Today Donald Trump Announced He Will Not Run Against Pres. Obama In The 2012 Presidential Race.
Yes, Just Like His Fellow GOP Buddy Mike Huckabee, Trump Has Also Decided To Forgo The Campaign Trail Fray. (I Guess Donald Wasn't Ready To Open His Financial Books To The FEC & Media.)
However I'm NOT Surprised Since Most People Know Trump Is Just A Publicity Whore Anyway!
I Kind Of Knew Trump Wasn't Serious About Running For Office When He Fired Latoya Jackson, NeNe Leakes & Star Jones All On The Same Episode. (Just Kidding!)
Not Trying To Sound Like A "Trump Sympathizer" But In A Way This Whole Situation Is Kind Of Sad.
Prior To Immersing Himself In The Ugly World Of REAL Politics, Donald Trump Was A Successful Businessman, Admired & Loved By Pretty Much Everyone. White, Black, Hispanics, Asians, etc.,
Now He's An Embarrassment.
That's Usually How Career Politicians Rep. John Boehner, Rep. Cantor & Sen. McConnell (All Republicans) Treat Their Prey & Supporters!
Use Em', Abuse Em' & Leave Em!
Remember Michael Steele??
So In A Crazy Way I Kind Of Feel Sorry For Trump.
After All He Is A Fellow New Yorker(I'm From Brooklyn).
But I Bet The Racist Mainstream Media Is Feeling Even More Foolish Right About Now.
Why?
Both Trump & GOP Leaders Used Them To Promote His "Celebrity Apprentice" Show AND To Start A Racially Charged "Birther" Conspiracy Against Pres. Obama That Backfired.
I Can Hear Pres. Obama Laughing!
Yes As The GOP Makes A Fool Of Themselves (NOT All But Most), Barack Obama Is Laughing All The Way To His 2012 Re-election!
Mr. Trump, the real estate mogul and reality television host, is not going to run for president, he said Monday, ending months of over-the-top speculation that he might seek the 2012 Republican nomination.
“After considerable deliberation and reflection, I have decided not to pursue the presidency,” he said in a statement.
“I maintain the strong conviction that if I were to run, I would be able to win the primary and ultimately, the general election,” Mr. Trumps said, adding, “Ultimately, however, business is my greatest passion, and I am not ready to leave the private sector.”
In addition to his statement, Mr. Trump announced his decision in person at Monday’s event for the broadcast networks to preview their fall lineups.
“I will not be running for president,” he said, according to Brian Stelter of The New York Times, who is reporting live from the event. Advertisers cheered at the news.
Mr. Trump burst onto the political scene this spring by dangling the possibility that he might use his fortune and his celebrity to mount a campaign against President Obama.
He seized the attention of the news media by making bold and outlandish statements, in particular by asserting doubts that Mr. Obama had been born in the United States.
Mr. Trump’s use of the so-called birther issue culminated in a bizarre split-screen moment last month when he held an impromptu news conference in New Hampshire as Mr. Obama released his long-form birth certificate at the White House.
At the time, Mr. Trump refused to say whether he was running, focusing on the fact that his NBC show, “Celebrity Apprentice,” was still on the air.
“When the show is over — and the finale is on May 22nd — when the show is over, I will then be free to announce. I think you will be surprised at a number of things, but I think you will be surprised at what my announcement is,” he said at the time.
The attention, and the speculation about his intentions, rocketed Mr. Trump toward the top of the early polls, though he recently had faded again toward the bottom of the pack of Republican hopefuls.
Mr. Trump’s statement on Monday was devoid of any of the theatrics that he offered over the last several months. But he continued to credit himself for pushing the political conversation toward the economy.
“I will continue to push our president and the country’s policy makers to address the dire challenges arising from our unsustainable debt structure and increasing lack of global competitiveness,” he said. “Issues, including getting tough on China and other countries that are methodically and systematically taking advantage of the United States, were seldom mentioned before I brought them to the forefront of the country’s conversation.”
The decision means that Mr. Trump will go back to his NBC show, which has been one of the network’s highest performers.
Joe Biden. Michele Bachmann. Tim Pawlenty. Donald Trump.
Many of President Obama’s friends and foes alike got shellacked — as expected — on Saturday night when Mr. Obama took to the stage at the gussied-up White House Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton. But none so much as Mr. Trump, reality television star, birther and Republican presidential aspirant.
As a hair-gelled, grimly unsmiling Mr. Trump sat at a nearby table — a guest of the Washington Post — Mr. Obama ripped one punch after another at the real estate tycoon.
“Donald Trump is here tonight,” the comedian in chief said, grinning. “Now, I know that he’s taken some flak lately, but no one is prouder to put this birth certificate to rest than The Donald. Now he can get to focusing on the issues that matter. Like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened at Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?”
It was almost painful to watch, the juxtaposition of the president, flexing his new post-birther comedy chops, and the real estate mogul-cum-politician, grimacing at his table as Mr. Obama basked in his post-long-form-birth-certificate glow.
“All kidding aside, we all know about your credentials and experience,” Mr. Obama said, as people in the room either chortled or grimaced nervously, all depending on their proximity to Mr. Trump.
In “Celebrity Apprentice,” Mr. Obama told Mr. Trump, teeth flashing, “the men’s cooking team did not impress the judges from Omaha steaks, but you recognized that this was a lack of leadership, so you fired Gary Busey.”
