Donald Trump is running for president, he announced Tuesday morning, promising to become "the greatest jobs president that God ever created" in a characteristically combative speech at a Manhattan skyscraper bearing his name.
"We need somebody that literally will take this country and make it great again. We can do that," he said. "Ladies and gentlemen, I am officially running for president of the United States, and we are going to make our country great again."
“I will be the greatest jobs president that God ever created,” he added.
The Donald, as he is known as a celebrity, is a businessman, a reality television star and a master of self-promotion. And he is positioned to have a greater impact on the early months of the Republican presidential primary contest than many GOP leaders would like.
Trump will be required to release a personal financial disclosure that will reveal intimate details about his personal finances. The disclosure will include his net worth, sources of income, liabilities and assets. He would have to reveal the same information for his wife and dependent children.
The financial disclosure, required of all candidates for president, was thought to be the final obstacle blocking Trump from launching a 2016 campaign.
Based on guidelines recently announced by the television networks, Trump could play a prominent role in the upcoming nationally televised Republican debate in August.
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Those who rank in the top 10 in national polls — and Trump currently does, although he's close to the bottom — will earn a place on the debate stage. That could place Trump in a debate alongside leading candidates such as Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Bush.
"Selfishly, the networks would put me on because I get great ratings," Trump said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.
Trump has teased presidential runs before, and always backed out. But there had been signs that he's more serious this time around.
After forming a presidential exploratory committee in March, Trump says he has hired political operatives on the ground in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. He has also been a frequent visitor to the early voting states in recent months.
Perhaps most significantly, he said he would not renew his contract with NBC for his reality show, "The Apprentice." He cannot appear on the network, which is owned by the same parent company as this station, and run for president at the same time.
