Political Hotsheet
By

Stephanie Condon /

CBS News/ April 7, 2011, 10:31 AM

Donald Trump makes a splash among Tea Partiers in new GOP 2012 poll

Donald Trump, speaks at the Conservative Political Action conference Mark Wilson/Getty Images

As he continues to make headlines by aligning himself with "birthers" and questioning President Obama's birthplace, a new poll shows Donald Trump is making headway among Republican voters.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is the preferred candidate among Republican primary voters, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, with 21 percent support. Trump, however, is not far behind, tying former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee for second place with 17 percent support.

The poll shows Trump receiving more support, 20 percent, than any other potential 2012 GOP nominee among Tea Party supporters. He was also the preferred candidate among those who identified themselves as the most conservative.

As many as 96 percent of voters surveyed recognized Trump's name, which would certainly help the business magnate and television personality overshadow lesser-known candidates like former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Trump continues to receive more publicity for his insistence that Mr. Obama may not have been born in the United States -- a myth that has been firmly disproved by a copy of Mr. Obama's certificate of live birth, multiple birth announcements that ran in Hawaii newspapers when Mr. Obama was born, and fact checking by independent journalists.

Still, Trump pressed the issue on NBC's "Today" show this morning. "I'm not convinced that he has one," Trump said of the president's birth certificate.

While he is now the most recognized face of what's known as the "birther" movement -- a term Trump insists is derogatory -- Trump said he's also happy to be associated with the Tea Party.

"I'm very proud of some of the ideas they put forth," he said. "They want to stop this ridiculous, absolutely killer spending that's going on."

Some polls show Tea Partiers are more likely than other voters to say it's worth risking a government shutdown in order to bring about more federal spending cuts. On the "Today" show, Trump minimized the consequences of a government shutdown and said the blame for a shutdown would fall on the president.

Government shutdown more likely, Harry Reid warns
Senator Joe Manchin: Don't pay us if government shuts down
Obama: Shutdown would hurt American people
Government shutdown: What it means for you

"If there is a shutdown, I think it would be a tremendously negative mark on the president of the United States," he said. "How can you expect a man that's not a deal man... to corral all these people."

Beyond questioning Mr. Obama's origins, Trump has defined himself as a potential candidate as a savvy businessperson and a somewhat populist anti-interventionist.

He said that if he were to have a foreign affairs "doctrine," it would be: "We take care of ourselves first."

"We don't build schools in Afghanistan," he continued. "We go to Afghanistan, we build a road, we build a school. Two days later, they blow up the road, they blow up the school. In the mean time, we can't build schools in Alabama, in New Orleans, in Texas, in New York... My doctrine would be build, build, build."

While he's gaining traction among voters, Trump said he can't jump into the race before June because of his hit television program "The Apprentice."

"I have the No. 1 show on TV," he said. "You're not allowed to have a show on and be a declared candidate."

Though Trump suggests he is a serious candidate, it's questionable whether he could actually win the Republican primary. There are multiple factors that could work against him. For instance, in 2007, he praised former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as "the best," and gave Mr. Obama's former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel $50,000 to run for mayor of Chicago.

© 2011 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
51 Comments Add a Comment
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mikxray says:
Donald Trump, king for the day, but yet he has no clothes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4-PGoto37E&feature=related
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storm0415 says:
Donald Donald Donald, you had me and many of my friends up until you started this crap....This is not the way to win....you have not had anything to say about the issues that we care about since you started on this rant....Just the other night we talked about just this...out of a Group of 4 life long Democrats, 2 Republicans, and 1 Newly confessed Tea Bagger; we all said, we were going to support and vote for you til now! You've lost already my Friend!
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Funky-President says:
I am not a birther nor a fan of Trump Palin or Bushco. I am interested in the facts which are below. It's seems Hawaii may not legaly be a part of the US! P.s. I vote for Obama

...The history of Hawaii's transition from sovereign nation to a state of the United States is a history of crime after crime after crime, of policy put forward by proclamation and reinforced by American weapons of war, of military incursion, of violations of international law and treaties then in effect. None of the events which turned Hawaii from a sovereign nation into a part of the US was legal and above board. It was robbery, by anyone's definition of the word, with the justifications and excuses made up after the fact to make the affair palatable to an American public that still wanted to view its government as fair, just, and honorable.

In 1988, a study by the United States Justice Department concluded that Congress did not have the authority to annex Hawaii by joint resolution. The ersatz annexation was a cover for the military occupation of the Hawaiian islands for purposes related to the Spanish American war.

