12 vintage commercials that reveal who Trump was before he became president
Publish date: 2024-07-23
2019-05-31T21:31:21Z 
- 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.
- Visit INSIDER's homepage for more stories.
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.
In 1989, Trump released a board game and appeared in a TV commercial promoting it.
In 1993, Trump appeared in a commercial for Trump's Castle Casino Resort. He no longer owns the property.
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.
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.
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."
Source: New York Post
Trump appeared in yet another Pizza Hut commercial in 2000 that aired in Australia.
Trump, whose love for fast food is no secret, appeared in a McDonald's commercial in 2002.
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.
At the height of his reality TV fame as the star of "Celebrity Apprentice," Trump appeared in an Oreo's commercial in 2009.
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.
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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