TPMDC

Pay Attention To Me! Donald Trump Tries To Keep Presidential Buzz Alive

Pay Attention To Me! Donald Trump Tries To Keep Presidential Buzz Alive

On May 16, Donald Trump said he wouldn’t run for president. One week later — and after several days when his name wasn’t in the headlines — Trump says he’s having second thoughts.

“I’m not going to rule anything out, that I can tell you,” Trump said when asked Monday morning on Fox and Friends if he might be late entrant to the presidential race after all.

He took some potshots at the current crop of Republicans who are running for president, saying, “at this point in time, they’re not going to be beating Obama.”

Polls showed Trump was in free fall by the time he finally decided to put an end to his conspiracy-fueled romp through Republican politics.

Trump declined to confirm a Newsmax report (based on a New York Post story) that he was offered $60 million by NBC to continue as host of The Apprentice, though he said network management personally appealed to him to stay out of the presidential race so his show could continue.

Trump was asked if he would walk away from the money if the GOP field didn’t become more competitive.

“Who knows,” Trump said, “stranger things have happened.”

Watch:

Trump was asked if he might come in to save the GOP’s chances, despite his blanket statement walking away from a bid last week.

“I said I wouldn’t do it,” Trump said, adding “I can’t rule out anything.”

“The country is so important,” Trump said, “it’s so vital we choose the right person and at this moment I don’t see that person.”

Trump

Top Stories From TPM

Oklahoma GOP Sen. Tom Coburn Will Seek To Offset Tornado Aid

Ohio Republicans Push Law To Penalize Colleges For Helping Students Vote

Secret Service Looking Into Radio Host’s Graphic Violent Comments About Obama, Hillary Clinton

VA GOP's Attorney General Nominee Wanted Women To Report Miscarriages To Police Or Face Jail Time

The NRA Thinks These Are The ‘Coolest Gun Movies’ Ever

What Republicans Already Knew About The White House Benghazi Emails

Disqus Conversations

Click here to read the Disqus Commenting FAQ.

Editor & Publisher

Josh Marshall

Managing Editor

David Kurtz

Associate Editor

Nick Martin

Assistant Editor

Igor Bobic

Reporters

Brian Beutler

Sahil Kapur

Eric Lach

Hunter Walker

Frontpage Editor

Zoë Schlanger

News Writers

Tom Kludt

Video Editor

Michael Lester

General Manager & General Counsel

Millet Israeli

VP, Ad Sales

Bruce Ellerstein

Associate Publisher

Kyle Leighton

Assistant To The Publisher

Joe Ragazzo

Designer/Developer

Matthew Wozniak

Design Associate

Christopher O’Driscoll