On this day five years ago, Donald Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States, ushering in a new era of American politics.

November 8 marks the day Mr Trump defeated Hillary Clinton to win the 2016 US presidential elections.

It was one of the most divisive contests in American political history – with Trump supporters calling for “Crooked Hillary” to be sent to prison and evidence later emerging of Russian interference in the election.

His four-year term in office was no less controversial and was plagued by scandals from day one.

It involved impeachment trials; a #MeToo movement; a trade war with China; a potential war with North Korea; endless Twitter posts; America’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement; and a White House insurrection, among many other controversies.

Before he had even set foot in the White House, millions of Americans had taken to the streets to protest against his victory despite Ms Clinton winning the popular vote.

And it wouldn’t be long before analysts and academics were describing him as “the standard bearer” for “post-truth” politics.

Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump inside the demilitarised zone separating South and North Korea. Photo: Getty

President Trump’s dealings with other world leaders were just as abrasive as his political relations back home.

In 2019, he became the first sitting US president to visit North Korea.

But for two years before that he tempted fate by making provocative and combative comments about the rogue state.

In 2017, President Trump said that North Korean threats would “be met with fire, fury and frankly power, the likes of which the world has never seen before”.

During Mr Trump’s handover to Mr Biden, he was acquitted of an impeachment charge for allegedly inciting the January 6 insurrection on the US Capitol, where thousands of Trump supporters gathered to challenge the result of the 2020 presidential elections, which Mr Trump lost.

President Trump said at the time of his defeat: “We will never give up. We will never concede. It doesn’t happen.”

It was the second impeachment Mr Trump had survived in 12 months.