Free Republic

In the spring of 2011, Donald Trump threatened to start a revolution within the Republican Party, appealing to the naive among Tea Partiers by promising to take on President Obama as no one else could. All too many members of the conservative media, including even some highly reputable ones, took his nonsense seriously.

Donald Trump will endorse Mitt Romney for president, sources with knowledge of the endorsement tell CNN.

With just days to go before Nevada Republicans head to the polls to choose who they want to take on President Obama in November, reality show host Donald Trump is injecting himself into the race and endorsing Newt Gingrich. Trump's office announced Wednesday that he would make a major announcement Thursday morning in Las Vegas, without providing details of what he would say. Two sources confirmed to CBS News that the publicity savvy businessman plans to endorse the former House speaker in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination. Nevada holds its caucus Saturday.

In my last joke post, I made fun of Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich. This week, it's Mitt Romney’s and Rick Santorum's turn. Throw in a laugh at Donald Trump, a shot at Obama and a few other assorted attempts at humor, and my work here is done. Jokes at the site. Please feel free to distribute

Donald Trump supporters have met an official ballot deadline in Texas, paving the way for the business mogul to become a third-party candidate there, a source close to Trump tells The Blaze. Trump himself acknowledged the filing in a statement. According to an email sent by the source to The Blaze on Sunday night, Trump supporters filed paperwork on Friday to create the “Make America Great Again Party,” giving Trump the opportunity — should he take advantage of it — to be on the primary ballot.

The potential for a third party presidential run from billionaire developer and reality TV star Donald Trump may be closer to becoming a reality show of its own. The Blaze received a copy of a confidential email sent out late Thursday afternoon from a Florida Tea Party leader and personal friend of Trump. The email requested assistance in building a team in Texas to make certain that, if Trump chooses to run, his name would be on the ballot. The email included:

Ah, but of course. All those undecided Iowans and unenthusiastic Republicans across the country lack but one thing: The nudge in a particular direction only a Donald Trump endorsement could provide. Never mind that Trump’s attempt to moderate a debate collapsed. Never mind that every time he reenters the discussion, somebody’s bound to bring up his birtherism to the detriment of his broader message. Never mind that, last week, he changed his party affiliation to “unaffiliated� to preserve his right to run for president of himself as an independent. “Millions of people� still look to Trump to decide which of...

Donald Trump, who recently pulled out of moderating a Newsmax-sponsored GOP debate that only Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum would commit to, has switched his voter registration to "independent," a source confirms. The move was made yesterday, and will make Trump a registered "blank" — used interchangeably with "registered independent" in New York political parlance — but not right away. A Board of Elections spokeswoman hasn't responded to a call for comment about when it would take effect, but sources familiar with the city's BoE rules say that Trump missed the cutoff allowing his registration switch to take effect for...

Donald Trump is officially a man without a party. The real estate mogul whose flirtation with the 2012 presidential race has never really ended despite announcing seven months ago he would not seek the Republican nomination has been signaling he wants to find other ways onto a presidential ticket. Trump took another step in that direction on Thursday, switching his party affiliation from Republican to “unaffiliated,” according to a source close to the reality television star. According to the source, he did so because he is “disgusted” with the way Republicans are handling matters in Washington, including the recent payroll...

Donald Trump has backed out of moderating a Republican debate because, he says, he’s still considering running for president as an independent candidate. In a statement on Tuesday, Trump said that GOP candidates are “very concerned” that he will announce an independent candidacy after “The Apprentice” ends, and that they won’t agree to a debate with him unless he rules that out. Which he won’t do. “It is very important to me that the right Republican candidate be chosen to defeat the failed and very destructive Obama Administration, but if that Republican, in my opinion, is not the right candidate,...

