Trump announces White House bid
June 16, 2015
In an announcement at his own Trump Towers building on Fifth Avenue in New York, Donald Trump said he would make a run for the White House in 2016 as a Republican candidate. His announcement comes a day after former Florida Governor Jeb Bush announced his candidacy for the same office.
"I am officially running for president of the United States and we are going to make our country great again," Trump said, next to a banner bearing his campaign slogan "Make America Great Again!"
Trump is the latest Republican to enter an already crowded field. The Republican candidates - now numbering more than ten - will first face off against each other to earn the party's nomination in next summer's primary election. The winner will square off against the Democrats' nominee, with Hillary Clinton currently looking the most likely to get the nod.
In 2011, Trump made motions that he would seek the Republican nomination for the 2012 election, but ultimately withdrew from campaigning, saying he preferred to remain in the private sector.
Trump fortune is estimated to be worth over $4 billion by Forbes, with much of his fortune coming through real estate. Speaking on Tuesday, Trump himself said he was worth closer to $9 billion. In addition to real estate ventures, he also co-produced a successful reality TV show in the US called "The Celebrity Apprentice," owns several golf courses, and routinely appears as a public speaker and pundit on American talk shows.
His chances of winning the Republican nomination are viewed by many as quite slim.
mz/rc (Reuters, dpa, AFP)