One News Now
Chad Groening

Dunn: Trump did GOP a favor

A conservative university professor and political scientist is pleased that billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump has decided against becoming a challenger for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination before doing any more damage to the Republican Party.

Trump flirted with the idea of a presidential bid for months, traveling to early primary states like New Hampshire and heckling President Barack Obama from afar. But this week, the reality TV host opted for continued fame as a television star, rather than getting involved in a political campaign. His announcement was made as NBC, the network that is home to Trump's television show, The Celebrity Apprentice, rolled out its fall lineup.

But according to Dr. Charles W. Dunn, a professor of government at Regent University's School of Government, Trump was never a serious candidate.

"Trump signed his own death warrant some time ago. He did what at some point he was going to have to do, and fortunately, both for him and for everyone else, he did it sooner rather than later," Dunn decides. "He'd do less damage by having announced he's not running now than he would if he had stayed in."

But he does not think Trump's departure will benefit any other GOP presidential hopeful.

"He was a bombshell for the Republican Party and for conservatives," the government professor notes. "If we try to weigh who will benefit from his getting out, I'm not sure there's any benefit anywhere -- unless maybe Romney wants to claim the benefit that Romney's a big businessman and Trump's a big businessman."

However, Dunn concludes that would probably be a stretch.

Source: http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Defa ... id=1348886