Despite his continued assertions that Obama's birth certificate is a forgery, billionaire Donald Trump has refused to contribute financially to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's law-enforcement investigation into Obama's eligibility to be president. Michael Cohen, executive vice president and special counsel to Trump, told WND it was "highly unlikely" Trump would be making a financial contribution to the Cold Case Posse conducting the investigation under Arpaio's direction. Read more: Trump's interest in Obama doesn't extend to pocketbook http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=376973#ixzz1gNRCWkxU

Rick Santorum isn’t just attending the debate moderated by Donald Trump. He’s also emerging as one of the debate’s strongest defenders. “Many of my opponents jockeyed to be the first to fly up to New York and use Donald Trump for a photo op and no doubt try and secure an endorsement. But when Donald wants to moderate a debate — they refuse to attend. That’s what’s so wrong with politics today — hypocrisy,” Santorum said in a strongly worded statement issued last night. Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, and Jon Huntsman have all announced they will...

Politics: One former speaker of the House warns another that she will unleash privileged information if the architect of the ’94 GOP tsunami gets his party’s nomination. Culture of corruption, Nancy? Look in the mirror. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose legislative excesses helped spawn the Tea Party movement that made her the ex-speaker, has fired a shot across the bow of former Speaker Newt Gingrich: Win the GOP nomination for president and I will unpack your baggage in public. Except that she can't and she should know it. "One of these days we'll have a conversation about Newt Gingrich," Pelosi...

“If you look at what’s happened recently, certainly you’d have to say Newt Gingrich has done a fantastic job,” Trump said. “I mean, nobody’s ever seen anything like this where he’s gone up so rapidly and two reasons for it: He’s done really well in the debates, he’s a very smart guy and, also, very importantly, he makes decisions...” Trump’s comments came before Mitt Romney, a consistent top-tier candidate, said he would not participate in the debate, which is being sponsored by the conservative magazine NewsMax...

Speaking to radio host Steve Malzberg on Tuesday, Republican presidential contender Rick Santorum weighed in with his thoughts on Donald Trump serving as moderator of the Newsmax ION Television Presidential Debate in Iowa on December 27. When asked how he felt about a Trump-hosted debate, Santorum explained that, given the recent string of left-leaning journalists who have served as moderators — some of which he has “not felt comfortable” with — Trump could not be any worse. “Brian Williams, I wasn’t comfortable with,” started Santorum, adding, “and I had every right not to be, given the questions he asked.” “You...

The National Journal has an article about the Trump debate that is to happen on December 27th. Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman aren't going to be there, and now Romney says he won't "kiss the ring" of the Trumpster either. You know, if I was Trump, I'd ask Sarah Palin to join him to moderate the debate. The left in the media are talking about how Trump is just a publicity hog, and how he's not a serious journalist who can moderate a debate, forget that, if Sarah Palin, who did go to college for journalism's sake and knows a...

GOP Candidates to Trump Debate: You’re Fired Planned debate strikes some as a publicity stunt for the moderator. By Walt Cronkite Updated: December 6, 2011 Donald Trump may have mastered the art of the real-estate deal, but when it comes to debates, he’s still an apprentice. From National Journal: The celebrity businessman is having difficulty securing commitments from Republican presidential candidates for a Dec. 27 debate that he’s planning to moderate in Des Moines, Iowa. Mitt Romney became the latest big-name candidate to send his regrets, telling Fox News’ Neil Cavuto that he informed Trump earlier on Tuesday that he...

NRO POLL Should Republicans skip the Trump debate? Yes 64 % No 36 % 13,358 votes

Late Sunday night, I received an email indicating Donald Trump just may be getting back in the race to unseat Obama and take back our beloved land! “We firmly believe that Donald Trump is the best choice for President and have been encouraging him to run,” says the action alert from a group of grassroots Patriots out of Costa Mesa, CA. This is one strong businessman that the media won’t destroy like the outsider we saw bite the dust last week! Trump’s theme of TIME TO GET TOUGH, the theme of his blockbuster book, is starting up this second Trump...

I don't think so. Last night on the Fox Panel, Donald Trump was roundly flogged for moderating a debate with GOP Presidential candidates. The complaints were that Trump might still run himself, Trump is not a journalist, a Trump debate is nothing more than a reality show, it's a joke and beneath the office of the Presidency (that from Ron Paul). Charles Krauthammer joined in and agreed. Karl Rove has expressed similar opinions. Krauthammer, Rove and other elitists need to get over themselves. True Conservative members of any Tea Party can do as well as any "journalist," and a Trump...

