Trump and Clinton's long - and crossing - paths to the White House

SBS World News: They were born just 16 months apart, but Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his Democrat rival, Hillary Clinton, have taken very different paths in their quest to become the 45th president of the United States.This race to the White House has descended into one of the most vicious political contests yet.But their paths have crossed several times over the course of the past few decades.

Trump and Clinton's long - and crossing - paths to the White HouseTrump and Clinton's long - and crossing - paths to the White House

Source: AAP

From this:

"Hillary Clinton I think is a terrific woman, I mean I'm a little biased because I've known her for years. I live in New York, she lives in New York and I've known her and her husband for years and I really like them both a lot. I think she really works hard and I think she does a good job."

To this:

"She has a lot to hide. She was the worst Secretary of State in the history of the United States. She will be a terrible president."

The race to the White House is almost over but the story of how the two presidential candidates got to this stage is just as gripping.

Donald John Trump was born in 1946 in Queens in New York City, the fourth of five children.

His father was a builder who went on to become one of New York's biggest real estate developers.

Hillary Rodham Clinton was the eldest of three born in Chicago, her parents part of the politically conservative middle class.

Ms Clinton was an honour student at high school, Donald Trump was enrolled in the New York Military Academy.

In college Hillary Clinton was President of the Young Republicans, but later became disillusioned with the party.

Donald Trump worked in his father's real estate company while studying economics at university.

In 1971 Donald took over the family business and Hillary met a guy named Bill at Yale Law School.

In the mid-70s, Trump received a one million-dollar loan from his father as he made his mark on Manhattan, then went on to forge his worldwide 'Trump' brand before filing the first of his four bankruptcies involving his hotel and casino businesses.

Bill and Hillary, meanwhile, began making their mark on the political and legal scene, with Bill as Governor of Arkansas and Hillary balancing her legal career with being a public figure.

And in 1993, Hillary Clinton became the first First Lady to have her own office in the West Wing of the White House as her husband became the 42nd president of the United States.

Then, that very famous affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky threatened to bring down the Clinton presidency.

"I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms Lewinsky.

But Hillary's rise in politics continued.

She became the Democratic Senator for New York in 2000 - Donald Trump's home turf - and her political career on the national stage took off ...

"62 counties, 16 months, three debates, two opponents and six black pant suits later, because of you, here we are."

... as Donald Trump became the face of hit reality TV series, 'The Apprentice', in which contestants compete for a job as an apprentice in his company.

"In this boardroom we've never had a team lose so badly. You're all fired. All four are fired. (music)."

Eight years later Hillary Clinton ran for the Democratic nomination for President, but lost to Barack Obama in an election that galvanised young voters.

Donald Trump was heard in 2008 heaping praise on Hillary following her defeat.

"I thought that they roughed her up pretty good (thoroughly). I think she's a wonderful woman. I think that she's a little bit misunderstood. You Hillary's a very smart woman, very tough woman, that's fine, she's also a very nice person. And I know Hillary and I know her husband very well and they're fine people."

Hillary Clinton went on to become Secretary of State, and Donald Trump had donated funding to her past political campaigns as well as to the Clinton Foundation.

Donald Trump also played golf with Bill Clinton, and appearing on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert last year, Mr Clinton admitted he even met Donald Trump just before he entered the presidential race.

(Colbert:)"Did you call Donald Trump and ask him to run for president of the United States?" (laughter)

(Clinton:)"No."

(Colbert:)"No? Because that would be pretty smart, man."

(Clinton:)"Yeah, I get credit for doing a lot of things I didn't do. But I had a very pleasant conversation with him and it wasn't about running for office. So I missed a chance." (laughter)

When Donald Trump married his third wife, Slovenian-born model Melania, the Clintons were guests.

(Trump:)"I said be at my wedding, and she came to my wedding."

(Clinton:)"I didn't know him that well. I mean I knew him, I knew him and happened to be in Florida and I thought it'd be fun to go to his wedding because it's always entertaining. Now that he's running for president, it's a little more troubling."

Having eliminated their opponents, they've become the fiercest of adversaries, and three presidential debates later, their relationship has turned increasingly acrimonious.

"We cannot take Hillary Clinton any more, we've had enough of Clinton."

"We can't have a loose cannon in the Oval office!"

 


Share

5 min read

Published


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world