Bad combovers may finally get representation — in Albany, New York:
Donald Trump is considering running for governor, a leading Republican said Friday.
Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno on Thursday suggested that a big-name candidate could be flirting with entering the 2006 contest. On Friday, he confirmed to News Channel 10 in Albany that he had been referring to Trump.
Bruno told the station he had spoken to the real estate developer and TV personality about a possible run.
Trump’s office in New York had no immediate comment. State GOP Executive Director Ryan Moses said neither he nor state party Chairman Stephen Minarik have had discussions with Trump about running.
And how much do you want to bet right NOW that if he runs he’ll work the words: “You’re fired!” into his campaign. Of course, this piece is unconfirmed political gossip (no comment from Trump) but that doesn’t stop journalism on a slow holiday weekend (we called these good-to-run-any-holiday-weekend-stories “evergreens” on the newspapers on which TMV worked). So the AP continues:
Said Frank McKay, state chairman of the Independence Party: “(Trump) is a formidable candidate for anything he decides to run for. We would love to see him run for president of the United States in 2008 as a third-party candidate. I’d do what I could to help give him a strong base here in New York and everywhere else in the country.”
Trump flirted with a run for president on the Reform Party ticket in 2000. He has given money to Republicans and Democrats in state races.
Republicans are looking for a candidate with name recognition and money to take on the only announced Democratic candidate, state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. Spitzer is far ahead of all candidates for governor in the early polls.
Spitzer won an endorsement Friday from former New York City Mayor Ed Koch, who cited his fellow Democrat’s record as a corporate reformer.
Reformer, reschmormer….Spitzer doesn’t have the “do” or the attitude that says “don’t-you-dare.” And whoever watched Spitzer being brown-nosed by young employees who wanted to keep him from giving them the boot on national TV?
Meanwhile, according to the New York Daily News, “New Yawkhis” are receptive to Trump and Koch is derisive:
Why not, bemused New Yorkers said yesterday, after discovering that Donald Trump is flirting with running for the state’s top job.
“He’s got a lot of love for New York,” said Sherrell Peter, 19, of the Bronx, who works in a Trump Tower gift shop. “And New Yorkers love Trump.”
….But`former Mayor Ed Koch, an old rival – and a booster of Democratic front-runner Eliot Spitzer – was quick to poke fun at Trump’s chances against the current attorney general.
“You should be so lucky,” Koch said to Spitzer, whom he was endorsing at City Hall.
Another GOP candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, also welcomed a Trump run.
“Come on in, the water is fine,” said Dominick Ianno, a Weld spokesman. It’s not the first time Trump has tinkered with the idea of running for office.
This, my friends, is what American politics has increasingly devolved into: it’s a matter of “high concept.” You need to find someone with instant (positive) name recognition because it can cut down on all that messy door-to-door campaigning, press conferences and costly advertising that would otherwise go into selecting a candidate and having to actually work to prove to voters that the candidate is worthy.
In Trump, they have a natural: a national catchphrase, an immediately recognizeable tough boss personality, even a name that could be used on a bumper sticker. DONALD TRUMP’S BIG GOVERNMENT.
How could anyone resist? If Donald can’t, it’s likely many New York voters won’t. But don’t expect his opponents to roll over and let him have an unexamined job interview.
And what would Trump do? The New York Daily News predicts Trump in charge would mean:
–Lawmakers could take a break from those long budget negotiation sessions by playing newly installed slot machines.
–Secretary of Hair becomes new state post.
–New York would get its first First Lady named Melania.
–State’s motto “Excelsior” would be changed to “You’re Fired!”
TMV’s prediction: He won’t invite Martha Stewart to join his cabinet.
UPDATE: Some reaction from James Joyner.