Random Strange Facts About Donald Trump's Childhood (15 items)

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  (#1) He Punched His Second-Grade Music Teacher in the Face

  In his 1987 book The Art of the Deal, Trump writes about how, even as a child, he had strong convictions.

  "In the second grade I actually gave a teacher a black eye — I punched my music teacher because I didn't think he knew anything about music and I almost got expelled. I'm not proud of that, but it's clear evidence that even early on I had a tendency to stand up and make my opinions known in a very forceful way. The difference now is that I use my brain instead of my fists."
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  (#2) Trump Was a Multi-Sport Athlete in High School

  At the New York Military Academy, Donald Trump was a star on the diamond, the field, and the pitch. He was a varsity player on the baseball, football, and soccer teams at the academy. Former classmate Ted Levine told Business Insider:

  "He was just the best, a good athlete, a great athlete. He could have probably played pro ball as a pitcher. I think he threw 80 miles an hour. I was the catcher. He made my hand black and blue every day … Could he play football? Could he play soccer? He could do anything he wanted. He was physically and mentally gifted.” 
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  (#3) He Acted in School Plays

  In middle school, Trump was quite the thespian. He was in a number of school plays and musicals, including playing one of the sailors in a production of the musical HMS Pinafore.
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  (#4) His Nickname in Middle School Was Donnie

  Trump attended the Kew-Forest School until the end of eighth grade. His friends there called him Donnie. Somehow, it's just difficult to imagine "The Donald" as "The Donnie."
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  (#5) The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II Was an Important Moment For Him

  Trump may have got his business acumen from his father, but his sense of showmanship and flair comes directly from his mother. Trump recalls watching the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II with his mother, a Scottish immigrant housewife, and the pomp and circumstance of the occasion was important to them both.

  In The Art of the Deal, he wrote, "Looking back, I realize now that I got some of my sense of showmanship from my mother. She always had a flair for the dramatic and the grand. She was a very traditional housewife, but she also had a sense of the world beyond her."
  
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  (#6) Trump Did Not Have Close Friends Growing Up

  It is pretty common for successful and driven people, especially at a young age, to be loners. This applies to Donald Trump as well, who was too busy learning about his father's business and too goal-oriented to make time for people his age.

  It wasn't that Trump didn't like other kids, he just didn't have the time to bother forming those close social relationships most people crave.
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  (#7) Behavior Problems Forced Him to Change Schools

  The facts here are murky, but Trump moved from the Kew-Forest School to the New York Military Academy before he started high school. Trump's father, Fred, a wealthy real estate developer, was on the board of trustees at Kew-Forest, so for Trump to up and move schools suggests there were some issues. Indeed, his parents hoped the change of scenery would allow Donald to mature and that “the discipline of the school would channel his energy in a positive manner.”

  Trump went on to get an Ivy League education, so it worked out well.
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  (#8) Trump Commandeered His Brother's Blocks for His First Tower

  As a real estate mogul, it probably makes sense that Trump got his start - and his shark-like instincts - off the ground at an early age. A passage in The Art of the Deal, his 1987 book, about how he needed to borrow his brother's building blocks explains:

  "I ended up using all of my blocks, and then all of his, and when I was done, I'd created a beautiful building. I liked it so much that I glued the whole thing together. And that was the end of Robert's blocks."
  
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  (#9) His Military Academy Record Is Unclear

  When he was 17 years old, Trump was named as a captain for his senior year at the New York Military Academy. The post is a prestigious one and involves keeping up standards of discipline with the cadets under him. A month later, though, Trump was shifted to a different position.

  Trump maintains it was a promotion for doing so well, while others cite a hazing incident and Trump's style of leadership as reasons for the change.
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  (#10) Even at the New York Military Academy, Trump Played By His Own Rules

  Donald Trump has always liked to test people and push boundaries. This didn't change after he enrolled at the New York Military Academy. This is a school that is known for having high standards and strict discipline, but even under those rules, Trump was able to work out a way to experience more than most.

  Michael E. Miller at The Washington Post writes, "Even at an academy renowned for imposing strict standards on its cadets, Trump often managed to play by his own rules. He often left campus on weekends and drew the envy of fellow students for his habit of bringing attractive women to the school. He also stirred resentment from some in his orbit."
  
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  (#11) Trump Worked Construction for His Dad

  Donald Trump certainly has an impressive work ethic, a value that was instilled during his youth. With his father being in real estate, it is probably no surprise that Trump spent his summers in middle school and high school working on construction sites.

  Being around that business also helped position Trump for his future success.
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  (#12) He Learned How to Be a Success from His Father

  During summers as a teenager, Trump would follow his father around building sites working for him. It was in these situations where he learned principles that would stay with him. He wrote in The Art of the Deal, "My father would start a building in, say, Flatbush, at the same time that two competitors began putting up their own buildings nearby. Invariably, my father would finish his building three or four months before his competitors did. His building would always be a little better-looking than the other two, with a nicer, more spacious lobby and larger rooms in the apartments themselves."
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  (#13) Donald Was Not the First in Line to Inherit His Father's Business

  Donald Trump's success was certainly aided by what he learned from his father. Trump was able to learn the real estate business and apprentice under his father until venturing out on his own. This was not originally the plan, though, as Fredrick Jr., Trump's older brother, seemed to have that right.

  Freddy, however, had no interest in real estate, allowing Donald to become "The Donald."
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  (#14) He Attended Positive Thinking Church With His Parents

  As a child, Donald Trump attended the Marble Collegiate Church in New York City with his parents. The pastor of this particular church, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, was famous outside of religious circles for a book he penned: The Power of Positive Thinking. In the church (just like in the book), Peale preached having faith in the self, emphasizing the importance of always being positive and never being negative.

  Little Donald's faith tradition is referred to as "prosperity gospel" by some scholars.
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  (#15) He Would Never Admit He Was Wrong

  One of young Donald's more "braggadocious" qualities was his complete and total unwillingness to admit his own error. Friends recall him doubling down on incorrect information rather than admitting defeat. In one particular instance of this behavior, The Donald incorrectly referred to professional wrestler Antonino Rocca as Rocky Antonino.

  However, no matter how much teasing his friends piled on, he refused to back down and admit defeat, despite the fact that he was objectively wrong.

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