The White House won’t be painted gold, after all.
Donald Trump dropped out of 2012 presidential contention, deciding he’d rather stick to his real estate/reality TV empires than run for office.
“This decision does not come easily or without regret,” the candidate apprentice said today in a statement explaining the decision to fire himself. “Ultimately, however, business is my greatest passion and I am not ready to leave the private sector.
Though his campaign was largely marked by outrageous sound bites, particularly those questioning whether President Obama was in fact born in America, Trump insists that had he been willing to ditch his day job he’d be a shoo-in to the Oval Office.
Noting “my potential candidacy continues to be validated by ranking at the top of the Republican contenders in polls across the country,” Trump said “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, 64, first gained serious attention in late March as he questioned Obama’s birth certificate in an aggressive series of public appearances. He also offered harsh words for China and suggested that the US should seize Iraq’s oil fields to pay for its military presence in the nation.
Some polls even measured him leading a wide field of potential Republican candidates — though the same surveys showed that he had serious hurdles to overcome among the general electorate.
“I make you this promise: that I will continue to voice my opinions loudly and help to shape our politician’s thoughts,” he said today.
Trump made public his decision after meeting with NBC executives about the future of “Celebrity Apprentice.”
Had he decided to run, he would have been replaced as host of the show — which helped make him a household name in the US.
With Newscore