First there was Mike Huckabee’s statement on Saturday that he would not be running for president of the United States followed by Newt Gingrich shooting himself in the foot on Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” and now Donald Trump has decided not to run.
You could look at it as Trump telling himself, “You’re fired,” as a candidate.
In what came as no surprise to many, Trump announced Monday that he would not seek the office of president, noting that campaigning is an all-out effort and his passion is business. He acknowledged that he was not ready to leave the private sector.
Who can blame him? Why would someone of his wealth and business influence want to burden himself with a thankless job like president while giving up much of his privacy and having to disclose his finances?
One thing is for certain: he most assuredly opened the dialogue in areas that others feared to tread. His no-nonsense, shoot-from-the-hip, common sense way of thinking endeared him to voters who were tired of political double-talk. Thanking those who had gotten behind a Trump candidacy, he wrote:
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. 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. They are now being debated vigorously.
I will also continue to push for job creation, an initiative that should be this country’s top priority and something that I know a lot about. I will not shy away from expressing the opinions that so many of you share yet don’t have a medium through which to articulate.
Trump certainly shook up the process with questions about everything from Barack Obama’s birth certificate to the assertion that the United States should be paid by oil-rich countries for the military protection we provide to them.
He most certainly is a business man who can get things done, as he has proven many times in the past, and it would have been interesting to see if he could have applied those same business tactics to running the federal government.
He was singled out by Obama during the recent White House Correspondents Dinner in D.C. when the President pointedly skewered Trump with jokes. In the past, presidents had delivered self-deprecation jokes to generate laughter from guests. This president, however, did not follow those rules; indeed, in the past, he has gone after Fox News Channel and Rush Limbaugh, among others, in his vendetta against those on the opposite side of the political aisle.
A match-up between Obama and Trump may have been a performance worth watching.
Perhaps it was the renewal of Celebrity Apprentice by NBC that caused The Donald to pull back from politics. The popular series will continue next season and Trump more than likely could not have appeared in the famous board room scenes if seeking public office.
Whatever the reason, the fact that Trump will not be in the presidential candidate lineup takes some of the fun out of the 2012 race even though he may not have been considered by many as a serious contender. As it is, he will be free to support the candidate of his choice which begs the question: wonder who will receive The Donald’s endorsement?
