Peninsula Daily News news sources
Donald Trump, the East Coast real estate magnate and reality television host, has declared his interest in running for president, saying that “somebody has to do something, because we are losing this country”.
The man with one of the most perplexing hairstyles in America has been tempted to consider plowing his estimated $2.7 billion fortune into a White House bid by what is a wide open Republican field.
Despite fierce opposition on the right to President Barack Obama and his Democratic colleagues, no strong challenger has yet emerged for the 2012 election.
The early front-runners for the Republican nomination include Mitt Romney, who came a distant third to John McCain in 2008, and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, whose support among Republicans is far from unanimous. A host of other senators and state governors with little name recognition are also jostling for position.
Speaking on morning television, Trump said: “I’ve had so many people over the years ask me to do that [run for president] and for the first time in my life I am absolutely thinking about it.
“I don’t know that I’ll do it. It’s probable that I won’t do it, but I can tell you I’m thinking about it. Somebody has to do something, we are losing this country. This country will not be great if something isn’t done rapidly.”
Trump has already shown his knack for publicity. He appeared on television over the weekend to deny he had any intention of running and to distance himself from a mysteriously commissioned poll in New Hampshire, an early voting state, which asked voters for their views of him.
Even before hosting “The Apprentice,” Trump, 64, was a prominent figure thanks to the near collapse of his property empire in the 1980s and his colorful private life.
A Roman Catholic, he has been married three times, has five children, and owns the Miss USA beauty pageant.
It is not clear if he would run as an independent or Republican. He could conceivably be joined in the race by another wealthy, self-financed candidate in Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York.
Trump is not the first celebrity to be lured by the prospect of being the most powerful elected official in the world.
Warren Beatty, the actor, considered running in the Democratic primary in 2000 because he thought the favorites, Al Gore and Bill Bradley, were insufficiently liberal.
