Donald Trump: 'I will not run for president in 2012'

After months of loudly positioning himself for a possible presidential campaign, Donald Trump said yesterday he was taking himself out of the running.

Trump, 64, spent the past couple of months building an unofficial prez run by demanding to see President Barack Obama's birth certificate, becoming a de facto leader of the "birther" movement.

Trump's support for the Republican nomination peaked at 26 percent in April, but plummeted to 8 percent earlier this month.

"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 yesterday. "Ultimately, however, business is my greatest passion and I am not ready to leave the private sector."

Trump suffered a major blow late last month when Obama released his long-form birth certificate, silencing Trump's No. 1 talking point. Obama hammered home the point with jabs at the April 30 White House Correspondents Association dinner.

"No one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than the Donald," Obama said. "And that's because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter — like, did we fake the moon landing?"

Staying out of the race also means Trump doesn't have to disclose his financial holdings, which has been a contentious issues during his preliminary campaign.

(with Reuters)