Donald Trump won't seek GOP nomination
Earlier this month, when he was a possible 2012 presidential hopeful, Republican Donald Trump attended a luncheon with the Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce in Nashua, N.H. (May 11, 2011) Credit: AP
WASHINGTON -- Donald Trump announced yesterday that he won't seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, bringing an end to the circuslike speculation that had recently surrounded the reality TV star's political future.
"I maintain the strong conviction that if I were to run, I would be able to win the primary and ultimately, the general election," Trump said in a statement. "Ultimately, however, business is my greatest passion and I am not ready to leave the private sector."
Trump's decision brings to an end a political roller coaster ride on which he pushed the debate over whether President Barack Obama was born in the United States into the public eye, rose as high as second place in polling on the 2012 race and was on the receiving end of a fusillade of jokes from the president during last month's White House Correspondents dinner.
Trump revealed his decision Monday at a meeting regarding NBC's fall television lineup. His hand was probably forced by the network's decision to renew "Celebrity Apprentice" for another season. Trump had to choose between his interest in presidential politics and his career as a reality television star. He chose the latter.
The real estate mogul is the second candidate in three days to take a pass on the 2012 Republican presidential race. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee announced his decision not to run on his television show Saturday night. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels is expected to make a final decision by the end of the month on whether to run.
Trump has been here before. In 1999, he appeared to be an all-but-certain candidate for the Reform Party presidential nomination before bowing out. Trump's name was also floated in 2008 as a potential candidate.
His flirtation with the race this time had all the indications of a publicity ploy, rather than a serious endeavor -- beginning with Trump's decision to focus almost exclusively on the already-settled debate over Obama's U.S. citizenship.
When Obama released his long-form birth certificate last month, Trump -- on a trip to the early primary state of New Hampshire -- touted what he called his victory; "I'm very proud of myself because I've accomplished something that nobody else has been able to accomplish," he said.
Even that self-proclaimed "success," however, belied mounting evidence that whatever support the idea of a Trump candidacy had engendered had begun to fade. Polling suggested that vast swaths of the electorate did not think Trump had the right experience to be president or shared their values.
Sarra Sounds Off, Ep. 15: LI's top basketball players On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," Newsday's Gregg Sarra and Matt Lindsay take a look top boys and girls basketball players on Long Island.
Sarra Sounds Off, Ep. 15: LI's top basketball players On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," Newsday's Gregg Sarra and Matt Lindsay take a look top boys and girls basketball players on Long Island.
