Ladies and gentlemen, the moment you’ve all been waiting for:
Today, Donald J. Trump, the globally renowned business mogul, announced he is forming an exploratory committee to determine whether he will run for the office of the President of the United States of America.Donald Trump stated, “I have a great love for our country, but it is a country that is in serious trouble. We have lost the respect of the entire world. Americans deserve better than what they get from their politicians --- who are all talk and no action! I have built a great company, created thousands of jobs and built a tremendous net worth with some of the finest and most prestigious assets in the world --- and very little debt! All Americans deserve the same opportunity. Our real unemployment rate is staggering while our manufacturing base is eroding on a daily basis. We must rebuild our infrastructure, control our borders, support local control of education, greatly strengthen our military, care for our veterans and put Americans back to work! We must stop other countries from totally taking advantage of our representatives who are being out-negotiated at every turn. I am the only one who can make America truly great again!”
“Mr. Trump has the vision and leadership skills to bring our country back to greatness,” Trump’s Senior Political Adviser Corey Lewandowski also added, according to the press release. “He has run an extremely successful corporation for many years. During that time, he has created thousands of jobs. Mr. Trump has a proven ability to present real solutions and get things done. He looks forward to meeting with Americans across the country and sharing those solutions to the serious problems we are facing.”
Sound familiar? This is essentially the argument Mitt Romney made in 2012 that worked so well. As a seasoned business executive, he argued that his massive fortune coupled with his exceptional business record (among other things) qualified him to be president of the United States. The problem is, Trump has never served in government as Romney had -- nor does he have experience running as many state or national campaigns. He’s a political novice. So I have to ask: Is forming an exploratory committee a serious step forward to running for president or a publicity stunt to gain media attention and more time in front of the cameras?
For what it’s worth, Trump’s name doesn’t even register in early polling and despite his many great accomplishments he will look out of place running for the nomination (especially as an outspoken birther) against serious leaders with lots of experience. But then again, this is a free country and if he wants to run, I see no reason why he couldn't.
I just don’t expect him to do all that well before calling it quits. We'll see.