I KNEW IT! Donald Trump officially ended his unofficial campaign for the presidency today, thereby clearing up one very big question for every American. Was he running or wasn't he?
Take it straight from the horse's ass mouth, ladies and gentleman, he WAS actually running this whole time! Said The Donald just today as he conceded he's stepping out of the race, just as Mike Huckabee did this past weekend (emphasis mine):
I have spent the past several months unofficially campaigning and recognize that running for public office cannot be done half heartedly.
Aww, Donald, it's like two gifts in one!
Not only do we not have to see that bad hair and orange tan in the debates come 2012, but this confirmation that he WAS running means every Republican who told us we weren't allowed to pick apart his politics by claiming "well, he's not really running, he hasn't said he's running," has to eat their words. He may not be running now, but for the past several months as Trump has systematically pretended our president was not actually born in America, tried to incite more Islamic hate, and stirred up racial tensions, he was doing so as a man trying to make a presidential bid.
Trump's entire approach to politics was troubling. That he supported the nonsense birther movement. That he couldn't concede he'd LOST when President Obama released his long-form birth certificate, instead turning around and alleging the president had falsified his college resume. But the fact that he was the most unpopular of all potential candidates in a poll of primary voters could well be tied to the fact that he spent most of his time talking instead of acting.
Called out by the likes of Bill Cosby and others to "put up or shut up," Trump continued to hold to the claim that he "wasn't running" in order to keep his show, Celebrity Apprentice, on air in accordance with the FCC's rules about allotting equal airtime to presidential candidates. Should he have firmed it up, his show may have had to come off air or NBC would have had to find a replacement host (something they actually talked about). Putting his own needs ahead of the country's didn't sit well with voters, the majority of whom told Quinnipiac they would NEVER vote for Trump.
Of course the best part of ending the campaign that technically "never" was for Trump is the fact that he can pretend all those numbers away. Said Trump:
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. I maintain the strong conviction that if I were to run, I would be able to win the primary and ultimately, the general election.
After hiding behind the fact that he was "not running" to protect himself from challenges, it's not surprising Mr. Trump is once again throwing out a challenge that no one can really test.
So -- did you think he was really running?
Image via david_shankbone/Flickr