Real estate mogul and television
reality star Donald Trump on Tuesday entered the crowded Republican
field of candidates vying for the White House.
“So, ladies and gentlemen, I am
officially running for president of the United States, and we are
gong to make our country great again,” Trump told a crowd gathered
at Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York City.
“Our country needs a truly great
leader, and we need a truly great leader now,” Trump said.
Trump also went after President Barack
Obama, saying that rather than being a cheerleader for the United
States, he has been “a negative force” and called the president's
signature health care law “a lie.”
“We have been sold a big lie:
Obamacare,” he
said.
Trump, who becomes the GOP's 12th
announced presidential candidate, has previously flirted with the
idea of running for president.
As he contemplated a 2012 run, Trump
reiterated his opposition to gay and lesbian couples marrying with a
golf analogy.
“It's like in golf,” Trump
told The
New York Times. “A lot of people – I don’t want this
to sound trivial – but a lot of people are switching to these
really long putters, very unattractive. It's weird. You see these
great players with these really long putters, because they can't sink
three-footers anymore. And, I hate it. I am a traditionalist. I
have so many fabulous friends who happen to be gay, but I am a
traditionalist.”