“These,” Mr. Obama said, “are the kinds of decisions that would keep me up at night. Well-handled, sir. Well-handled.”
The birther issue gave Mr. Obama lots of fodder for the evening, including a video of his birth, which he mentioned before cutting to a clip from “The Lion King.”
But in the end, it was Mr. Trump who served as the punching bag for the evening. As it turned out, Mr. Obama’s swipes were just the warm-up act for Seth Meyers, the headliner for the evening, who spent most of his routine going after Mr. Trump, who sat at the Washington Post table, grimacing.
Today Pres. Barack Hussein Obama Shut Up Donald Trump's Mouth & The Mouths Of Many Racist GOP & Democrats Opponents, By Releasing A Long Form Copy Of His Birth Certificate.
I Can Understand Why He Did It But Its An Absolute SHAME Because NO Other President Was Ever Asked To!
Probably Because They Were WHITE!!
Excuse Me But Isn't Barack Obama An AmeriKKKan Too??
Last Time I Checked The ONLY True Americans Are Native American Indians NOT The White Man From Plymouth Rock!!
Ain't I An AmeriKKKan Too??
Shame On AmeriKKKa!!!
Thanks To Donald Trump Such Obviously Racist, Divisive Behavior Has Most Certainly Lost Republicans The 2012 Presidential Bid.
Now Everyone Knows Why They Kicked Michael Steele Out Of The RNC Chairman's Office.
And Shame On Rev. Franklin Graham, A Man Whom I Previously Highly Respected As A Man Of God.
I Don't Recall Franklin Graham's Father, The Rev. Billy Graham EVER Endorsing Or Speaking Out Against ANY President. Only Praying For Them!!
Does God See The Color Of A Man's Skin Or Just A Man's Heart??
Shame On The GOP!!
Here Are 11 Extremely Important Questions For GOP Lawmakers As It Relates To The 2012 Elections:
1) Where Are ALL Those Jobs Your Party Promised To Bring Back To America From Overseas After Winning Last November's Elections??
2) Why Do You Want To Kill Medicare, Thus Killing Off Elderly Americans & Hurting Many Senior Citizens?
3) Why Are You Opposed To Raising Taxes On Millionaires & Billionaires When Those SAME Millionaires & Billionaires Are Sending American Jobs Overseas While Benefiting From Huge Tax Breaks??
4) Why Do You STILL Want To Give Huge Tax Subsidies To Oil Companies?
5) Why Are You Engaging In Gas Price Gouging For Political Gain??
6) Why Are You Engaging In Such Ugly Racist, Divisive Behavior Prior To The 2012 Elections?
7) Why Do You Want To Kill Pell Grants Thus Hindering The Education Of Millions Of Black & Hispanic College Students??
8) Who Is The GOP's 2012 Presidential Race Frontrunner??
9) Did You Fire Michael Steele Because He Was Black? Why Does The GOP Appear To Hate Black People & Other People Of Color?? What Have We Done Wrong To Your Party??
10) Why Is Your Party Intentionally Choosing NOT To Raise The Debt Ceiling When You Did It So Nicely (Without Drama) When Pres. George W. Bush Was Still In Office??
11) Why Does The GOP Hate Labor Unions & Workers' Rights?? Is It Because The GOP Is For Paying American Workers Lower Wages And Providing Them With Little To No Benefits??
Inquiring Minds Would Like To Know.
As President Obama Said Today "We've Got Better Stuff To Do."
The White House released copies of President Barack Obama's original long-form birth certificate Wednesday, seeking to put an end to persistent rumors that he was not born in the United States.
The certificate states, as Obama's advisers have repeatedly said, that the president was born at Honolulu's Kapiolani Hospital on August 4, 1961. Doubters insist Obama was born overseas -- possibly in his father's home country of Kenya -- and may be constitutionally ineligible to serve as president.
"We do not have time for this kind of silliness," Obama told reporters at the White House. "I've been puzzled at the degree to which this (story) just kept on going."
"Normally I would not comment on something like this," the president said. But the country has "some enormous challenges out there" that it will not be able to effectively meet "if we're distracted."
"We're not going to be able to (meet those challenges) if we spend time vilifying each other," he stressed. "We're not going to be able to do it if we just make stuff up and pretend that facts are not facts. We're not going to be able to solve our problems if we get distracted by sideshows and carnival barkers."
Obama released a shorter, legally binding "certification of live birth" in 2008, but failed to persuade members of the "birther" movement.
The administration had to make a special request from the state of Hawaii to get the long-form certificate released, White House legal counsel Bob Bauer said. Typically, the state only releases the shorter, computer-generated live birth certification when people request such documentation.
Obama's personal attorney, Judith Corley, picked up certified copies of the long-form document in Hawaii and brought them back to the White House Tuesday evening, Bauer noted.
While the president has tried to make light of the controversy, the question has remained political red meat for some of his critics. A recent CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll showed that nearly 75% of Americans believe Obama was definitely or probably born in the United States. More than four in 10 Republicans, however, believe he probably or definitely was not born in America.
What's your take on the birth certificate release?
The U.S. Constitution says only "natural born" citizens can become president -- a vague clause that followers of the birther movement contend disqualifies Obama from the presidency, since they believe he was born overseas.
"The president believed the distraction over his birth certificate wasn't good for the country," White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said. "It may have been good politics and good (television), but it was bad for the American people and distracting from the many challenges we face as a country.
