Donald Trump's voice once again rang across the land this weekend as an apparently still-relevant figure in American conservative politics.
Making a couple of high-profile Sunday television appearances, Trump indicated that he would soon be making an endorsement in the Republican race, made indications that Mitt Romney would be the beneficiary of that endorsement, and indicated that Trump would run himself as an independent if his preferred candidate didn't prevail in the contest for the Republican nomination.
Appearing on CBS's "Face the Nation," Trump said that he is considering making an run as an independent candidate, and that he worried that the current in-fighting between Romney and Newt Gingrich could be hurting the conservative cause.
Romney Leads Gingrich by 15 Percent In Florida Polls, 500 Percent In Florida Spending
"It's a nasty race. It's Republican vs. Republican. The level of hatred, I guess you could say, there's no other word for it," Trump said. "The question is, are they hurting themselves, are they hurting the party, are they hurting Republicans and are they hurting their chances of winning an election against Barack Obama?"
Later, on Fox News, Trump praised Romney for taking more ownership of his wealth and once again left open the possibility of running for President -- but only if the candidate he endorses falters.
"It’s a great thing when you can show that you’ve been successful and that you’ve made a lot of money and that you’ve employed a lot of people," Trump said of Romney and his wealth. "I actually think it’s a positive and I think that actually Mitt Romney is starting to do that. You know, at first he was a little bit hesitant about it and now he’s out there … So I really think it’s a positive."
He went on to say that he'd rather make an endorsement for President than run a campaign for President, but didn't close the door on the idea of running.
"I really want to endorse somebody and I'm going to be doing that over the not so distant future, and I'm going to be doing that," Trump said. "And if that person doesn't win, you know, we'll see what happens."
It is safe to assume from Trump's praise for Romney, and the similar pedigree they share, that Trump will soon throw his support behind Mitt -- especially if Romney does as well in Florida as polls telling us he will. The hints at an independant campaign are most likely just a desperate attempt to keep his name in the news, but also not a particularly encouraging sign for conservatives. That a character like Donald Trump could survey the current state of the Republican race and see enough weakness as to consider a run doesn't say much for the strength of the field.
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Follow Bison Messink on Twitter: @BisonMessink
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