On November 23, 1993, President Clinton signed United States Public Law 103-150, which not only acknowledged the illegal actions committed by the United States in the overthrow of the legitimate government of Hawaii, but also that the Hawaiian people never surrendered their sovereignty. The latter is the most important part of United States Public Law 103-150 for it makes it quite clear that the Hawaiian people never legally ceased to be a sovereign separate independent nation. There is no argument that can change that fact.

United States Public Law 103-150, despite its polite language, is an official admission that the government of the United States illegally occupies the territory of the Hawaiian people.

In 1999, the United Nations confirmed that the plebiscite vote that led to Hawaii's statehood was in violation of article 73 of the United Nations' charter. The Hawaii statehood vote, under treaty then in effect, was illegal and non-binding. (The same is true of the Alaska plebiscite).

In a world where nations are as governed by laws as are men, Hawaii is not and has never legally been a part of the United States. Hawaii was stolen from the Hawaiian people, and they want it back.

http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/HAWAII/hawaii.php
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hhandyman says:
TheDdonald needs to go to Alaska and talk to the supreme leader of the T party crew. see if the x gov will help him and their anti right to life crew that is the party that wants to end the health care for anyone that can't pay for it, the Budget cutters of 'T Party Check the agenda. and hope you dont get a death sentence from the budget ax
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WeHappyFew says:
We've had the entertainment of Ma Palin's foreign policy (the gift that keeps on giving). New for 2011, Donald Trump.

On Iraq;
"We've spent all this money and all those lives in Iraq. THEY HATE US" (Go figure, Donald)

"In the old days with wars, you win, to the victor the spoils" (That's imperialism Donald. It's also illegal under international law )

"We gonna leave Iraq and in fifteen minutes Iran will take over" (Ummm who's fault's that, Donald? Maybe you could question John Bolton about the exit strategy that wasn't...........wonder why?)

" You look at war....a country goes in, they conquer, they stay. We go in, we take over the second largest oil field and we stay," (and there you have it. Bingo.)
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WeHappyFew replies:
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This is the problem with being a lib. It's so depressing being proved right.
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DrRowdyAintItGrand says:
Trump is actually doing the job that neither the press nor the congress has the guts to do. And he's doing an excellent job of it. I am on the Tea Party board, and NO, the press is lying to you again. The Tea Party has offered absolutely no endorsement to any candidate whatsoever. So reign in your little commiecrat claws. It never happened, and the poll is a bogus.
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WeHappyFew replies:
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Clearly the voice of considered non-partisan reason...................
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kansas1946 says:
Well, that would figure. Republicans really are pathetic. Here is another moral reprobate, adulterer, big mouth, on a trash television show, yapping about Obama's birth certificate. PERFECT Republican.
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Dogtired22 says:
You miss the point of the Birthers. Although it is true every state has their own constitution, Supreme Court, and legislation. They can not usurp the Federal Government. If any agent or employss of the FBI, State Department and or Homeland Security, ask to see the Presidents Birth Certificate. No Hawaii official may impeed or deny them from seeing it. It is not enough that he or she says, I seen it, viewed it and it's okie dokie. Take my word for it. The state does not have the right to Flip off the Federal Goverment. That is the real issue. Freedom of Information act. Clearly denotes what is and what is not acceptable. Any state Official that would not allow a Federal State Official to see or interferes with their official duty is breaking Federal law. What part of that do you not understand ? How do these people think they are ?
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DrRowdyAintItGrand replies:
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How do we think we are? We think we're right. And most likely we are. To use Obamajad's own words...Only somebody who has something to hide will block access to the truth.
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superbenA02 says:
Maybe somebody should hire a team of P.I.s to investigate every crooked, dirty business deal that he ever did over the years. Like the golf resort that he was trying to build in the UK and trying to use the local government to force some people out of their homes when they wouldn't sell their homes so he could tear them down and build on the properties. Most people in the US only know him for 5 things, The Miss America Pageant, The Miss Universe Pageant, The Apprentice, The Celebrity Apprentice, and Trump Tower in New York City. They don't know about most, if not any of his business dealings. If he runs, expect a lot of dirt to come out and a lot of people to come forward.
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WeHappyFew says:
He's not as dumb as his coiffeur would have us believe.

He comes to the media espousing frankly insane opinions (to the extent Glenn Beck publicly distances himself) and, looky here, the conservative base love it. He'll be on FOX next week calling for witch burning and take the lead in the polls.
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