"At a time of great consequence for this country -- when we should be debating how we win the future, reduce our deficit, deal with high gas prices, and bring stability to the Middle East, Washington, D.C., was once again distracted by a fake issue," Pfeiffer said. "The president's hope is that with this step, we can move on to debating the bigger issues that matter to the American people and the future of the country."
Pfeiffer told reporters that the birther debate has been politically damaging to the Republican Party. Regardless, the issue remains potent in GOP circles. Potential Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump recently seized on the issue, saying he had doubts about the president's background.
Trump stands by "birther" claims
Following the White House's release of the long-form certificate, Trump told reporters in New Hampshire that he is "very proud" of himself for helping to bring about the release of the document.
"I've accomplished something nobody else was able to accomplish," Trump said. "I'd want to look at (the birth certificate), but I hope it's true so that we can get on to much more important matters."
Obama "should have (released the certificate) a long, long time ago," he said.
Trump, a billionaire business tycoon and reality television star, blamed the media for repeatedly bringing up the issue. Trump, however, has frequently raised questions about Obama's birthplace during his climb in recent GOP primary polls.
Allegations that Obama was not born in the United States have been repeatedly discredited. A recent CNN investigation turned up no evidence to support the birther claims.
"This has long been a settled issue," said Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.
The president acknowledged Wednesday that the release of the long-form certificate won't satisfy a "segment of people for which, no matter what we put out, this issue will not be put to rest."
"But I'm speaking to the vast majority of the American people, as well as to the press," he said. "We've got better stuff to do."
In 2008, in response to media inquiries, the President’s campaign requested his birth certificate from the state of Hawaii. The state sent the campaign the President’s birth certificate, the same legal documentation provided to alhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifl Hawaiians as proof of birth in state, and the campaign immediately posted it on the internet.
When any citizen born in Hawaii requests their birth certificate, they receive exactly what the President received. In fact, the document posted on the campaign website is what Hawaiians use to get a driver’s license from the state and the document recognized by the Federal Government and the courts for all legal purposes. That’s because it is the birth certificate. This is not and should not be an open question.
The President believed the distraction over his birth certificate wasn’t good for the country. It may have been good politics and good TV, but it was bad for the American people and distracting from the many challenges we face as a country. Therefore, the President directed his counsel to review the legal authority for seeking access to the long form certificate and to request on that basis that the Hawaii State Department of Health make an exception to release a copy of his long form birth certificate. They granted that exception in part because of the tremendous volume of requests they had been getting.
President Barack Obama's long form birth certificate can be seen here (PDF): http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
At a time of great consequence for this country – when we should be debating how we win the future, reduce our deficit, deal with high gas prices, and bring stability to the Middle East, Washington, DC, was once again distracted by a fake issue. The President’s hope is that with this step, we can move on to debating the bigger issues that matter to the American people and the future of the country.
(Correspondence With The Hawaii State Dept Of Health Can Be Seen Here On PDF.)
Another Billionaire (One Much Wealthier) Is Calling Out Donald Trump As It Relates To His Foolish "Birther" Claims About President Barack Obama!
Fellow Billionaire Michael Bloomberg (Mayor Of New York City) Whose Reported Net Worth Is Somewhere Around $22 Billion Dollars, Wants Trump To Put An End To All Of The Stupid "Birther" Talk & Focus On The U.S. Economy.
Like Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann, Mayor Bloomberg Also Believes That Pres. Barack Obama Was Born In Hawaii.
Are You Listening Donald????
However Bloomberg May Be A Little Too Late In His Efforts To Help The GOP Attract & Keep Independent Voters.
Republicans will suffer electorally if they continue to fan the flames of the so-called "birther" debate instead of focusing on the economy, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Sunday.
"I think the Republicans are making a terrible mistake in making this a big issue," Bloomberg, an independent, said on "Fox News Sunday." "We have the deficit. We have the economy. Those are the things that the public cares about."
"If the Republican Party doesn't start addressing that, they will lose and they deserve to," he added.
Even though he called Donald Trump, who has become a champion of the birther movement, a "friend" and "New York icon," Bloomberg wouldn't say whether or not he takes Trump's presidential flirtations seriously.
"Look, anybody can run for president if you're 35 and an American citizen and born here," Bloomberg said, before adding that President Barack Obama was born in the United States too.
Among the political threats wielded by Donald Trump in his carnival barker quest for the presidency is that if denied the Republican nomination, he would run as an Independent.
As an independent myself, I usually cheer the prospect of any Independent campaign. It shakes up the arrogant assumption that our elections are wholly owned subsidiaries of the two major parties and their respective special interests.
But Trump has already burned his bridges with most Independent voters by choosing to go full "birther" and pander to the far-right wing of the GOP.
It's a shame because in his purely CEO persona, Trump could have mounted a semi-credible independent campaign. Look at what Ross Perot was able to accomplish with such an appeal nearly 20 years ago or what Mayor Michael Bloomberg has done in New York to date.
An independent candidate running on a proven record of executive leadership, job creation and improving American competitiveness could be a serious presidential candidate this time around. Especially because a new Washington Post/ABC poll shows that 41 percent of American voters now identify as Independents. We are the plurality and provide the balance of power in any election.
Independent voters tend to be closer to Republicans on economic issues and closer to Democrats on social issues. In other words, they are fiscally conservative but socially liberal. They hate hyper-partisanship and special-interest gridlock in Washington, and they have been deficit hawks since at least the days of Perot.
