Donald Trump calls in to Fox & Friends to talk about the election and Texas “activists” launching a third party called “Make America Great Again,” with hopes that Trump will be their candidate.
Fox: There’s a report out that activists in the state of Texas have filed for a third party run for you, perhaps, to run for president, trying to create the Make America Great Again party. What do you know about this, and is that your first foray into the official 2012 run for president?
Trump: Well, I just heard about it. In fact, I heard about it on your show, and frankly I think it’s a great name. ‘Make America Great.’ Because that’s what it’s all about, making America great, but I don’t know anything about it. Certainly there are millions of people that would like to see me do something.
The next day, he uses Twitter to thank his supporters in Texas for creating the “Make America Great Party” on his behalf. He starts using the phrase “Make America Great Again” regularly.
Trump began teasing a Republican candidacy in 2010 and early 2011. He even created his own polls to show him ahead of other candidates, but he never entered the race.
Last May, he said he couldn’t run for office yet because he doesn’t want to leave The Apprentice. Now he’s having second thoughts, and it’s too late to enter the Republican primaries. He would have to run on a third-party ticket.
I’ve been saying from the beginning that if the Republicans pick the wrong candidate, somebody that’s going to lose–which is certainly possible when you look at what’s going on… I would certainly consider it, and I would be able to do this. You know I switched to an Independent because if I didn’t do it by the first of January, I wouldn’t be able to do it. So, I did make that switch. I didn’t wanna make that switch, but that’s the way the laws read, so I did make the switch, and I do have my ducks in line if I want to do it. But I’d love to see the Republicans pick somebody that was going to win and take over this country and, frankly, to use the expression, “make America great again.”
Like with his previous short-lived campaigns, the brains behind his strategy is Roger Stone. Stone made an appearance on Fox & Friends yesterday to promote Trump’s potential candidacy.
Fox: One of the people who wants you to run is your friend Roger Stone. We had him on Fox & Friends yesterday, and he said you have all of your ducks in a row, and you could make an independent run. Let’s listen to what he said this weekend.
“He’s made it clear. The forms are there for all to see, by the book. He’s worth $7 billion. I think he has about 350 million cash on hand, so he has the personal resources to launch a very late independent bid and affect this race.”
Trump never says whether he’s going to run for president, but he admires what he perceives as President Obama’s strategy for re-election: class warfare.
It’s probably a good thing for him to get elected, but it’s a very bad thing for the nation. He has absolutely created class warfare. I see it all the time. I see it even in people I’m meeting. You have groups of people fighting each other, and that’s what he wants. That’s what he’s good at. And frankly, in terms of a strategy to get elected, I think it’s wonderful.
Two years later, Trump tells Fox & Friends that riots and “total Hell” is what America needs to be great again.