Cheryl Senter for The New York TimesDonald J. Trump spoke with reporters from his limousine on Wednesday in Newington, N.H. More photos at nytimes.com.Has the Trump show run its course?
President Obama‘s decision to release his long-form birth certificate on Wednesday robbed Donald J. Trump, the real estate mogul and reality television host, of the central issue that had been fueling his nascent campaign.
But it’s not clear that Mr. Trump is ready to give up, quite yet, on making sure the camera lens is aimed squarely at him.
Even as reporters assailed him with questions this week about the president’s birth certificate, Mr. Trump sought to dispel any notion that his candidacy is a public relations gimmick. He dangled the idea that reporters would be “surprised” by what he announces next month, soon after his NBC television show ends for the season on May 22.
“When the show is over, I will be free to announce,” he said. “I think you will be surprised at a number of things, but I think you will be surprised at what my announcement is.”
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It seems clear, however, that Mr. Trump is straining the patience of his fellow Republicans. In some Republican quarters, his potential presidential campaign has already — literally — become a joke.
Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, at a breakfast event Thursday morning, joked that Mr. Trump did not seem like much of a Republican, given his tendency to make political donations to Democrats.
“I’ve come to New Hampshire today because I’m very concerned,” Mr. Paul said. “I want to see the original long-form certificate of Donald Trump’s Republican registration. Seriously, don’t you think we need to see that?”
The issue of Mr. Trump’s Democratic leanings was first reported by The Washington Post, which analyzed his political contributions and found that 54 percent had gone to Democrats. Among the recipients: Rahm Emanuel, the former White House chief of staff and the new mayor of Chicago.
Not exactly the kind of contribution history that makes conservative Republicans — the kind who tend to vote in primaries — swoon.
Mr. Trump has already begun trying to find other ways to lure the media, including a discussion of Mr. Obama’s academic background and whether he deserved to be admitted to Columbia and Harvard. But it’s unclear whether the media will continue to bite the way it did on the birth certificate story. And Mr. Trump is increasingly facing questions about his own history.
Earlier this month, Mr. Trump promised to release his tax return if Mr. Obama released the birth certificate. Pressed about that promise by an ABC News reporter this week, Mr. Trump waffled.
“That’s something I would be thinking about doing anyway,” Mr. Trump said. “That is certainly something I’d be thinking about doing anyway. But before I do anything I have to make the decision in June, and the first thing I’m going to be releasing will be financials.”
But Mr. Trump clearly wants to move on to other favorite subjects, including his claim that China is abusing the United States by manipulating its currency. In a contentious interview with CNN’s John King, Mr. Trump repeatedly made it clear that a Trump presidential campaign would focus on that subject.
The real question: Would anyone be listening? Give us your thoughts below.