It's perhaps useful to remember that Perot campaigned primarily on reducing the deficit and the debt at a time when America was struggling to get out of a recession and many people thought that Japan was a rising power that would eclipse the U.S. Now, many of those same conditions exist, with China taking the place of Japan in the "Rise and Fall of Great Powers" narrative.
But crucially, Perot was decidedly liberal-to-libertarian in his social beliefs. He was avowedly abortion rights and even back then supported gays in the military. The CEO candidate is usually liberated from social issue litmus tests by saying that what people do in their private lives doesn't affect on-the-job performance. A guy such as Trump could embody the old libertarian line, "I want the government out of the boardroom and the bedroom." Many would cheer.
But instead, Trump has done a 180-degree reversal on abortion (like Mitt Romney before him) in the hopes of winning the GOP nomination, because abortion-rights Republicans have become an endangered species despite the endurance of "individual freedom" rhetoric. (We can get into how Barry Goldwater's wife co-founded Arizona Planned Parenthood in the 1930s another time.)
Even worse, he made a strategic decision to pander to the outer reaches of American politics by embracing thoroughly discredited conspiracy theories to drum up support from the fringe. This has succeeded in the short run, compounded by his already high name recognition. But it will hurt both Trump and the GOP in the long run, while nuking any hope he had of appealing to independent voters.
If Trump were to try and run as an independent, he could still win enough votes to poll in the low single digits of the popular vote, as Pat Buchanan did before him. But given his super-rich persona -- now added to his opportunistic endorsement of Obama Derangement Syndrome -- his votes would come entirely out of the Republican nominee's hide, opening the door for President Barack Obama's re-election.
In contrast, Perot's independent campaign won 19 percent of the popular vote in 1992 -- coming in second in terms of all-time independent presidential candidacies to Theodore Roosevelt's Progressive Party presidential campaign in 1912. They won votes from the vast vital center of the American electorate -- Trump would not.
Trump has debased himself and any ideas he had of a political career with the serial idiocies he's articulated in this flirtation with a presidential campaign.
Of course, there will be a cadre of political consultants who encourage him to run because they see dollar signs in their eyes, not because they are thinking of the good of the republic. This is predictable but pathetic.
Independent voters are now the largest and fastest-growing segment of the electorate. At the end of the day, we decide which party will win control of Congress or which candidate will win the presidency. But a candidate who panders to the extremes and parades his own irresponsibility cannot assume that he'll win independent votes just because he slaps the independent label on a self-funded candidacy.
A credible independent candidate needs to be a consistent advocate for the principled positions independent voters care about -- reducing the deficit and debt while combating hyper-partisanship.
Trump made a decision to enflame polarization in the pursuit of self-promotion. As a result, he sacrificed his right to be taken seriously as well as any claims he had to represent independent voters credibly in the 2012 election.
At this stage in a presidential campaign, there's always someone -- and sometimes it's more than one -- who flirts with running and thinks a few things, as in: Why not me? (I'm smarter than the rest of those clowns!) What's the worst that could happen? (I'll be in demand on the lecture circuit!)
My fill-in-the-blank (book, TV show) will be assured of take-your-pick (readers, ratings) and I will be rich.
Or, in Donald Trump's case, richer.
Usually, these candidates are, er, interesting to watch. GOPer Alan Keyes comes to mind, a conservative presidential wannabe in 2000 who once jumped into a mosh pit during the Iowa caucuses. Then there's Rep. Dennis Kucinich, a liberal Democrat who ran in 2004 and 2008, and who was once a wunderkind known as "the boy mayor" of Cleveland. (That would not be enough, however, to win Ohio.) Or Ron Paul (father and now roommate of son, Sen. Rand Paul), who caught on last time around as the antiwar Republican and who was, always, eminently quotable and good TV.
Speaking of TV, there's Trump.
At least these other men had things to say. Trump just seems to have things to sell. Actually, one thing to sell: himself.
It would all be very amusing (especially the parts where he has easy solutions to all of our problems, such as: What to do with Libya? Take their oil!) if he weren't so, well, Trumpish. By that I mean insufferable -- and not just because he's always the biggest bloviator -- but because he sized up a political situation and figured out how to exploit it. Like a business deal.
The reasoning is as follows: I need to run for president. I need to find a way to get my numbers up in the polls. (Immediately!) So I need to find an instant base of support. And where is that? Among the anti-establishment GOP wing, some of http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifwhom are Obama haters, willing to believe just about anything, but most of whom just want to stick it to the regular GOP folks who have betrayed the cause.
So how does a once-liberal (abortion rights? Nevermind) GOPer do that? He tells the world he can fix the deficit problem pronto, calls Obama the worst president ever and becomes a "birther." Deal done! Take it to the bank!
How sad for serious Republicans with real ideas. Just as party regulars were fretting over Sarah Palin and Rep. Michele Bachmann, now they've got Trump the birther.
Just as the congressional Republicans were getting up a head of steam as seriously intentioned budget cutters, in walks the carnival barker sending detectives to look for Obama's birth certificate.
"Trump is desperately clawing to the ideological right and using his issue to define himself and his ideology," moans one GOP strategist. "It makes this birther thing a real issue, and that's not what we need."
