Donald Trump‘s name is synonymous with scandals. The two-time President of the United States has been in more controversies than any other president in the past. In his career as a businessman, as well as a politician, he has been accused of so many wrongdoings that it’s now difficult to keep a score.
From cases of sexual abuse to accusations of infidelity, Trump has found himself in muddy waters throughout his life. You’d be surprised to know that he is the only US president to have been convicted of felony crimes.
He was found guilty of 34 charges of felony counts in 2024 and yet he somehow ended up winning the presidential elections the same year. Even the rest of the family members have been embroiled in serious controversies over the past few years.
So without further ado, here’s a list of 7 scandals take shook Donald Trump and his family to their core!
Donald Trump’s Sex Scandal With Stormy Daniels
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Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen was accused of paying hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels. It was disclosed that the money was paid ahead of the 2016 US presidential election to cover up a sexual encounter between her and Trump in 2006. Daniels even mentioned that she was legally and physically threatened to stay silent.
Cohen pled guilty and was sentenced to three years in prison in 2018. Trump couldn’t evade the heat as it was established that he reimbursed Cohen while falsely recording it as a legal fee. In May 2024, he was found guilty of all 34 charges in the hush money scandal. However, he didn’t face any jail time. Nor did it stop him from running for president.
Donald Trump Bragged Out Grabbing Women’s Genitals
Before the 2016 presidential election, The Washington Post shared a video of him and TV host Billy Bush having a “lewd conversation” about women. The video was recorded in 2005 when they both were on a bus heading to film an episode of Access Hollywood. Trump casually bragged about grabbing women by their genitals and even said that he might seduce the women he was about to meet.
He was heard saying, “I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. … Grab ’em by the p–sy. You can do anything.”
While he apologized for his past statements, he went on to say that Bill Clinton has “said far worse to me on the golf course”, as per The Independent.
Donald Trump’s Sexual Assault Scandal
After the Access Hollywood tape came out, several women came forward and accused Donald Trump of sexual assault. One of them was writer E Jean Carroll, who said, “Decades ago, the now President of the United States raped me,” as per Politico.
Trump denied the accusation as he said, “I have no idea who this woman is. This is a woman who’s also accused other men of things, as you know. It is a totally false accusation.”
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Filing a lawsuit against him, Carroll said, “When I had the courage to speak out about the attack, he defamed my character, accused me of lying for personal gain, even insulted my appearance. No woman should have to face this.”
During the trial, Trump was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation against the victim. He was then ordered to pay Carroll $5 million.
Donald Trump Allegedly Assaulted Ex-Wife Ivana Trump
Donald Trump’s recent biopic, The Apprentice, has a controversial scene showing the real-estate tycoon sexually assaulting his then-wife Ivana Trump. The scene was picked up from Harry Hurt III’s 1993 book Lost Tycoon: The Many Lives of Donald Trump.
The book quoted Ivana, “On one occasion during 1989, Mr. Trump and I had marital relations in which he behaved very differently toward me than he had during our marriage. As a woman, I felt violated, as the love and tenderness, which he normally exhibited towards me, was absent. I referred to this as a “rape”, but I do not want my words to be interpreted in a literal or criminal sense,” revealed NPR.
Donald Trump and Ivana Trump legally parted ways in 1990. The divorce was granted on grounds of Trump’s infidelity and his treatment of her.
However, decades later, she recanted her statement. She said in 2015, “I have recently read some comments attributed to me from nearly 30 years ago at a time of very high tension during my divorce from Donald. The story is totally without merit. Donald and I are the best of friends and together have raised three children that we love and are very proud of,” as reported by ABC News.
Eric Trump’s Charity Fraud
Donald Trump’s son Eric once misled US citizens who donated to his “charity” program. He raised nearly $1.8 million and told people that the money went to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, a renowned pediatric cancer center. But it turned out that St. Jude received only $1.2 million.
As per Forbes, $240,000 went into some covered expenses and approximately $200,000 went to other organizations. Interestingly, none of these organizations had any programs to help kids diagnosed with cancer.
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New York State Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit alleging that the Trumps used their foundations “as little more than a checkbook to serve Mr. Trump’s business and political interests,” as per The New York Times.
Melania Trump’s N–e Photo Scandal
In November 2016, British GQ published an article with the headline – ‘Melania Trump – the First Lady in our n–e photo shoot’. The picture dates back to 2000 from Melania’s modeling days.
The report further mentioned that Donald Trump requested the fashion magazine to send the photos to his office. It also revealed that the White House website proudly featured the cover shoot as one of Melania Trump‘s biggest achievements. Her bold photoshoot, however, stirred up quite a debate.
Even the New York Post published a series of n–de pictures from the January 1996 issue of Max, a French men’s magazine. Melania came forward and confidently defended her pictures.
Trump University Fraud
Donald Trump launched Trump University in 2004. It was later found out that it wasn’t an accredited university or college. Instead, this organization was hosting real-estate seminars that lured people with promises of getting rich quickly.
In 2013, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sued Trump for defrauding students. “More than 5,000 people across the country who paid Donald Trump $40 million to teach them his hard sell tactics got a hard lesson in bait-and-switch,” he said in a statement as per Business Insider.
The list of the Trump family’s scandals is much longer than this. And yet, it becomes a fascinating case study of how he evaded the bad reputation that came with these scandals and became the President twice.