In response to comments from Karl Rove that candidates should skip the debate at the end of December to be moderated by Donald Trump, Trump said that in his opinion Rove was “highly overrated,” and “basically is a loser.” Rove says that a Trump-moderated debate would trivialize the process “I don’t think that Karl Rove is a smart person. I think he’s highly overrated,” said Trump, on a conference call about his new book. “I’ve watched Karl Rove for years. He’s a man who is only after Karl Rove, and he’s part of the problem with the Republican Party. Rove,...

GOP Presidential Candidate Jon Huntsman dismissed Donald Trump and the debate the real estate mogul and reality TV star will be moderating, and told Larry Kudlow he’s the only consistent conservative in the race. The former Utah Governor and former ambassador to China likened the Newsmax-sponsored presidential debate to a reality show, and said he would not be participating. “There’s some dignity associated with a run for the highest office in the land, and it shouldn’t be trivialized and it shouldn’t be dumbed down,” he said. “If Don Trump cares about our nation’s future, he should have been a candidate...

The Donald has been in the limelight even more than usual lately.Late last week, Newsmax announced that it will host a presidential debate Dec. 27 — and that Donald Trump will moderate it. That announcement made AP want to give up political writing — and sparked an equally impassioned reaction from countless other conservative pundits who couldn’t believe the 2012 Republican presidential candidates would agree to the debate — and so allow the primary to be made even more ridiculous than it has been up to this point.Then, today, Regnery Publishing released the business magnate’s latest book, “Time to Get...

Since WHEN did Donald Trump become the GOP Kingmaker?     OK, I'm reading daily reports of candidates flocking to see the Donald. I'm reading of how Trump is moderating debates. And it's disturbing. I guess not quite as disturbing as having Karl Rove call the shots, but still....   Trump to moderate Republican debate Gingrich Will Meet With Trump on Monday Trump suggests his endorsement will be key Jon Huntsman: I wont kiss Trumps ringTrump offers his impressions of Romney, Perry and BachmannRon Paul blasts Donald Trump, says he won't come to his debate in IowaKarl Rove Rips Donald...

MSNBC host Chuck Todd and Donald Trump got into a heated on-air exchange Monday over who requested the interview. The flareup came after Todd, host of the Daily Rundown, said earlier on the program that Trump wanted to respond to a poll that showed voters were less likely to support a Republican candidate if one was endorsed by Trump. When Todd got on the phone with Trump on the air, he was greeted by the irate real estate mogul fuming over what Todd had said.

Chuck Todd receives a smackdown at the hands of Donald Trump.

Chuck Todd receives a smackdown at the hands of Donald Trump.

When asked about the possibility of an independent bid for the White House, real estate mogul Donald Trump said, "If the economy continues to be bad and if the Republicans choose the wrong person, I would do it." Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas) refused to rule out a third-party run for president if he did not get the Republican nomination he's currently pursuing. Former New Jersey Governor Christie Todd Whitman's Americans Elect is encouraging current GOP contender Jon Huntsman to run as a third party candidate since it's doubtful he would be the Republicans' choice (Mr. Huntsman has refused to rule...

In announcing that their candidate would not attend the Newsmax debate set to be moderated by Donald Trump later this month in Iowa, the Ron Paul campaign wrote, “The selection of a reality television personality to host a presidential debate that voters nationwide will be watching is beneath the office of the Presidency and flies in the face of that office’s history and dignity.” We could not have put it any better than the Paul campaign, but it is bizarre that such a response was necessary in the first place. The statement goes on to assert, again quite rightly, that...

Newsmax and Donald Trump are teaming up for a GOP debate in Iowa and Ron Paul is the second candidate to turn the Donald down.

Donald Trump: “Thousands and thousands and thousands come to New York to see the lighting of the tree. They bring their kids. Everybody’s festive. Everybody’s having a great time. They love it. It’s a big, big occasion. Now we have a problem. We have a president who doesn’t give a damn about inconveniencing people… You will never see a mess like this tomorrow night. President Obama is holding a fundraiser. Another of his fundraisers, hundreds of them. Every day he’s holding fundraisers. He doesn’t govern. All’s he does is raise money so he can try to get reelected. So he...