But alas, it's what Republicans now have. In a way, they have only themselves to blame: While Republicans should have put an end to the birther nonsense at the very start, they stoked it. While a few (like Tim Pawlenty) have called it nonsense, others (Palin) have refused to let it die.
Just as with the "debate" about whether Obama is a Christian, they instead are happy to chant the mantra "I take the president at his word." That's keeping it alive, while trying to sound reasonable. And that's double talk that no one should accept from any politician. It's gives "cynical" new meaning.
Even so, there are some Republicans out there who would like to have a real debate with Obama about things called issues. And, for them, the Trump birther nonsense is worrisome for the party's prospects. Why? Because this is a conversation Republicans are having with each other, not the country.
"Anybody who believes the guy (Obama) wasn't born in this country is already voting for us," says another GOP strategist. "This takes the whole Republican discussion out of the mainstream."
Karl Rove, who knows how to win elections, is clearly miffed, calling Trump's bid a "joke." "If he wants to base his entire campaign upon whether or not Barack Obama was really born in the United States, that's his privilege. I just think that's a losing strategy."
Indeed, recent CNN polling shows that 74 percent of independent voters believe that Obama was born in the United States. Presumably, the birther issue is not among their top concerns.
In the meantime, the president gets to spend the next 18 months talking to independent voters -- which is where the election will be won or lost. And instead of focusing on jobs and the economy, Republicans are sadly engaged in a circular and distracting rant, speaking to no one but themselves.
No matter how this all turns out, Trump will hit the big casino. But he could bankrupt the GOP first.
Is Donald "Daddy Warbucks/ Mr. New York" Trump REALLY Serious About Throwing His Hat In The Ring To Run For President Of The United States In 2012 Against Barack Obama Or Is This All Just A Huge Publicity Stunt?
Only Time Will Tell.
I Think A Lot Of People Were Considering Him As Their Choice Until He Ventured Over Into "Birther" Land.
Perhaps Someone Needs To Advise Mr. Trump That "Obama Wasn't Born In America" Platform Agenda Is NOT Going To Fly!
He's Alienating Potential Voters.
Its Been Settled By The U.S. Supreme Court So Just Leave It Alone!
Oh Well Whatever The Case Of Whether He's Really Serious Or Not, Hey He's "The Donald" & You Gotta Love Him!
Something predictable happens to the ratings of Donald J. Trump’s “Celebrity Apprentice” on NBC when he hints at running for president: They rise.
And when he talks about President Obama’s birth certificate, they really rise.
Proving cause and effect is impossible, of course. But the coincidence is not lost on Mr. Trump, a man who has erected a real estate and media empire on immodesty and indiscretion.
“Did you get the info I sent you?” Mr. Trump asked in a phone interview with The New York Times late last week. “I told the girls to send you the ratings.” He was referring to a 10-page packet of press releases with headlines like “Donald Trump Is Ratings Gold” and news articles from Politico and CNN that described his strength in recent polls. A day later, he re-sent the clips.
Depending on your perspective, Mr. Trump’s growing visibility on television and in political news stories over the last few weeks represents the opening phase of a political campaign or the metastasis of a media spectacle. Mr. Trump, who says he is absolutely serious about a run for president, has appeared regularly on Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, ABC and in a wide variety of political blogs. Media outlets that had expected the Republican presidential ticket to take on a fuller shape by now have found themselves with a news void, and in the absence of other news-making characters, many of them are filling it with Mr. Trump.
“Trump and the press have a symbiotic relationship, not unlike bees and flowers,” said William Grueskin, dean of academic affairs for the Columbia Journalism School. “At least in the natural world, you get honey out of it. Out of this campaign coverage, all you get are a lot of empty media moments about someone who is unlikely to run, more unlikely to be nominated, and utterly unlikely to win.”
Mr. Trump insists that he is not disingenuous about his presidential ambitions, even if others accuse him of pulling a publicity stunt. “I’m very serious,” he said. “I’m thinking very, very long and hard about it. I love what I’m doing. And I’m getting a tremendous amount of enjoyment out of running a really great company. My company is extraordinary. But the country is not extraordinary; it’s doing very poorly.”
Mr. Trump has said his announcement will come by June, which — coincidentally or not — is around the time “Celebrity Apprentice” wraps up its current season. A hint of his plans could come during the May 22 finale, he said in the interview last week. “I wouldn’t announce a decision,” he said, noting that NBC likely would not approve of politicking on its airwaves. “I may announce where the press conference will be,” he added.
Mr. Trump is walking a fine line with NBC. If he were to run, he would have to give up his “Apprentice” franchise, he said. There are no federal prohibitions on candidates being on a network payroll, although the Federal Election Commission does have rules cautioning against the use of air time to further a political campaign in some cases. Fox News, which had five potential Republican candidates on its payroll, recently suspended Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum as they signaled they were planning to run.
NBC officials declined to comment on Mr. Trump’s political aspirations.
Mr. Trump acknowledged that if he were to run, he would be walking away from a lucrative and successful business. “It’s a great franchise, and I’ve done a great job,” he said.
Ratings for the show are up this season over the same winter season last year, despite the fact that the “Apprentice” franchise is seven years old. On March 20, a few days after Mr. Trump appeared on “Good Morning America” and questioned whether Mr. Obama was born in the United States — an issue among some conservatives who harbor suspicions about the president’s heritage and religion — the show had an average of 8.2 million viewers, up from 8.1 million for the same episode last year.
