Trump: Seriously?

Politico Arena Topic: Just How Serious is Donald Trump for President?

Donald Trump should be taken seriously if only because he has two things going for him which are critical for making a successful run for higher office: money and name recognition. Often, wealthy candidates such as Ross Perot had to use their money to boost their name ID. Not Trump. People know the name. In a Gallup Poll taken last month, 98% of respondents had at least heard of Donald Trump. Unfortunately for him, they also know the Trump brand. You know—the real estate mogul who has had multiple wives, television shows, and has never met a camera he won’t pose for. He’s a divisive figure. The negatives in that same Gallup Poll were higher than the positives. And that’s before opposition researchers have had much of a chance to start culling his public and private statements, business dealings, and personal life. Oh how those oppo researchers are salivating at a chance to pick him apart.

It’s no secret that Trump has been courting the Tea Party and other anti-establishment folks with his public conversion to the birther cause. This is no accident. It’s strategic. The Republican establishment will never warm to him. As I have said in this forum before, Trump’s easiest way onto the presidential stage may not be through the GOP primary thicket. Instead, his pockets may be deep enough and his ego large enough that he may fancy a third party/independent run for the White House. Trump needs these folks for either an insurgent Republican primary campaign or an independent run. And the folks at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and at Obama’s campaign HQ in Chicago are quietly rooting for him.

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