Today Donald Trump and his supporters were celebrating a shock victory.
We take a look at the businessman’s route to the White House.
August 1999
Donald Trump says he is forming an exploratory committee to decide if he should run for president – with Oprah Winfrey his ideal running mate.
June 2015
Sixteen years on, he does join a White House race, launching his campaign with a pledge to build a wall on the border with Mexico.
August 2015
Opinion polls start to suggest the bid is more than a stunt as Mr Trump appears the most popular of a large crop of Republican hopefuls.
December 2015
A call for a “total and complete shutdown” of the US border to Muslims is met with widespread condemnation. UK prime minister David Cameron calls the remarks “divisive, stupid and wrong”.
March 2016
Mr Trump performs very strongly in the “Super Tuesday” primaries – winning seven of 11 states. Some senior Republicans start to distance themselves from him.
May 2016
The party’s nomination is formally sewn up as attendances at mass rallies around the US continue to swell as he promises to “make America great again”.
July 2016
Indiana Governor Mike Pence is named as Mr Trump’s running mate
August 2016
Mr Trump declines to follow Mrs Clinton’s lead and publish his tax returns.
September 2016
The first TV debate is an ugly affair, Mr Trump and Democrat rival Hillary Clinton trading personal insults. It proves the template for the two subsequent on-screen clashes.
November 2016
Victory for Trump.