But Mr. Trump received significantly more media attention after he knocked heads with the hosts of “The View” on March 23. The March 27 episode of “Celebrity Apprentice” had an average of 8.6 million viewers, up from 8.0 million for the same episode last year.
“I want him to show his birth certificate!” Mr. Trump said on “The View,” despite the fact that the president has indeed produced a certification of live birth showing he was born in Honolulu. “There’s something on that birth certificate that he doesn’t like,” Mr. Trump added, to sneers from the hosts. “Oh, that’s a terrible thing to say,” Barbara Walters chided him.
Mr. Trump has a history of simultaneously talking up his presidential ambitions while promoting various Trump-branded goods. The first time was in September 1987 when he announced plans for a trip to New Hampshire ahead of the 1988 presidential primaries. A local activist who said he had never met Mr. Trump started a “Draft Donald Trump” movement and invited him to speak to a Rotary Club luncheon.
Mr. Trump also bought full-page advertisements in major newspapers around the country that said “There’s nothing wrong with America’s Foreign Defense Policy that a little backbone can’t cure.”
His book “Trump: The Art of the Deal” was published in November 1987 and reached The New York Times best-seller list by December. Synchronicity?
In any case, by the time he appeared at the Republican convention in New Orleans in August 1988, his ambitions had cooled. “Everybody wants me to do it,” he declared then. “But I have no interest in doing it.”
In late 1999, just before his book “The America We Deserve” went on sale, he began flirting anew with the idea of running for president, this time as a Reform Party candidate. He went on the road with his girlfriend, Melania Knauss, now his wife, to meet with constituents. He bashed the presidential hopefuls that year with trademark Trump braggadocio. Pat Buchanan was a “Hitler lover”; Al Gore was an “anointed” leader; George W. Bush had substandard business skills. Mr. Trump said he was for a woman’s right to have an abortion, a position he has since reversed.
By February 2000 he had abandoned the idea of running, concluding that the Reform Party was fraught with infighting that he likened to “general fratricide.” The head of the party at the time complained, “Donald Trump came in, promoted his hotels, he promoted his book, he promoted himself at our expense.”
Just as then, the media now is watching with breathless anticipation. The anatomy of the latest Trump for President gambit also has mysterious New Hampshire origins, just like his 1987 efforts. On Oct. 3, a few weeks into Season 10 of “The Apprentice,” Time.com reported that New Hampshire residents had received phone polling queries of unknown origin that appeared to be testing Mr. Trump’s viability as a candidate. Later that week, Mr. Trump said of his presidential aspirations on Fox, “For the first time in my life, I’m actually thinking about it.”
A group of New Hampshire Trump loyalists started a Web site called ShouldTrumpRun.com; they said Mr. Trump had nothing to do with their efforts.
Then, however, there was little change in ratings for “The Apprentice,” which were only slightly higher in the weeks after news broke about his presidential flirtations. By February, Mr. Trump’s name began to percolate in the news media as a presidential hopeful. He has made headlines as far away as India and Australia.
Yet Mr. Trump has a well known fear of germs, which he has promised to conquer before he starts the glad-handing required of presidential candidates. His most serious effort yet at campaigning was done mainly at a distance from crowds — a speech in February at CPAC, a gathering of conservatives in Washington.
His comments about Mr. Obama’s birth have been the subject of lengthy, heated debates on cable programs like “Morning Joe” on MSNBC.
He was a guest last week three nights in a row on Fox’s “O’Reilly Factor.” And starting Monday, Mr. Trump will be a weekly guest on its morning show “Fox & Friends,” which is touting “Mondays with Trump.”
Whether or not they take him seriously — and some surely do — media outlets have found great grist in Mr. Trump. He makes news as a serious candidate or an unserious self-promoter. Either way, he makes news.
“We are doing lots of coverage of nearly every possible and plausible candidate,” said Jim VandeHei, executive editor of Politico. “Trump certainly falls into that category.”
Mika Brzezinski, a friend of Mr. Trump’s and co-host of “Morning Joe,” where he appears every few weeks, said she takes his candidacy as “seriously as anyone that wants to run for president.” But she said it was her obligation to call him out on the birth certificate issue, as she did on TV last week. “Along the lines of friends don’t let friends drive drunk,” she said, “friends are honest with each other.”
So Which Potential GOP Presidential Candidate Will Go Up Against Sitting President Barack Obama In 2012?
Will It Be:
Donald Trump, Mitt Romney,, Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, Mike Huckabee, Mitch Daniels, Haley Barbour, Jon Huntsman, Rick Santorum, Congressman Paul Ryan, Or.... Sarah Palin?
Truth Is Probably NONE Of Them!
They Will Possibly Knock Themselves Out Of The Running Via Negative, Vindictive Campaigns During The Approaching Primaries.
It may be almost a year until the Iowa caucuses and no candidates have formally declared that they're running — but the race for the 2012 GOP nomination is already underway.
Here's a look at the Republicans who may throw their hat into the ring to compete for President Barack Obama's job.
This is not an easy time for Republicans who are thinking of running for president in 2012. Whatever assumptions about the road ahead that may have existed a few months ago suddenly look more complicated, because of unfolding events here and abroad.
In the weeks after the midterm elections, a prospective GOP candidate might have assumed some or all of the following: President Obama was weakened. Republicans were ascendant. The GOP’s message had great resonance. The world was challenging, but those challenges were, for the most part, known.
