- President Donald Trump made regular appearances in commercials and movies in the decades before he was president.
- Trump appeared in ads for everything from computers to McDonald's to promotions for his casinos from the late 1980s onwards.
- The president was a real estate mogul and reality TV star before he entered the world of politics.
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In the years before he entered the White House, President Donald Trump was a real estate mogul and reality TV star who relentlessly sought to build his brand.
Along the way, Trump appeared in a number of TV ads for an array of products ranging from computers to fast food. Trump also appeared in ads for his various business ventures, which have a mixed — and in some cases controversial — legacy.
Here are 12 of the commercials Trump starred in before becoming president.
In 1988, Trump appeared in a commercial for Diet Pepsi ahead of a Mike Tyson vs. Michael Spinks boxing match.
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In 1989, Trump released a board game and appeared in a TV commercial promoting it.
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In 1993, Trump appeared in a commercial for Trump's Castle Casino Resort. He no longer owns the property.
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Trump in 1995 appeared in a Pizza Hut commercial with his ex-wife Ivana. The two were already divorced by the time the ad was filmed. Their split in the early 90s was highly publicized following Trump's affair with Marla Maples.
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Trump is not particularly enthusiastic about importing technology from Asian companies in the present-day amid tensions over trade with China and Japan. But back in the mid-90s Trump lent his voice to a commercial for Toshiba, a Japan-based company, and a desktop computer it was selling at the time.
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Back in the late 90s, Trump appeared in a commercial for Cozone.com, a website launched by the now-defunct CompUSA. At the time of ad's release, the New York Post reported, "The Donald appears ... wearing a suit, messily attempting to mold clay on a potter’s wheel. He eventually gives up, bidding $600 for another student’s pot. The spot ends with Trump hitting on a young woman washing her hands next to him."
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Source:New York Post
Trump appeared in yet another Pizza Hut commercial in 2000 that aired in Australia.
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Trump, whose love for fast food is no secret, appeared in a McDonald's commercial in 2002.
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Trump in 2007 starred in a commercial for Trump Steaks, which were sold via Sharper Image and QVC. It was a short-lived venture, however, lasting only two months in the summer of that year.
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At the height of his reality TV fame as the star of "Celebrity Apprentice," Trump appeared in an Oreo's commercial in 2009.
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Trump at one point starred in a commercial for Trump University — a for-profit real estate training program that started in the mid-2000s and lasted until 2010. In 2018, a judge finalized a $25 million settlement for students who claimed they were defrauded by Trump's now-defunct university.
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Trump in 2012 starred in a Macy's commercial alongside celebrities like Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber. Macy's used to sell a menswear collection in partnership with Trump but cut ties with him amid his 2016 campaign for president.
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