16 Revealing Stories About Donald Trump, His Businesses, And His Movement

From the fake campaign trail to the real "Ivanka Voter."

BuzzFeed News was the first to get the biggest story about Donald Trump wrong, with a mocking prediction he'd never actually run. And we were, I think, among the first to really get the story right, as our reporters kept their eyes wide open to a candidate who would smash American democratic norms and who would, in particular, vault the high bar to calling a public figure a liar.

Many BuzzFeed News reporters have covered Trump and his movement, the central and surprising story of 2016, and one that — win or lose — we will be reckoning with for years to come. We've broken stories of the campaign's craziest moments (remember the great Breitbart meltdown of March 2016?); ones that feel like hallucinations (the secret Times tape!); and ones that the nominee could never shake, like his support for the Iraq war. And our breaking news reporters have been all over the eye-opening day-to-day on the Trump train.

Here are some of the stories that can be read the day before the election to tell the story of this crazy year. They include McKay Coppins' rich, explanatory profiles of Trump and his "yes men" from the inside; Rosie Gray's narrative of the marginal figures and ideas who took over the Republican Party, and how; and a series of tour-de-force pieces of reporting from our investigative team. Those indelible images include the console at Mar-a-Lago where Trump allegedly listened in on phone calls, and the specter of him barging into a dressing room full of teenagers.

So here's Trump:

1. 36 Hours on the Fake Campaign Trail With Donald Trump (February 2014)

2. The Real Media Machine Behind Trump: Conservative Talk Radio (August 2015)

3. How 2015 Fueled The Rise Of The Freewheeling, White Nationalist Alt Right Movement

4. The Anti-Trump Cavalry That Never Came (January 2016)

5. The Jeb Bush Hatchet Man who Might Accidentally Elect Donald Trump (January 2016)

6. Inside a White Nationalist Conference Energized by Trump’s Rise (May 2016)

7. The Donald and the Dictator (June 2016)

8. Sources: Donald Trump Listened in on Phone Lines at Mar-A-Lago (June 2016)

9. Inside the Fraternity of Haters and Losers who Drove Donald Trump to the Republican Nomination (July 2016)

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It’s not done yet (writes McKay Coppins). As Trump completed his conquest of the Republican Party this year, I contemplated my supposed role in the imminent fall of the republic — retracing my steps; poring over old notes, interviews, and biographies; talking to dozens of people. What had most struck me during my two days with Trump was his sad struggle to extract even an ounce of respect from a political establishment that plainly viewed him as a sideshow. But what I didn’t realize at the time was that he’d felt this way for virtually his entire life — face pressed up against the window, longing for an invitation, burning with resentment, plotting his revenge.

I had landed on a long and esteemed list of haters and losers — spanning decades, stretching from Wharton to Wall Street to the Oval Office — who have ridiculed him, rejected him, dismissed him, mocked him, sneered at him, humiliated him — and, now, propelled him all the way to the Republican presidential nomination, with just one hater left standing between him and the nuclear launch codes.

What have we done?

10. Here’s What Actually Happened During Monday’s Republican Convention Chaos (July 2016)

11. Meet the Workers who Sewed Donald Trump Clothing for a Few Dollars a Day (July 2016)

12. How Donald Trump Broke the Conservative Movement (And My Heart) (July 2016)

13. How Donald Trump Won Control Of A Prized DC Landmark

14. Sean Hannity Didn't Change. We Did. (September 2016)

15. Teen Beauty Queens Say Trump Walked in on Them Changing (October 2016)

16. Meet the Ivanka Voter (November 2016)

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