WASHINGTON — Texas Gov. Rick Perry, struggling to claw back to prominence in the Republican presidential race, is renewing the so-called birther issue, suggesting in a new interview he harbours doubts that President Barack Obama was born in the United States. "I don't have any idea," Perry told Parade magazine when asked if he believes the long-form birth certificate Obama released in April, largely to silence real estate mogul Donald Trump's assertions that the president wasn't born in the U.S., was authentic. "I had dinner with Donald Trump the other night," Perry said. "He doesn't think it's real." When the...

Perry (re Trump)He doesn’t think it’s real. Pery: I don’t have any idea. It doesn’t matter. He’s the President of the United States. He’s elected. It’s a distractive issue.

Donald Trump has some nice things to say about Cain, and why he likes the idea of a businessman for President.

As a longtime tabloid fixture, reality TV star, and Obama birth certificate conspiracy-theorist-in-chief, Donald Trump has never had a problem finding new ways to remain in the limelight. And when Trump welcomed another major Republican presidential candidate to his gilded Manhattan nerve center on Monday, the New York real estate mogul once again demonstrated an uncanny ability to remain a part of the political conversation. Mitt Romney became the latest White House hopeful to seek favor with Trump on Monday afternoon, following on the heels of Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann and prospective contender Sarah Palin, all of whom have convened...

Businessman Herman Cain is the next Republican presidential candidate in line to meet with business magnate Donald Trump. "Yes, it's true," Cain tweeted Monday. "@THEHermanCain will sit down with @realdonaldtrump in NYC on October 3." According to Trump, all of the GOP candidates have reached out to him for his support in their presidential campaigns. Cain, fresh off a high-profile straw poll win in Florida over the weekend, is the latest member of the field slated for a meeting with Trump. Texas Gov. Rick Perry met with Trump in New York City two weeks ago and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt...

Herman Cain is among the featured speakers at the CPAC-Florida event this week, but a Donald Trump slot was what had originally been in the offing, a source familiar with the planning said. Trump, speech-making for cash in Australia, couldn't make the event, and highly recommended Cain for a similar slot, and heaped praise on the low-polling former Godfather's Pizza CEO as a potential Cabinet official for a Republican president (should that happen) and on American Conservative Union president Al Cardenas. Continue Reading Trump first started getting attention this year - and defining the few very early months of the...

If you watch and listen carefully to the 20-minute, 14 April 2011 interview of Barack Hussein Obama by George Stephanopoulos, you will notice something very telling that takes place during that interview when the discussion shifts to the issue of Donald Trump and ultimately, the “birther conspiracy.” Veteran investigators who are experienced in interviewing and interrogating suspects, witnesses, criminals and non-criminals have undoubtedly identified numerous big red flags of deception precisely when expected, and in textbook fashion. To observe this in action, begin watching the video at about the 13:25 minute mark, when Stephanopoulos lobs the following softball, leading question...

Donald Trump would be willing to pay more in taxes, he said today in response to Warren Buffett’s news-making op-ed in The New York Times and to President Barack Obama’s exhortation to “put country first.� But, unlike Buffett, Trump doesn’t think all tax hikes are a good idea, economically speaking, because less “patriotic� business “machines� would be apt to take their business outside of the country. National Journal reports: “I’d be willing [to pay higher taxes],” Trump said on Wednesday, responding to Buffett’s op-ed on ABC’s Good Morning America. “I put country first. A lot of people don’t necessarily put...

Most of us took this week's stock market as self-evident doom, but not Warren Buffett. He's 'never been better'. To Buffett, the S&P's downgrading his company Berkshire Hathaway = opportunity. While buying stocks at cut rates, Buffett is also planning on selling Berkshire Hathaway bonds to take advantage of cheap capital. Buffett told CNN Money's Term Sheet today that the sea of red all over the S&P 500 earlier this week is exactly what he looks forward to--a chance to buy low. "The lower things go, the more I buy. We are in the business of buying," he said. It's...

Donald Trump appeared on WOR's Steve Malzberg show to evaluate the current GOP field.

