Donald Trump says he is seriously thinking about running for president but won’t make a final decision until summer.
Appearing on CNN’s “Piers Morgan Tonight” Wednesday night, Trump said the United States is faring poorly and has lost the respect of the world.
“I am seriously thinking about it. I won’t make a decision till June,” he said. “But I will make a decision and it may surprise people frankly, but I will make a decision sometime prior to June.”
“I love this country. I hate what’s happened to this country,” he added. “We’re a laughingstock throughout the world. We’re not respected.”
The multi-billionaire tycoon said that if elected, he would reassess American foreign policy, especially its relationship with China whom he considers “the enemy.”
“The first thing I would do is announce very strongly that we’re going to tax Chinese products — 25% tax on all Chinese products. They will come to the table immediately and stop manipulating their currency which they’re doing,” he said.
“I see them as the enemy,” he said. “They want to take over this country economically. They are not really out-competing. They are cheating. And we have people who don’t know what to do, because we have the wrong people in office.”
He also had harsh words for OPEC.
“Worse than China is OPEC,” he said. “They wouldn’t be there except for us. Twelve men sit around the table. They set the price of fuel. They set the price of $3.50 for your car right now, a gallon. Guess what that’s going to be? 5, 6 and $7 very soon. Of course, there’s nobody here that calls them and says, ‘Fellows, you better not do it. ”
Trump is worth an estimated $2 billion, according to Forbes magazine. Much of his success came in New York City’s real estate market, but he has also been the star of a TV series called “The Apprentice” where he is reportedly paid $3 million per episode.
If Trump runs… all I gotta say is, “we’re all gonna die down here.”
Come 2012, the White House might turn into the Platinum Gold House if Donald Trump acts on his presidential ambitions.
The real estate tycoon tells FOX News that he is “seriously considering” a presidential run in 2012.
“I’m a Republican so if I did anything, I’d do it, I guess, as a Republican,” Trump told FOX on Tuesday. “I’m totally being serious because I can’t stand what’s happening to the country. First time I am being serious about it. That doesn’t say I’m going to do it.”
Apparently Trump got excited by the response to encouraging polling numbers in a survey for possible Republican nominees that was taken in New Hampshire.
Unsurprisingly, The Donald doesn’t lack any confidence when saying he has the “finesse” to be the leader of the free world.
“We have no common sense. And we’re losing the country,” Trump said. “Mark my words, if we keep going this way, we’re losing this country. It will no longer be great. It’s not respected to anywhere near what it used to be.”
Forget about Sarah Palin — the big political news comes from the Naked Cowboy.
Robert John Burck, who parades around in his underwear, cowboy boots, hat and guitar in Times Square in New York City, is set to announce his presidential bid, The New York Post reports.
“America needs a president who believes in America. America needs a president who will stand up for America and protect its language, its borders, and most importantly, its culture,” he said in a statement.
“America, I will fight to give the power back to the people. My entire platform and all of my policies and decisions will be organized so as to achieve a much smaller, fiscally responsible, decentralized federal government.”
This isn’t Burck’s first foray into politics. He ran against Michael Bloomberg in 2008 for mayor of New York City, before withdrawing from the race.
The performer does have a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Cincinnati.
When Lady Gaga called out to her little monsters and amped up her political campaign against “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” at a rally in Portland, ME, on Monday, people looked drunk on daydreams about Gaga for President.
But that was before she confused people by comparing her famed meat dress to a political symbol for gay rights.
“Equality is the prime rib of America, but because I am gay, I don’t get to enjoy the greatest cut of meat my country has to offer,” Gaga proclaimed to the rally crowd. “Shouldn’t everyone deserve to wear the same meat dress I do?”
Maybe her meat dress metaphor had more fat than muscle, but Gaga got serious without her crazy outfits and strobe lights, and rallied a passionate crowd against the controversial ban on gays serving openly in the military, the New York Times reports.
It was the latest move in Gaga’s campaign for gay rights since last week when she made the repeal of 17-year-old “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” her personal mission, and even called out Senator John McCain in a YouTube video.
Instead of keeping with the status quo, Gaga proposed a new law for gays in the military.
“If you don’t like it, go home!” Gaga yelled.
Like it or not, Gaga is up against some tough odds in Washington where the repeal of the policy faces a filibuster, but that didn’t stop her from calling out undecided Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both from Maine, and Scott Brown from nearby Massachusetts.
The vote to open debate on the issue faces its first hurdle in the Senate on Tuesday.
Wyclef Jean, who appears ready to be Haiti’s new president, owes the Internal Revenue Service more than $2.1 million, according to federal tax liens filed against the musician, The Smoking Gun has learned.
