Donald Trump's outlandish statements have been the hallmark of his six-month-old rollicking presidential campaign, but the billionaire businessman has been throwing out incendiary comments about religious and ethnic minorities, women and the broader American society for years. 

While Trump has consistently claimed that he is not a racist, that "I cherish women" and that he "loves Muslims," other comments and policy proposals from both his campaign and the prior decades put the man leading national Republican polls in a different light.

Here are 15 of Trump's most offensive comments to date:

1. The 'total and complete shutdown' of Muslims entering the U.S.

With the country rattled by the San Bernardino shooting in which a Muslim husband and wife massacred 14 and wounded 21 others, Trump's came out on Monday with a doozy of a statement, calling for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on."

While the proposal triggered condemnation from most candidates in both parties, Trump said it was necessary to protect the homeland.

"Without looking at the various polling data, it is obvious to anybody the hatred is beyond comprehension. Where this hatred comes from and why we will have to determine," he said in a statement released through his campaign. "Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life. If I win the election for President, we are going to Make America Great Again."

In a telephone interview with MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Tuesday, Trump summarized his message for Muslims: “We love you, we want to work with you, we want you to turn in the bad ones, we want you to practice vigilance, we know that if you know a lot, in many cases, we want you to turn in the bad ones. We all want to get along. We want to get back to a normal, peaceful life."

2. 'I'm a negotiator like you folks'

The previous week, Trump addressed the Republican Jewish Coalition on Dec. 3, calling himself "a negotiator like you folks," one of many Jewish stereotypes the Manhattan real-estate mogul dropped throughout his speech.

“Is there anyone in this room who doesn’t negotiate deals?” he joked. “Probably more than any room I’ve ever spoken.” He also generated some boos for not answering whether he would support moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from its current location in Tel Aviv.

“You’re not going to support me even though I’ll be the best guy for Israel,” he told the audience, remarking that he did not expect much support from them.

3. 'the blacks'

“I have a great relationship with the blacks. I’ve always had a great relationship with the blacks," Trump told Albany's Talk 1300 in April 2011 as he mulled a run for the presidency at that time, which he did not ultimately pursue.
4. 'I am the least racist person there is'

In May 2011, Trump pointed to the fact that an African American man, Randall Pinkett, won the fourth season of his NBC show "The Apprentice" as evidence that he is the "least racist person there is."

In a telephone interview with "Fox and Friends," Trump was asked to account for a campaign by an African American advocacy group trying to get then-"Celebrity Apprentice" contestants Lil Jon and Star Jones to condemn him for "race-baiting."

"Well, you know, when it comes to racism and racists, I am the least racist person there is. And I think most people that know me would tell you that. I am the least racist, I’ve had great relationships," Trump said. "In fact, Randall Pinkett won, on the as you know, on 'The Apprentice' a little while ago, a couple of years ago. And Randall’s been outstanding in every way. So I mean, I am the least racist person."

5. 'Laziness is a trait in blacks'

“I have black guys counting my money. … I hate it," Trump told John R. O'Donnell, the former president of Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino, according O'Donnell's account in his 1991 book "Trumped!" "The only guys I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes all day."

Trump, according to O'Donnell, went on to say, "'Laziness is a trait in blacks. It really is, I believe that."

In an interview with Playboy in 1999, Trump remarked that "[t]he stuff O'Donnell wrote about me is probably true. The guy's a f----g loser. A f----g loser. I brought the guy in to work for me; it turns out he didn't know that much about what he was doing. I think I met the guy two or three times total. And this guy goes off and writes a book about me, like he knows me!"

6. 'a well-educated black'

In an interview with NBC News in September 1989, Trump remarked, "A well-educated black has a tremendous advantage over a well-educated white in terms of the job market."

He continued: "If I were starting off today, I would love to be a well-educated black, because I believe they do have an actual advantage."

7. 'They're rapists ... some, I assume, are good people'

Trump kicked off his presidential campaign on June 16 from the Trump Tower in Manhattan, and immediately touched off a furor with his comments about immigration. 

