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Trump has weaved sports into his second term as president by attending Super Bowl LIX, Daytona 500 and organizing a UFC fight at the White House, with daughter Ivanka’s help.
Donald Trump, then and now.
Twenty years ago, “The Donald” was, metaphorically, at the top of his game. Quick stats for 2005?
- A newlywed, the billionaire-slash-pop culture icon had just married his longtime girlfriend, model Melania Knauss, at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach, Florida.
- A reality TV star, he both starred in and executive-produced the hit NBC show “The Apprentice.” At times, episodes featured Melania, Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump. His iconic catchphrase? “You’re fired!”
In 2005, the then-59-year-old Donald Trump had agreed to pose for the cover of the Palm Beach Post’s football preview special section. Wearing a suit, Donald Trump held a football, and the Palm Beach Post used the headline, “You’re hired! Let’s get down to business. There are new faces in big jobs all over the state, and The Donald demands results − now! It’s time to close the deal on some victories.”
Twenty years later, it’s a different story for Donald Trump, since elected the 45th and 47th president of the United States. Quick stats for 2025?
- The billionaire-slash-pop culture legend returned to the White House on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, 2025. He celebrated his 20th wedding anniversary to first lady Melania Trump two days later. He and the extended Trump family call Florida home with residences all over the world, including Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York, his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, and, of course, 1500 Pennsylvania Ave.
- As a two-time president, Donald Trump’s fame has spread to his family. From wife Melania and his five adult children to his 11 grandchildren, the Trump family is no stranger to making headlines and going viral. Most of his children have played a role in his politics in both terms, the exception being 19-year-old Barron Trump, his only child with Melania Trump.
In 2025, the Palm Beach Post is doing a repeat on one of its most famous residents of all-time: Donald Trump, then-and-now, on the cover of the Palm Beach Post football preview. Twenty years is a long time, and a lot has happened within the Trump family.
Back then, Donald Trump, a fan of all sports, had history with the now-defunct United States Football League and the National Football League. He often made courtside or VIP box appearances at sporting events.
As president, particularly for his second term, Donald Trump has made sports a big part of his administration, attending high-profile events such as Super Bowl LIX and the Daytona 500, and planning a UFC fight at the White House for America’s 250th birthday.
In honor of the Palm Beach Post’s 20th anniversary of the iconic Donald Trump football preview cover, here’s a list of 20 things to know about The Donald in 2005 vs. President Donald Trump in 2025.
In 2005, Donald Trump …
- Donald Trump and then-fiancé Melania Knauss, her professional modeling name, held their lavish nuptials in Palm Beach, Florida − the wedding at the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-By-the-Sea, followed by a wedding reception in the new Donald J. Trump Ballroom at his private club, Mar-a-Lago. Melania Knauss had begun her modeling career at age 16 and many years later moved to New York in 1996. The couple met in 1998 at a New York fashion party, became engaged in 2004 and married in 2005. Melania Knauss became Mrs. Donald Trump, his third wife, on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2005. She was 34 and he was 58 years old.
- The billionaire starred on NBC’s hit reality show, “The Apprentice,” which aired from 2004 to 2015 (it spawned “The Celebrity Apprentice” with Arnold Schwarzenegger as host). The premise for the show was to have contestants compete for a job as an apprentice to billionaire Donald Trump. When “The Apprentice” aired, Donald Trump earned $375,000 per episode, according to IMDB.com.
- In the “reality show where you don’t win a date, you win a career,” Donald Trump was the host and executive-produced the show along with Mark Burnett, executive producer of the long-running CBS reality show “Survivor.” Burnett and his wife, “Touched By an Angel” actress Roma Downey, attended Donald and Melania Trump’s 2005 wedding along with dozens of other celebrities such as Kelly Ripa, Matt Lauer, Katie Couric, and Bill and Hillary Clinton.
- At the time, Donald Trump was the father of four children: Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump with ex-wife Ivana Trump, and Tiffany Trump with second ex-wife Marla Maples. When he married Melania, Donald Trump’s best men were Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. At the wedding reception, the bride toasted her new stepdaughters, Ivanka and Tiffany Trump.
- Already a longtime celebrity, Donald Trump was no stranger to cameos. His IMDB bio states that in 2005, The Donald appeared in Domino’s Pizza commercials for the company’s “555 deal” and to promote the cheeseburger pizza. Three years earlier, he had filmed a McDonald’s commercial with Grimace, and in 2000, he filmed a “New Yorker” commercial for Pizza Hut. Over the years on the small screen, he had guest spots (as himself) on “Days of Our Lives,” “Spin City,” “Suddenly Susan,” “The Nanny,” “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and “All My Children.” His movie cameos include “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” in 1992, “Zoolander” in 2001, and “Two Weeks Notice” in 2002.
- The billionaire reality TV star also owned the Miss Universe Organization, which ran the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants, from 1996 until September 2015, when he sold the company. Those pageants were televised, with Donald Trump as host. Ivanka Trump co-hosted the 1997 Miss Teen USA pageant. In 2005, he filmed a video interview that contained vulgar, sexualized comments about women; the comments about kissing and groping women without their consent were caught on a hot mic and led to the firing of “Access Hollywood” host Billy Bush. The video footage was leaked one month before the 2016 presidential election, which Donald Trump had won.
- In response to the 2005 leaked “Access Hollywood” tape, Donald Trump called the “hot mic” comments “locker room talk” as he prepped for 2016 Election Day. Many sports stars, however, disagreed and condemned the then-presidential candidate’s comments with many athletes across the country saying, “that’s not locker room talk,” according to CBS News.