In May, the IRS filed a $724,332 tax lien against Jean. Last July, the agency filed a $599,167 lien against the performer. And a $792,269 lien was lodged against Jean in July 2007. The liens cover taxes due on Jean’s individual 1040 returns for 2006, 2007 and 2008. Copies of the liens, which were filed at the Bergen County clerk’s office in New Jersey, can be viewed at left.
In 1998, Jean–whose given name is Nel Wyclef Jean–purchased a $1.85 million home at 8 Cameron Road in Saddle River, where he lives with his wife Claudinette and their family. The three IRS liens were filed against Nel W. Jean at the Cameron Road address.
Other records show that Jean, 37, has previously been the subject of two smaller tax liens filed against him by the State of New Jersey and the New York State Tax Commission, both of which were eventually satisfied.
Following the Haitian earthquake, TSG reported on Jean’s questionable handling of the finances of his charitable foundation. Along with filing tax returns years late, Jean used his foundation to pay himself and a business partner more than $410,000 for rent, production services, and Jean’s appearance at a benefit concert.
Though the Wyclef Jean Foundation had operated at a deficit and experienced cash flow problems, Jean actually paid himself and a partner (his cousin Jerry Duplessis) $65,000 in upfront rent payments for space at a Manhattan recording studio the duo owns. The prepaid 25 months worth of rent covered the foundation’s use of a café table in the studio’s kitchen. Jean’s foundation has received millions in donations since the Haiti tragedy, but it is unknown how the group has spent those funds.
Along with attempting to rebuild a devastated country, the next Haitian president will be in charge of handling foreign aid payments as well as the nation’s own limited financial resources.
Sheds a whole new light on him wanting to flee the country and become the president of Haiti, no?
source: IRS Hits Wyclef With $2.1 Million In Tax Liens [the smoking gun]
Musician Wyclef Jean is set to announce his candidacy for president of Haiti this Thursday on CNN’s ‘Larry King Live,’ a source close to the singer told CNN Tuesday.
And the former head of Haiti’s Chamber of Deputies confirmed the move, telling the Associated Press that Jean will soon announce his run for president.
Jean’s rep wouldn’t confirm the reports but did acknowledge the singer will be making an announcement Thursday. She wouldn’t comment on what Jean will discuss at that time.
It’s been speculated for months that the hip hop artist would run for president–Jean even released a song titled ‘If I Was President.’ And though the singer’s never confirmed the rumors, he’s never denied them either.
Jean, 37, was born in Haiti but left soon after and was raised in Brooklyn, New York. The singer is a popular figure in Haiti nonetheless; his music and charity work after the devastating January 12 earthquake has made him a favorite among many locals.
To run for president, Jean must prove he’s resided in Haiti for five consecutive years, that he owns property in the country and that he has no other citizenship but Haitian.
All candidates must register with the country’s electoral council by this Saturday and so far, Jean hasn’t filed his bid yet.
Barack Obama gets a surprise visit in the night from ex-Presidents Bush Sr., Bush Jr., Clinton, Ford, Reagan and Carter to get a few pointers about the Consumer Financial Protection Agency and why it’s so important.
Director — Ron Howard
Gerald Ford — Chevy Chase
Jimmy Carter — Dan Aykroyd
Ronald Reagan — Jim Carrey
George Bush — Dana Carvey
Bill Clinton — Darrell Hammond
George W Bush – Will Ferrell
Barack Obama — Fred Armisen
Michelle Obama — Maya Rudolph
This Funny or Die really had me cracking up… but with a cast like that, how could they go wrong?
Russell Brand faces being blacklisted by the American media after causing outrage with a string of offensive jokes at the live MTV Video Music Awards.
The Essex-born comedian labeled President George Bush a ‘retard’, called Britney Spears ‘the female Christ‘ and poked fun at young virgins.
Brand, 33, who was hosting the ceremony live, had already been forbidden by MTV bosses to mention the C-word or, more bizarrely, Scientology.
He began his opening monologue by saying: ‘Please, America, elect Barack Obama. On behalf of the world. Some people, I think they’re called racists, say America is not ready for a black president.
‘But I know America to be a forward-thinking country because otherwise why would you have let that retard and cowboy fella be president for eight years?’
He added: ‘We thought it was nice of you to let him have a go, because in England he wouldn’t be trusted with a pair of scissors.’
Onlookers caught sight of Britney Spears sitting straight-faced in the audience and refusing to clap.
source: Russell Brand’s ‘retarded cowboy’ jibe at George Bush shocks MTV audience [daily mail]
When US Olympic beach volleyball player Misty May-Treanor asked George Bush to spank her on the bottom the president decided to get playful.
President Bush, switching roles from commander-in-chief to cheerleader-in-chief at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, stopped by to offer support for the American volleyball and softball teams.
