The Donald has fired himself from the 2012 presidential race.
Donald Trump announced Monday that he will not run for president, saying he does not want to leave the private sector and would like to continue hosting his show, "The Celebrity Apprentice." The real estate mogul and reality TV star announced his decision on the day he was meeting with NBC executives to discuss the future of the show. Trump said Monday afternoon that "The Celebrity Apprentice" has made a lot of money for charity and he wanted to continue in that role.
"I will not be running for president as much as I'd like to," Trump said.
Trump, in a written statement, said he would not fade from the political spotlight, but cited his "passion" for business in his decision not to enter the 2012 Republican field. In trademark Trump fashion, he maintained he could have won the election if he wanted to.
"This decision does not come easily or without regret; especially when 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. I have spent the past several months unofficially campaigning and recognize that running for public office cannot be done half heartedly. Ultimately, however, business is my greatest passion and I am not ready to leave the private sector."

Trump is the latest potential candidate to make a definitive decision regarding the 2012 race. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee announced over the weekend that he would not run for the White House, after both ex-House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Rep. Ron Paul formally launched their campaigns.
Trump, though never a candidate, was able to dominate media coverage for weeks while he flirted with the idea of running. The businessman created political turbulence by drawing attention to questions surrounding President Obama's birth certificate, leading Obama to release the long-form version of the document. The release exposed Trump to ridicule at the recent White House Correspondents' Association dinner, but Trump nevertheless claimed a victory in having compelled Obama to produce the document.
In his statement, Trump thanked his supporters and vowed to stay vocal on issues ranging from the national debt to the country's economic competitiveness.
"I make you this promise: that I will continue to voice my opinions loudly and help to shape our politician's thoughts. My ability to bring important economic and foreign policy issues to the forefront of the national dialogue is perhaps my greatest asset and one of the most valuable services I can provide to this country," Trump said.
He also said he looks forward to backing whichever candidate is "the most qualified to help us tackle our country's most important issues."
Trump's exit, along with Huckabee's, sets off a scramble not only for their endorsement but for their supporters.
Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, described Trump as a "placeholder" but said a lot of GOP voters are now up for grabs.
"You put Trump and Huckabee together, you've got almost a third of Republican voters who are now uncommitted, because they picked candidates who now aren't running," Sabato told Fox News. "Someone's going to try and swoop in, I think, and scoop them up."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/05 ... z1MXYTgApH

Well damn. His ideas to get out of debt actually make sense since you know he's a billionaire and started with not that much.

LOL WHAT?!?!

Not sure if he was the one that said this or not, but sell the goddamn Amtrak to private business, thats 100 million a year of public money that wouldn't need to be spent anymore.

Why is it still run by the government for?

The country is a business, so get a businessman to run it, not some lawyer or whatever. Get a guy who knows how to make money from nothing to run the country.

Well damn. His ideas to get out of debt actually make sense since you know he's a billionaire and started with not that much.

He put a casino into bankruptcy. A casino. A business that prints money.

EDIT: It also cannot be overstated that he did not became rich 'from nothing'. He inherited most of his old man's $400M fortune AND his businesses.

being president isnt about making money, its about the well-being of the people. trump would be terrible at that aspect.

Privatization is not the answer to every single problem, and you'd think people would realize that seeing as how it's been happening since the Reagan administration, and during that time the country's economy has stagnated and real wages for most working people have fallen. The proof is in the putting people. All that the fucking "privatization" of so many government services has done is put much more wealth in the hands of the few at the expense of the average person.

If you're running a corporation, your only duty is to your stockholders. If you're running the country, your duty is to everyone.

“If Latinos sit out the election instead of saying, ‘We’re gonna punish our enemies, and we’re gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us"
~Barack Obama

That's the sitting President calling a significant percentage of Americans his enemy.
Is that a display of his duty to everyone?

A chief executive with experience beyond community organizing would know saying such a thing was fucking stupid.

He performs his duty to corporate powers that pulls his strings and he tries to put a good face on that in order to give the appearance of performing his duty to everyone.

Wow, got pretty cynical and jaded on the guy after a few years eh?