Huge loss for the Republican party

http://news.yahoo.com/trump-leaves-republican-party-debate-snub-024011548.html


Trump leaves Republican Party



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Businessman and reality TV personality Donald Trump has left the Republican Party, changing his voter registration to independent in his home state of New York, in a move that could facilitate a potential third-party presidential run in 2012, U.S. media reported on Friday.

The move was disclosed 10 days after the real estate mogul announced he would not moderate a planned debate among 2012 Republican presidential candidates in order to protect a possible White House run as an independent. All but two candidates declined to participate in Trump's planned December 27 forum in Iowa.

"Mr. Trump has said for almost a year that if he is not satisfied with who the Republican candidate is, he may elect to run as an independent," Trump spokesman Michael Cohen said, according to the Los Angeles Times. "This change in party affiliation certainly preserves his right to do so, after the finale of 'The Apprentice' in May."

"The Apprentice" is the reality TV competition show that Trump hosts on NBC. The U.S. presidential election is in November 2012.

Trump this year flirted with a run for the Republican 2012 presidential nomination and was derided for pushing a discredited charge that President Barack Obama, a Democrat seeking re-election next year, might not have been born in the United States.

Trump never mounted an actual campaign and critics suggested it was all self-promotion.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, Texas Governor Rick Perry and U.S. Representatives Ron Paul and Michele Bachmann had said they would not attend the planned Trump-moderated debate. Former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Senator Rick Santorum had agreed to take part.

A presidential run by Trump holds the potential of undermining the Republicans' quest to deny Obama a second four-year term as president.

(Reporting By Will Dunham; Editing by Paul Simao)

 

He was never in it. He endorsed Rahm Emmanuel for Chicago mayor. Plus he has idiotic beliefs about China and trade.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/newt-gingrich-donald-trump-course-want-endorsement-193604299.html


Newt Gingrich on Donald Trump: 'Of Course I Want His Endorsement'



“The Apprentice” met “The Candidate” today when Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich met with Donald Trump in New York City. Trump said he would endorse a candidate for president sometime after he moderates the Dec. 27 debate hosted by Newsmax. When asked about a Trump endorsement, Gingrich replied to reporters, “Of course I want his endorsement.”







http://www.thedailybeast.com/articl...romney-rick-perry-seek-his-2012-approval.html



Donald Trump, GOP Kingmaker?




The Donald may have left the GOP 2012 horse race, but now top contenders like Romney, Perry and Bachmann are clamoring for his endorsement.



The political-chattering class has made little effort to mask its mystification about Mitt Romney’s trek to Trump Tower earlier this week.

Yes, Donald Trump, the bombastic real-estate mogul and Celebrity Apprentice host, has entertained visits from other GOP heavyweights in the recent past. But those were people like Mike Huckabee, Michele Bachmann, and Sarah Palin—Tea Party celebrities whose presidential aspirations have long strained credibility. Romney, on the other hand, is a Serious Candidate: establishment-approved, Ivy League-educated, and fantastically well-financed. What’s more, his Monday meeting with Trump came on the heels of another high-profile visit, from current Republican frontrunner Rick Perry. The high-powered names making it into Trump’s day planner these days provide a compelling (and perhaps frightening) question:

Is it time for Donald Trump to add “Republican kingmaker” to his resume?

“I have a very big following,” he tells The Daily Beast matter-of-factly, speaking over the phone shortly after his visit with Romney. “I think a lot of them depend on my endorsement. That’s why I was leading in the polls when I left. I never even said I was running, I said I was thinking about it.”