"When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people," Trump said at his campaign announcement. "But I speak to border guards and they tell us what we’re getting. And it only makes common sense. It only makes common sense. They’re sending us not the right people. It’s coming from more than Mexico. It’s coming from all over South and Latin America, and it’s coming probably— probably— from the Middle East. But we don’t know. Because we have no protection and we have no competence, we don’t know what’s happening. And it’s got to stop and it’s got to stop fast."

8. 'I have thousands of Hispanics that work for me'

Addressing news of a coalition of Hispanic organizations protesting his hosting appearance on "Saturday Night Live," Trump was frank.

"I’m leading in the polls with the Hispanics. I mean, you look at Nevada, I’m leading in the polls with the Hispanics because I produce jobs, and they know it. I have thousands of Hispanics that work for me, my relationships to Hispanics is better than those groups," he told "Fox and Friends" in an Oct. 19 interview. "Those groups are looking to fundraise; I know all about those groups."

9. No bones about it

Following blowback from the comments regarding Mexican immigrants and rapists, Trump sought to tamp down the controversy with comments to "Entertainment Tonight" on July 1.

"I don't have a racist bone in my body," Trump told the show. "The fact that I want a strong border and the fact that I don't want illegal immigrants pouring into this country, that doesn't make me a racist, it means I love this country and I want to save this country."

10. 'the Japs'

Speaking to Time magazine for a profile published in January 1989, Trump was asked to give an estimate of his total wealth.

"Who the f knows? I mean, really, who knows how much the Japs will pay for Manhattan property these days?" he asked in response, using a racial slur for the Japanese.

11. On how to treat women

In a New York magazine profile published in November 1992, a year after Trump divorced his first wife, Ivana, Trump was quoted dispensing his wisdom about how to handle the fairer sex.

"You have to treat 'em like shit," Trump said in the article to friend Philip Johnson, who responded, "You'd make a good mafioso."

Trump's response: "One of the greatest."

12. 'I cherish women'

Days after sparking outrage by remarking that Fox News debate moderator Megyn Kelly had "blood coming out of her wherever," a remark he later clarified to mean her nose, Trump tried to play up his positive image with women in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper.

“I cherish women. I want to help women," he said in an Aug. 9 interview. "I’m going to be able to do things for women that no other candidate would be able to do, and it's very important to me.”

The line became part of his stump speeches, drawing some criticism in itself. Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton remarked in September that she would rather Trump "stop cherishing women and start respecting women.”

At an October No Labels event in New Hampshire, a member of the audience told him, "Maybe I'm wrong ... but I don't think you're a friend to women."

Trump interrupted, insisting, "I respect women incredibly" and noting the number of women who work for him and the opportunities he has provided them.

13. Rosie O'Donnell, Bette Midler, Arianna Huffington ...

Megyn Kelly drew fire from Trump in the first debate for asking him about his psst remarks about women, specifically of Rosie O'Donnell, of whom he remarked in 2006 to "Entertainment Tonight": “Rosie O’Donnell’s disgusting. I mean, both inside and out. You take a look at her, she’s a slob."

“Rosie’s a person that’s very lucky to have her girlfriend. And she better be careful or I’ll send one of my friends over to pick up her girlfriend," Trump continued. "Why would she stay with Rosie if she had another choice?” 

O'Donnell is far from the only famous woman to feel Trump's scorn. He also tweeted about actress Bette Midler ("grotesque") and publisher Arianna Huffington on separate occasions.

14. 'When a man leaves a woman'

Amid his divorce from Ivana, Trump summed up in a September 1990 Vanity Fair article the press' obsession with his soon-to-be ex-wife as such:

“When a man leaves a woman, especially when it was perceived that he has left for a piece of ass—a good one!— there are 50 percent of the population who will love the woman who was left.”

15. Golf and marriage

Speaking to The New York Times for an article published in May 2011, Trump likened homosexual relationships to changing tastes in golf equipment.

“A lot of people — I don’t want this to sound trivial — but a lot of people are switching to these really long putters, very unattractive,” he said. “It’s weird. You see these great players with these really long putters, because they can’t sink three-footers anymore. And, I hate it. I am a traditionalist."

"I have so many fabulous friends who happen to be gay, but I am a traditionalist," he said