- Donald Trump has a passion for all sports. He owned the New Jersey Generals football team – whose roster included quarterback Doug Flutie and running back Herschel Walker – during the 1984 and 1985 seasons. Donald Trump attempted to buy into the NFL in the 1980s and made a bid for the Buffalo Bills years later. He reportedly was interested in buying the New England Patriots in 1988. When Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson died in 2014, Donald Trump offered $1 billion cash to buy the team but was ultimately rejected. His love of sports also spread to the NBA: Donald Trump owned the New Jersey Nets from 1994 to 1998.
- The other sport that rivals his love for football? Donald Trump has a serious passion for golf. In 2005, Trump National Golf Club opened in Rancho Palos Verdes, Los Angeles, California, and Trump National Golf Club opened in Colts Neck, New Jersey. He would go on to open Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, a year later − that particular site would eventually become known as “the Summer White House” because of the amount of time Donald Trump spent there during his first presidency.
- In the 2005 Emmy Awards show hosted by Ellen Degeneres, wearing denim overalls, a white T-shirt and straw hat, a pitchfork-wielding Donald Trump teamed up with actress Megan Mullally (“Will and Grace”) to sing “Green Acres.” Years later, in 2018 when he was the 45th U.S. president, Donald Trump tweeted the video of the 2005 “Green Acres”-Emmy skit to tease a farm bill signing. Mullally’s “Omg” and cringed response generated headlines. In a 2019 USA TODAY story, the Emmy-winning actress reflected on the Donald Trump-“Green Acres” song: “At the time … I think it was 2004 or 2005, when he was at the height of ‘The Apprentice’ and everyone thought he was this hilarious caricature,” said Mullally, calling Trump a “harmless boob” at the time of the televised moment.
In 2025, President Donald Trump …
- Two days after Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, 2025, Donald and Melania Trump celebrated a milestone − 20 years of marriage − on Jan. 22, 2025. Melania Trump was the first lady of the U.S. from 2017 to 2021 and will be again from 2025 to 2029. Donald Trump was president of the U.S. from 2017 to 2021 and will be again from 2025 to 2029.
- Weeks into his second presidency, Donald Trump made history by becoming the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl. On Feb. 9, 2025, he was in the VIP box with members of the Trump family − including children Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump − for Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, Louisiana.
- One week after the Super Bowl, Donald Trump made a celebrity appearance at the Daytona 500 in Daytona Beach, Florida. In 2020, he had served as the Great American Race’s grand marshal and was accompanied by first lady Melania Trump. On Feb. 16, 2025, Donald Trump arrived via Air Force One with Eric and Lara Trump and their two young children, Luke and Carolina Trump.
- Donald Trump has five adult children: Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump with ex-wife Ivana Trump, Tiffany Trump with second ex-wife Marla Maples, and Barron Trump with wife Melania Trump. He’s also a grandfather with 11 grandchildren: Kai Trump, Donald Trump III, Spencer Trump, Tristan Trump and Chloe Trump are the children of Donald Trump Jr. and ex-wife Vanessa Trump, who is currently dating Donald Trump’s longtime friend Tiger Woods; Arabella Kushner, Joseph Kushner and Theodore “Theo” Kushner are the children of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner; Luke Trump and Carolina Trump are the children of Eric and Lara Trump; and Alexander Trump Boulos, son of Tiffany Trump and Michael Boulos.
- Donald Trump’s appearances outside the wrestling ring in 2025 brought great applause from fans: In March 2025, Donald Trump attended the NCAA wrestling championship finals in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with billionaire SpaceX founder Elon Musk. Less than a month later on April 12, 2025, Donald Trump went viral for an “attempted handshake-snub-pout” moment with actress Cheryl Hines (“Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “A Bad Moms Christmas”) at the UFC MMA match in Miami, Florida. After the president entered the arena, he greeted fans and shook hands with several people — except the wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In a viral video on X, Hines extends her hand after Donald Trump greets RFK Jr., then pouts as he walks past her, ignoring the handshake. They later got a second (successful) chance at the handshake.
- During the 2025 LIV Golf Tournament, Donald Trump managed a golf trifecta — he attended, played or competed at all three of his Trump National Golf Club sites in Florida — after arriving April 3, 2025, for a four-day stay in his home state, the same weekend as nationwide protests against him and Elon Musk. He made quite an entrance, too: He famously landed his helicopter on the golf course.
- In July 2025, Donald and Melania Trump went viral for attending the FIFA Club World Cup in New Jersey with FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Fans audibly booed before Donald Trump stood and waved to the crowd and when he appeared on the jumbotron, he was “booed again. There was also some applause, whistling and cheering. The music in the stadium then drowned the boos,” according to USA TODAY and Palm Beach Post reporting. In an awkward moment later with the winning team, Donald Trump was scooted off to the side as the team cheered on the field with the trophy.
- In 2025, Donald Trump stood with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and other officials in the Oval Office to announce that the 2027 NFL Draft would be held in Washington, D.C. It’s already tradition for winners of the Super Bowl appear at the White House, but hosting the draft there would be new.
- On Aug. 13, 2025, “Trump Scotland” (and Donald Trump’s golf course portfolio) got bigger: Trump International Scotland near Aberdeen opened. The company already owns a golf course there, Trump Turnberry. The president and his sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr. attended a ribbon-cutting, calling the course the “best 36 holes on Earth.”
- In spring 2025, Donald Trump had attended the UFC 314 MMA fight in Miami, Florida, with Kai Trump, Donald Trump III and Elon Musk. Less than four months later, the president tasked his friend UFC CEO Dana White to organize a UFC mixed-martial arts match at the White House on July 4, 2026, America’s 250th birthday. Donald Trump also asked that White reach out to daughter Ivanka Trump, a blue belt in jiu-jitsu, to help organize the White House UFC fight.
Contributing: Tom D’Angelo, Palm Beach Post
Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network-Florida. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper.
