Don’t automatically assume Donald Trump is not running. Does “Birther” have traction

A television interview I did three years ago with the potential GOP presidential contender resurfaced this weekend on Fox News, Drudge, and all over the Internet. In it, Trump had harsh words for outgoing President George W. Bush, labeling Bush "evil." Trump also said that President-elect at the time Barack Obama would lead the nation by "consensus" and has done "an amazing job." "Bush has been so bad, maybe the worst president in the history of this country. He has been so incompetent, so bad, so evil that I don't think any Republican could have won," the real estate magnate told me in his office.

Those words won’t make it any easier for Trump to be embraced by the Republican establishment, and many still aren‘t convinced of his electability, but never say never, especially with a guy like Donald Trump.

Anyone that automatically concludes Trump is not a Presidential contender could be making a mistake. You may question his credentials for President, but Trump has skyrocketed to the top of the Republican field as he has been relentless in raising questions about President Obama’s birthplace.

Democrats dismiss the “birther issue,” as an over investigated complete joke, but Trump has gained traction and plenty of media attention. Governor
Jan Brewer hasn’t signed it as of yet, but Arizona's legislature has just passed a "birther bill" that would require President Obama, and other candidates to provide additional proof that they were born in the U.S. before appearing on the state's upcoming ballot.

Trump will have to define himself for Republican primary voters on social, fiscal and foreign policy issues, but I don’t see anything wrong with raising the “birther” issue.

Granted, numerous fact-checking organizations have examined the evidence and concluded that Obama was born in Hawaii. But the rumors and speculation persist that Obama was actually born in Kenya. As a candidate several years ago, Obama released a copy of his birth certificate and posted it on his presidential campaign website. There was also his birth announcement in the local Honolulu newspaper. If Obama was not a natural-born citizen, he is not qualified to be president under the Constitution.

Instead of backing down, Trump has upped the stakes and said he sent investigators to Hawaii. He has called on the President to release the longer form of his birth certificate.

Even Sarah Palin who initially backed away from the birther issue has come on board and says she "appreciates" Trump repeated questioning of where President Obama was born. Though she believes he was born in Hawaii, "there is something there that the president doesn't want people to see on that birth certificate."

The Hawaiian state health official that reviewed Obama's birth certificate denounce conspiracy theorists as "silly." "It's kind of ludicrous at this point," Dr. Chiyome Fukino, the former director of Hawaii's Department of Health has said, adding that "birthers," or those who have been questioning where the president was born, will never be satisfied.

Of course there is one way to finally put all of this to rest, and that is for the President to release the long form of his birth certificate.

I found it amazing when David Plouffe, one of the top senior advisors to President Obama, responded to Trump and said the billionaire businessman had a zero percent chance getting elected…He went on to state mainstream America believes the birther issue is a sideshow.

Again, all the questions could be put to rest if the President released the long form of his birth certificate. As the Trump having “a zero percent chance of getting elected,” wasn’t the same thing said about a political novice at the time Michael Bloomberg. The local political establishment looked at me like I was a three headed giraffe in 2001 with my prediction after the Democratic run-off of Bloomberg could actually win.

Who would have ever predicted an African American in his first term in the U.S. Senate would beat Hillary Clinton for the nomination, and go on to make history as president of the United States?

Trump may not run at the end of the day, and he will have to go beyond the so-called "birther" case but with his name recognition, and looking at the polls of how quickly he has connected with the Republican base, Trump may decide to give it a shot.

Will the star of NBC’s “The Apprentice” give up his show? Doubtful. Is Trump willing to deal with the scrutiny of being a Presidential candidate? Probably not. Noted Republican consultant Karl Rove say if Trump decides to run, “The American people aren’t going to be hiring him,” however don’t sleep on this guy. Some say this is a nothing more than a publicity stunt, but Trump might actually decide to give it a shot.