It’s been nearly a year since Donald Trump announced his presidential campaign. But he didn’t ride down that famous escalator last June and step off into being the presumptive nomination.
He had to fight his way through 16 rival Republican candidates and a patchwork of primaries and caucuses. Now, as he sets about unifying the GOP before squaring off with a Democrat in November, we’re looking back at the biggest moments from the first 11 months of the Trump political era.
One of the hallmarks of Trump’s campaign has been his unapologetic, unfiltered opinions on everything from immigrants to Republican Sen. John McCain, who Trump says is not a hero, despite having been a prisoner of war.
Trump also steamrolled over his competitors. He focused most of his attention on his biggest rivals: “low energy” Jeb Bush, “Lyin’ Ted” Cruz and “Lil Marco” Rubio. Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich held on the longest, but both suspended their campaigns following the Indiana primary.
Trump’s momentum rattled the Republican establishment, drawing negative responses from South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Sen. Lindsey Graham, a former rival for the GOP nod, who said Trump’s rise was an indication that his party had gone “bats— crazy.”
Meanwhile, Trump was also racking up major endorsements, many of them from other former Republican candidates like Ben Carson and Gov. Chris Christie.
After huge wins on Super Tuesday and many other primaries, Trump’s path became more clear and his rhetoric turned against Democratic front-runner, “Crooked Hillary” Clinton. The Democratic party has yet to filter out a presumptive nominee.
The video above relives the best moments (so far) of Trump 2016.