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Donald Trump, speaks to several GOP women's group at the Treasure Island Hotel & Casino April 28, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (David Becker/Getty Images)
Donald Trump, who was publicly mulling over whether or not to run for the 2012 presidency, said that he will ultimately not seek the nation’s top office on Monday, according to media reports, citing a statement he released.
Trump, who would have been seeking the GOP nomination, said that he did not want to run so that he could keep running his popular reality television show, “The Celebrity Apprentice.”
“After considerable deliberation and reflection, I have decided not to pursue the office of the Presidency,” Trump said in a statement, first obtained by Fox News. “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.”
The real estate mogul said that he felt that he could emerge successful in the Republican primary elections and beat President Barack Obama in the overall election.
Early on, Trump experienced relatively high poll numbers and even topped the the list of candidates at one point. In a Gallup poll released three weeks ago, he was tied with former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who also recently said he is not running, for first place among potential voters at 16 percent, besting Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney.
Trump said in the statement that “business is my greatest passion” and conceded that after months of “unofficially campaigning,” he recognizes “that running for public office cannot be done half heartedly.”
Other than his sheer popularity, Trump was perhaps most well-known for claims he made regarding President Barack Obama’s birth certificate, which ultimately prompted the White House to release the long-form document publicly. Trump took credit for the move.
Obama has buoyed his popularity in the polls with the recent killing of al-Qaeda head Osama bin Laden. In a Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week, 45 percent of Americans felt that Obama would win his reelection, a 10 percent increase from a prior survey.
The president also leads Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, 51 percent to 39 percent, according to the poll.A poll released by The Associated Press last Wednesday found that 53 percent of Americans believe that Obama will be reelected.