The apparent deal to extend the debt ceiling is "fantastic" for President Barack Obama but a "joke" for the rest of the country, real estate magnate Donald Trump said...the nation is tinkering while losing even more ground to China. ... "Eventually you have to balance the budget. This is a long way from balancing the budget," he said. "This is just a joke. ... Obama...did manage to score a political victory during the debt debate, removing an issue that had the potential to derail his run for a second term next year. Beyond that, he said, Obama is incompetent. "When...

Donald Trump has only room on his schedule for one and one political goal only: to defeat Barack Obama. This puts him somewhat at odds with the nation, which is a bit more worried about not defaulting right now, as, in Trump’s own words, a bad resolution to the current debt crisis would “guarantee� President Obama an election loss. “All of the pressure on the debt ceiling is on Obama,� Trump warned in the latest installment of his YouTube series, “not on the Republicans.� While many believe it is Congress that has more to lose from the debt wars, Trump...

Another poll, this one from Public Policy Polling, finds Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) leading the pack of GOP presidential contenders. Michele Bachmann’s momentum continues to build and she’s taken first place by the smallest of margins on PPP’s newest national Presidential poll. 21% of Republican primary voters say she’s their top choice to 20% for Mitt Romney, 12% for Rick Perry, 11% for Herman Cain, 9% for Ron Paul, 7% for Newt Gingrich, 5% for Tim Pawlenty, and 3% for Jon Huntsman. Bachmann’s rise has been fueled by her appeal to voters on the far right- and their skepticism about...

IVANKA Trump was tight-lipped on her newborn daughter's name, but her famous father wasn't. While Ivanka was resting up after delivering a daughter on Sunday morning, Donald Trump was happy to share the news. "I just left the hospital and the baby is beautiful. [Ivanka's] doing great," Trump, 65, told Fox & Friends. "Arabella Rose is the baby's name – I just found that out by the way." Ivanka then announced Arabella's name via Twitter. "Jared and I are having so much fun playing with our daughter!" Trump, 29, writes. "Arabella Rose is beyond adorable. She's truly a blessing."

DONALD TRUMP: Right. Well, the Republicans are doing another el foldo. They did one during the lame duck session, where they brought Obama, like a phoenix he rose again. He was gone. It was over. And all of a sudden, they just allowed him back into the game. And now they're doing another one but at a much higher level. This is incredible. They had all of the cards. Now, they haven't made this deal yet, but from all indications, it looks like they're frightened. It looks like they're scared. And it looks like they're just folding. VAN SUSTEREN: Why?...

A poll unveiled this week from American Research Group shows that three Republican presidential candidates -- U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas and former Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska -- are gaining serious momentum in Iowa, site of the first presidential caucus. Bachmann, who declared her candidacy in June and has been surging in polls at both the national and state levels, topped the poll with 21 percent. Former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts placed second with 18 percent. Paul, who was the Libertarian candidate in 1988 and ran for the Republican nomination in...

While most speakers at the Faith and Freedom Coalition played up conservative themes, Donald Trump delivered a crowd-pleasing reprise of a few old favorite themes. But also in his sights: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who has called for spending offsets for disaster-relief funds following a tornado in Joplin, a southwest Missouri town, that killed at least 138 people. “Rep. Cantor, who I like, said we don’t want to give money to the tornado victims. And yet in Afghanistan, we’re spending $10 billion a month,” Trump said. “But we don’t want to help the people that got devastated by tornadoes,...

Yesterday, I posted that Sarah Palin criticizing Mitt Romney made her sound more like a candidate. Her interview with Sean Hannity has given me pause on this matter. It struck me as I watched the interview what she had to say about a possible third party. You can watch the clip and decide for yourself. Sarah Palin's warning to the Republican establishment coupled with her comments about RomneyCare yesterday are painting a picture, her vision. Palin gets it. She feels the angst and is trying to get the message to the Beltway Establishment/I don't think they are listening. Whatever one's...

As reported by The Hill, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin met with FOX NEWS executives in New York. "Right now there is no change in her status with Fox News," said Bill Shine, the network's vice president of programming. "RIGHT NOW"! There are no details about the meeting obviously, but as is obvious from that quote, the door seems quite open to Palin making a run. All of the pundits have said she is not running and her worst critics have said she's just seeking attention. Sarah Palin has defied punditry on many occasions, so this could be the best...