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The rise of Donald J Trump from television star to become the most powerful man in the world was a story that not even the most creative reality show producer could ever have imagined.

But the disruptive candidate tapped into a vein of discontent and in 2016 secured the biggest property deal of his life with the keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

His political ambitions first began to show around the turn of the millennium when he flirted with the possibility of running for president, but it wasn't until 2015 that Mr Trump officially threw his hat into the ring.

He was controversial from the off - no one gave him a chance but he galvanised his support against the establishment front-runner, Hillary Clinton.

Mr Trump would gee his supporters up, leading them in the chant "lock her up, lock her up" referring to an FBI investigation into Mrs Clinton's use of private emails while she was secretary of state.

He coined the term "fake news" and weaponised it to his advantage - Mr Trump would thrive on running battles between his version of the truth and the establishment's record of events.

You knew he was awake just by looking at Twitter.

He seemed to start his days online, fuelled by the morning news and berating anyone who got in his way.

He would relentlessly speak directly to his base in 280 characters, often using the social media site to announce key policy changes catching his senior aides unawares.

Repeated attempts to bring him down failed.

His mental health was questioned, but he passed the medical test: "A very stable genius. Thank you," he tweeted just before 6am one morning.

The FBI investigated accusations of Russian interference in the 2016 election and summits with President Vladimir Putin only fuelled his opponents' ire.

And a Democratic party attempt to impeach him over revelations that he tried to coerce Ukraine to help him to gain points against Joe Biden failed too - but he became only the third US president to be impeached and as much as he tried to shrug it off, it's not a club he wanted to join.

Mr Trump's four years were punctuated by a series of tell-all book releases.

Everyone from journalists, former aides and even family members tried to smear the commander-in-chief by putting their accounts into print.

For much of the time, it was like water of a duck's back.

The turnover of White House staff was phenomenal. Anyone who broke from the mould, was out.

By the time of November's election, there were fewer than 10 original staff remaining and two of those were his daughter and son-in-law.

His opponents were unforgiving and unimpressed. Heather Hurlbert was a speech writer for President Bill Clinton.

"The style is a catastrophe. The style has uplifted extremist rhetoric, allied the office of the presidency with some of the lowest and most extreme elements in our society," she said.

"It's gone from having a critique of corruption to appearing to make just about every aspect of the law in America for sale to the highest bidder.

"Again that is the kind of thing that is easy to do and hard to undo.

"So in some ways that stylistic change that goes to the core of how we, the people, relate to our government maybe the hardest to undo."

Donald Trump split the nation and divided the world.

In just four years he reshaped the international norms, pulling America out of key agreements including the Paris Climate Accord, the Iranian Nuclear deal and the UN Human Rights Council.

From day one he set his sights on NATO, the bedrock of transatlantic defence for over seven decades.

His description of the alliance as "obsolete" sent European leaders into a spin, but privately some credited him with pushing members into spending more on defence.

His announcement about a drawdown of troops from Afghanistan came with no warning - that conflict was the legacy of 9/11 and became the graveyard of so many US lives.

Mr Trump wanted out. 

"You have seen a decrease of US military engagements around the world," pointed out his former communications aide Bryan Lanza.

"It was the first presidency in a very long time where you didn't see the act of military being moved in to be some kind of peacekeeping force.

"You saw the president commit to his word of trying to bring home the troops from Afghanistan, of trying to bring home the troops from Iraq."

But Mr Trump's unconventional style of diplomacy was brash and unpredictable. Long-time allies suddenly found themselves on the end of public outbursts.

He told Theresa May to do Brexit differently and then criticised her for not listening to him.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was described as "weak" and "mild".

As quickly as he dismissed America's friends, he embraced the country's enemies. Kim Jong Un was top of the list.

North Korea's dictator was initially dismissed as "rocket man" but the US president softened and described the younger leader as "a pretty smart cookie who I would be honoured to meet".

Mr Trump went to war with China - first over trade, levying tariffs against Chinese companies and sanctions on officials.

When the coronavirus pandemic struck, he dismissed the risk and labelled it the "China virus".

He later pulled US funding from the World Health Organisation (WHO) in protest at Chinese involvement.

"I think what he has done with China for better or for worse, is to turn it in the view of the world and certainly in the view of the United States, from being a partner to being an adversary," said Sir Christopher Meyer, Britain's former ambassador in Washington.

"If you look at it as a needle on a dial, the dial has flicked from partnership to a state of adversaries and that will result in a profound change in foreign policy, not only in the United States with President Joe Biden but also in Europe and with others."

When riots broke out following the killing of George Floyd by a police officer, Mr Trump sought to be the president of law and order - he put the military on the streets of US cities, creating further racial and societal tension but knowing it would go down well with his core base, just months away from the election.

With trademark exaggeration, Mr Trump claimed he built America's greatest ever economy - that wasn't quite true, although, at the turn of 2020, unemployment was the lowest it had been in 50 years, wages were growing and the poverty rate was at an all-time low. 

The COVID-19 pandemic destroyed all that and his chance of a second term.

Mr Trump initially dismissed it, waved it off - but the pandemic had no respect for the superpower or its commander-in-chief.

He was dramatically flown to hospital with the virus but recovered days later "schooled" by its effect on him.

Mr Trump quietly filled the federal courts with conservative judges and the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg gave him an opportunity to appoint a third justice to the Supreme Court, another shot in the arm to galvanise the Republican right.

Amy Coney Barrett was sworn in just days before the election - she could end up being Mr Trump's most impactful legacy.

But it would have been wrong to write him off - he beat the odds once and might have done so again.

It was not to be.

The combination of pandemic, recession and racial division was too much for a country in need of change.

It took days to count the votes, delayed further by recounts in marginal states, but in the end Joe Biden won comfortably.

Donald Trump's actions in the dying weeks of his presidency will define his time in office.

He refused to go quietly, instead using his lawyers to spread false claims of election fraud and pursue futile law suits.

And he whipped up his supporters, encouraging them to overturn democracy. On 6 January they stormed the Capitol building, forcing Congress and then the Senate to suspend proceedings.

For that, he became the first president in history to be impeached twice.

He was idolised by his supporters, loathed by his enemies and mocked by the media - he leaves the United States of America divided and adrift.