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Donald Trump's Blitzkrieg Sunday, Political aspirations plus Apprentice (VIDEOS)

By April MacIntyre Apr 17, 2011, 17:32 GMT

04/05/2011 - Donald Trump, Melania Trump - 9th Annual Dressed to Kilt Charity Fashion Show - Arrivals - Hammerstein Ballroom - New York City, NY, USA © Marco Sagliocco / PR Photos

Climbing steadily in political polls and taking his message of potential GOP presidential candidate musings to the media, real estate mogul Donald Trump was on CNN this morning speaking with CNN Chief Political Correspondent Candy Crowley to express his core issues on why he is considering a run for the office.

Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” - Trump talked about how China and the rest of the world were eating our lunch, so to speak, in all things political and financial.

"We're being laughed at...we're a laughing stock to the rest of the world...why didn't we charge the Arab League $5 billion to go in to Libya? It's cost us over $1 billion dollars.." Trump says to Crowley, who also asked him about Mitt Romney, the other GOP contender close to Trump in the polls.

Trump said he didn't know much about Romney, other than he was a "small business guy" who made some money in some company deals - companies he did not create. “I'm a much bigger business man and have (a) much, much bigger net worth. I mean, my net worth is many, many, many times Mitt Romney,” Trump said.

“I built a very big net worth and I’d like to put that ability … to work for this country.” “I don’t do it for myself, I’ll be doing it for the country...I love this country” Trump added. “And guess what? That’s what this country needs.”

The “Celebrity Apprentice” producer currently dominates the network ratings for his time slot on NBC.

After deflecting a question about his personal taxes and how much percentage he pays in taxes, Trump promised Crowley he would announce by summer his intentions for political office and to reveal this information then.

Trump said he wishes President Obama was doing the job, telling Crowley after she asked if he thought Obama was weak, countering, "not weak, ineffective," as he expressed that he loved his life and wished he didn’t have to run for president.

“I love my life. I love what I’m doing,” Trump told Crowley. “I wish I didn’t have to do it. I would prefer not doing it. But I love this country.”

Trump personally thanked those out there who have tipped him and created his rising poll numbers, after Crowley said his name was highly recognizable. “Well, they know my name,” Trump said. “But you know why they know my name? Because of success.”

The main issue that he stayed on point with was that China and Saudi Arabia were “ripping us off.” He avoided the "birther" issue and did not repeat his comment about having a great relationship with "the blacks."

And what of the Gays?

MotherJones.com reports that Chris Barron, founder of the gay conservative group GOProud and a supporter of Trump's would-be candidacy, believes Trump is "dead serious" about running, pointed to the "gay people who work for him and gay people in his life" as evidence of Trump's ties to the gay community. "I don't think there is a bigoted bone in his body," Barron says.

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