That’s not where things stand today. Prospective Republican candidates are having to rethink their assumptions at a time when they are at the mercy of other events and other people and when public opinion on many of the big issues is unsettled.
Start with the budget battles in Washington. Republicans can take some satisfaction in knowing that their midterm victories have forced the president to give ground on the issue of spending, tax cuts, debt and deficits. The debate in Washington right now is about how much or little to cut spending. So there is still resonance in the GOP’s small-government message, but there is dissonance as well.
Republicans are badly split on how to fight this battle. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is caught between the demands of tea party activists and many freshman Republicans, who want a major confrontation, and the reality that some compromise will be required to keep the government running.
Party leaders such as Boehner want substantial cuts but also want to avoid a government shutdown. Some conservative members, responding to grass-roots sentiments, say a shutdown might be necessary to make the point that spending must be cut even more dramatically. “Shut it down!” Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) told a tea party rally Thursday.
No one can predict the outcome of this year’s budget battles. The question this weekend is whether Republicans, Democrats and the president can reach agreement on a measure to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year.
As this fight plays out, the more consequential battle will be joined. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is preparing to release a GOP budget that is expected to include big cuts in discretionary spending, entitlement reforms and other significant changes.
That will trigger a debate over the size and scope of government, spending priorities and political leadership that will probably reverberate into 2012. Will congressional Republicans smartly navigate these battles in a way that wins public support or misplay their hand in ways that damage the party’s presidential nominee in 2012?
The presidential candidates are mostly powerless to affect to how these events play out. In the meantime, they will have to decide whether to stand with those in the party who call for confrontation or those willing to try to negotiate a real agreement with Obama and the Democrats.
Republican presidential candidates have faced this problem before. In 1996, Bob Dole was hostage to the House Republicans, led by then-Speaker (and now likely 2012 candidate) Newt Gingrich, in the showdown with then-President Bill Clinton. Dole advisers watched helplessly as Gingrich helped force a government shutdown that helped boost Clinton’s standing and make the general election a foregone conclusion. Four years later, George W. Bush outlined his disagreements with House Republicans to appeal to swing voters.
The second arena where events are playing out with broad implications for 2012 is the states. Here, too, Republican presidential candidates are mostly bystanders to battles that will shape the 2012 landscape.
Republican governors and legislators are showing the public an undiluted model of conservative governance, which could come to Washington in 2013 if the GOP were to win the White House, pick up the Senate and hold the House.
Governors such as Chris Christie of New Jersey, Scott Walker of Wisconsin, John Kasich of Ohio, Rick Snyder of Michigan and Rick Scott of Florida are enacting tough measures to cut spending, curb the power of public employee unions and provide business with significant tax breaks.
Christie has become a hero to many Republican activists across the country for taking on public employee unions. Overall, however, the GOP-led efforts have drawn, at best, mixed reviews in the states most affected. A number of the new governors now have negative approval ratings. There is plenty of time to turn those numbers around, but the party as a whole faces a challenge in selling its agenda to the public.
Prospective presidential candidates have applauded the governors’ actions but have little power over how effectively those state executives manage their politics. Polls show the public has greater sympathy for the position of the unions than the governors. With possible recall elections coming in Wisconsin and a possible referendum in Ohio, the battle for public opinion is far from over.
Then there is the economy, long seen as the president’s biggest vulnerability. Friday’s jobless report showed a gain of 216,000 jobs and the unemployment rate ticking down again to 8.8 percent — a full percentage point lower than at the time of the midterm elections.
There are enough potential problems on the horizon to make any forecaster cautious, but Republican candidates might have to recalibrate their perceptions of the economy and their critiques of the president as they prepare for the campaign.
Libya presents another case study of the difficulty of setting a course in the middle of a storm. Prospective Republican presidential candidates have been almost universally critical of the president’s handling of Libya while generally supportive of military action. Their own comments about dealing with a rapidly changing Middle East have been far from definitive.
If GOP candidates hope to find clear guidance about U.S. policy in Libya from the public, they may come away confused. Peyton Craighill in The Washington Post’s polling unit assembled recent survey results and found attitudes about U.S. military action varied depending on the way questions were asked or the order in which they were asked.
For example, in a Quinnipiac University poll completed the night of the president’s nationally televised speech, just 41 percent of Americans said the United States should use military force to remove Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi from power. An Associated Press-GfK poll completed the same night found 55 percent supporting “increased military action” by the United States to remove Gaddafi.
Events at home and overseas will keep changing. Republican presidential candidates have only limited control over the political environment, but they do have a choice as to which voters they try to speak to as they campaign. Will it be the party’s noisiest activists, the broader Republican electorate or the swing voters who will actually decide the election in 2012?
Hawaii to Birthers: Thanks for writing, now aloha!
The island state's Republican Gov. Linda Lingle signed into law on Wednesday a bill that would allow Hawaii to ignore repeated requests for President Obama's birth certificate.
Health Department officials say they still get 10 to 20 e-mails each week requesting verification that Obama was in fact born in Hawaii, which prompted the law.
Speculation about the President's birthplace has continued on the Internet for nearly two years, despite evidence that he was born in the nation's 50th state in 1961.
"I had my health director, who is a physician by background, go personally view the birth certificate in the birth records of the Department of Health," Lingle said during a recent interview on WABC Radio with Rabbi Shmuley Boteach.
