said Mr Trump is now focusing on his choice for secretary of state in particular. Those under consideration include 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mr Romney, formerly an outspoken Trump critic, and ex-New York mayor and Trump loyalist Rudy Giuliani.

Just two weeks ago, Mr Trump shocked the political world — including many in his own party — by winning the presidential contest.

The billionaire New Yorker will be sworn into office in less than 60 days, and beyond his Cabinet, he must fill hundreds of high-level administration posts.
President-elect Donald Trump names South Carolina governor Nikki Haley as United States Ambassador to the United Nations.