Real estate developer and television star Donald Trump announced his presidential run today.
His announcement speech was a spectacle of itself with Trump deviating wildly from his prepared remarks. Trump descended into the room via an escalator as supporters and the media looked on. He was also supposed to announce his candidacy in the tenth sentence of the speech. Instead, he said it roughly fifteen minutes into the speech. Trump also began his speech by talking about the large room and the air conditioning and then asking how people could expect a candidate to defeat ISIS if they don’t have air conditioning.
“So, ladies and gentlemen, I am officially running for president of the United States, and we are going to make our country great again,” he said. His speech touched on a wide range of topics, including ISIS, China, free trade, illegal immigration, Iran, diplomacy, Social Security, and Obamacare.
Trump also included some of his standard, self-promotional flair. Several times, he said, “I’m really rich.” He also spoke about how he knows the head of Ford and invoked him when talking about how he would bring jobs to America. He also said he “will be the greatest job’s president that God every created.”
Trump has flirted with running for the Presidency several times in the past. However, his talk would end up being just that, talk, and the media has often viewed his possible candidacy actions and talk with a sense of skepticism. This time, though, he has taken the plunge and he does currently qualify for the first Republican debate in Ohio. That debate is being hosted by Fox News and it is open for the top ten placers in national polling. Interestingly, Donald Trump qualifies for the debate in Ohio, while the governor of the state, Governor John Kasich, does not.