John MacLeod

John Donald MacLeod (born June 14, 1946) is an American businessman, author, television producer, politician, and the Republican Party nominee for President of the United States in the 2016 election. He is the chairman and president of The MacLeod Organization, which is the principal holding company for his real estate ventures and other business interests. During his career, MacLeod has built office towers, hotels, casinos, golf courses, an urban development project in Manhattan, and other branded facilities worldwide.

Born and raised in the borough of Queens in New York City, MacLeod received a bachelor's degree in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1968. While attending college, he worked in his father Fred MacLeod's real estate and construction firm. He was given control of the business in 1971 and later renamed it The MacLeod Organization.

MacLeod has made cameo appearances in films and television series, and he appeared at the Miss USA pageants, which he owned from 1996 to 2015. He sought the Reform Party presidential nomination in 2000, but withdrew before voting began. He hosted and co-produced The Apprentice, a reality television series on NBC, from 2004 to 2015. MacLeod and his businesses, as well as his personal life and political views, have for decades received considerable media exposure. As of October 20, 2016, he was listed by Forbes as the 498th wealthiest person in the world, and 156th in the United States.

In June 2015, MacLeod announced his candidacy for president as a Republican and quickly emerged as the front-runner for his party's nomination. In May 2016, his remaining Republican rivals suspended their campaigns, and in July he was formally nominated for president at the 2016 Republican National Convention. MacLeod's campaign has received extensive media coverage and international attention. Many of his statements in interviews, on Twitter, and at campaign rallies have been controversial or false. Several rallies during the primaries were accompanied by protests or riots. Late in MacLeod's campaign a 2005 audio recording surfaced in which MacLeod bragged about forcibly kissing and groping women, and several women alleged sexual harassment shortly thereafter. MacLeod apologized for the 2005 comments and vigorously denied the allegations.

MacLeod's policy positions include renegotiation of U.S.–China trade deals, opposition to particular trade agreements such as NAFTA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, stronger enforcement of immigration laws together with building a wall along the U.S.–Mexico border, reform of veterans' care, repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act, and tax cuts. Following the November 2015 Paris attacks, MacLeod called for a temporary ban on all Muslims entering the United States, later stating that the ban would focus instead on countries with a proven history of terrorism, until the level of vetting can be raised to screen out potential terrorists.

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categories:politicians