Young Donald Trump was notorious for repeatedly getting into trouble, both at school and around his neighborhood. This was one of the reasons his parents send him to New York Military Academy, where he was for five years.

In a discussion with his biographer Michael D’Antonio, Trump noted how much he enjoyed fighting:

TRUMP: I went to New York Military Academy for five years, from the year before freshman.

D’ANTONIO: So eighth grade on?

TRUMP: Yes.

D’ANTONIO: Whose idea was this?

TRUMP: Well, I was very rebellious and my parents thought it would be a good idea. I was very rebellious.

D’ANTONIO: How did it evidence itself?

TRUMP: I was a very rebellious kind of person. I don’t like to talk about it, actually. But I was a very rebellious person and very set in my ways.

D’ANTONIO: In eighth grade?

TRUMP: I loved to fight. I always loved to fight.

D’ANTONIO: Physical fights?

TRUMP: … All types of fights. Any kind of fight, I loved it, including physical, and I was always the best athlete. Something that nobody knew about me.

Trump also told his biographer that his temperament hadn’t changed since the first grade.

Politico – What I Learned Writing Trump’s Biography
The Washington Post – Confident. Incorrigible. Bully: Little Donny was a lot like candidate Donald Trump
The Week – Donald Trump’s childhood classmates remember him as a bully