"The President was, in fact, born at Kapi'olani Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii," she said. "And that's just a fact."
"Birthers" have come under fire repeatedly by the likes of Fox News' Bill O'Reilly, Ann Coulter, and CNN's Anderson Cooper, all of whom have dismissed the elaborate claims by conspiracy theorists who believe Obama is not a United States citizen and cannot legally be President.
Followers of the largely discredited conspiracy theory generally argue he was actually born in Kenya. A birth certificate that surfaced online showing he was born in Africa was later proven to be false. A "news story" about Obama spending millions to hide his birth certificate was also later shown to be fake.
"Birthers," however, have remained undeterred, demanding that Obama produce his original birth certificate.
The poster boy for the "birther movement," Lt. Col. Terry Lakin, still faces a court martial for refusing to deploy to Afghanistan unless Obama shows his birth certificate.
"I believe we need truth on this matter," Lakin said on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360.
In 2008, Obama's campaign posted online an official Hawaiian certification of live birth, which is considered legally the same as a birth certificate (which was also photographed and examined by factcheck.org) has failed to quiet "birthers."
A planned march on Washington, D.C. by the movement's supporters was planned for later this month, but has since been postponed until August or September.
Welcome to the BLACK POLITICAL BUZZ Blog. (Established 2008)
My name is Laurel. (Author & Publisher)
I Blog with a focus on POLITICS, Business, and occasionally Entertainment.
FACTS ABOUT LAUREL:
Wife,
Mother of a U.S. Soldier,
Sister,
Woman of GOD,
Loyal Friend,
Creative,
Blood-related to a nationally known Charlotte Politician.
Black Female, Intelligent,
Married,
Love to Travel,
Credentialed by the RNC and DNC.
Political Blogger/ Commentator
Grassroots Activist,
PROFESSIONAL STATUS:
Credential Political Blogger/ Commentator,
Registered Independent Voter
Original Native of BROOKLYN, NY
Currently reside in CHARLOTTE, NC
I’m Nice but don’t get it twisted because my Mind is Sharp!
Since You’ve Chosen to Visit and Read the Contents of this Blog by Personal Choice, and of Your Own Free Will,
Please don’t ask me to Compensate you for Expressing individual commentary/ Posted Articles, which are protected by the First Amendment, citing Freedom of Speech & Freedom of Expression.
No Intentionally Malicious Slander, Libel or Defamation of Character content will be published and I will always Credit all Sources.
NOTE TO ALL ELECTED OFFICIALS, APPOINTED OFFICIALS & PUBLIC FIGURES:
Per the Landmark U.S. Supreme Court Case: 1964 case of New York Times v. Sullivan………
The Public has a Right to Criticize the People who Govern them, so the least Protection from Defamation is given to Public Officials. When officials are accused of something that involves their behavior in office, they have to prove all of the above elements of defamation and they must also prove that the defendant acted with “actual malice.” (For a definition of actual malice, see the “History of Defamation and the First Amendment, below.”)
People who aren’t Elected but who are Still Public Figures because they are influential or famous — like Actors, Actresses, Movie Stars, Singers & Entertainers, Journalists, TV Hosts, Bloggers, etc., — also have to Prove that Defamatory statements were made with Actual Malice, in most cases.
To the Associated Press and other Media Organizations:
When I use your Content Links., I’m also citing the Fair Use Doctrine (Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107) for further Copyright permission.
Posts and Links published on Black Political Buzz are not endorsed by Black Political Buzz Blog Author Laurel’s Employer, nor the Employers of other Black Political Buzz employees.
This includes Links, Posts and Comments posted on Black Political Buzz’s Facebook and Twitter account pages.
Comments, Links and Opinions of site visitors are Independently-Owned and not endorsed by Black Political Buzz employees, Blog Author Laurel or Laurel’s Employer.)
(No Personal Offense intended) Please know that Black Political Buzz is not responsible for nor do I endorse Requests for Donations from Third Parties on this Blog.
I will Only Endorse Requests for Donations made on behalf of BLACK POLITICAL BUZZ Blog for Business Purposes & Operating Expenses.
I will also Only Endorse Requests for Donations on behalf of Legitimate Politicians and Legitimate Political Candidates. PERIOD!!
If anyone else or another Organization wishes to post a link to Request Donations, I am NOT endorsing ANY of those Requests!
Unless I receive a personal Request to do so and I have Professionally Confirmed that the Third Party Organization or Charity is indeed a Legitimate Entity.
NOTE: Anyone who chooses to give to any Third Party Organization NOT Endorsed by BLACK POLITICAL BUZZ is doing so at his or her own risk.
BLACK POLITICAL BUZZ does NOT Discriminate against Politicians, Political Candidates, Organizations or Charities based on Race, Color, Nationality, Ethnicity, Gender, Sexual Orientation, Religion, Faith, Disability, Political Affiliation, Creed, Education, Social Status, Age.
This disclaimer applies to ANY and All requests for Donations on this Blog. Thanks for understanding. Again No Personal Offense intended.
For Story Tips….Corrections…….. or Requests for Endorsements:
Please contact me via e-mail: blackpoliticalbuzz@gmail.com
or via my Facebook page: facebook.com/blackpoliticalbuzz
Thanks for stopping by
God Bless
Laurel @BLACK POLITICAL BUZZ
LINKS: POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE & INFORMATIONAL SITES
.jpg)
