February 14, 2000|By New York Times
Donald Trump has decided to end his brief and flamboyant exploration into running for president, concluding that the Reform Party, whose support he had sought, is so beset by internal fighting that he would have no chance of winning the White House as its nominee, the developer's associates said last night.
Trump will announce his decision officially in a television interview this morning, according to someone close to him. However, in a formal statement to be released today, the developer bitterly denounces the divisions that have beset the Reform Party publicly in recent months, which he describes as "general fratricide."
Party faction backed by Ross Perot, which strongly opposed the prospect of Trump as the party's presidential candidate, ousted a faction aligned with Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, who is close to Trump. Ventura quit the party Friday.
Although it is risky to offer any predictions concerning the Reform Party, the latest round of maneuvering seemed all but fatal to any hope Trump had of filling the position that Perot had held in the 1992 and 1996 presidential elections.
Trump asserted in his statement that he believed he could win the party's nomination if he chose to pursue it. However, he said, "the prospect of divisive lawsuits, continued fighting over the national convention site and general fratricide" had convinced him that the Reform Party nominee, whoever it may be, will have no chance of victory.
He did it to sell his book which came out in Jan 2000. It sold well!
