Donald Trump: ‘People are tired of having an incompetent president’

By Paul Briand

Donald Trump won’t be the one doing the firing in the 15th  season of “The Celebrity Apprentice” on NBC.

Trump, instead, will likely be campaigning as an official candidate for president, and he’ll be the apprentice, of sorts, with the voters of New Hampshire deciding whether to fire him from the cadre of contenders for the Republican nomination in our first-in-the-nation primary.

During a sit-down with the editorial board at Seacoast Media Group in Portsmouth on Thursday afternoon, the real estate mogul and businessman from New York City said he’ll decide in June whether he’ll be a candidate. He talked and hinted like someone who will definitely be in the race.

“I think people will be very surprised by the decision,” he said, adding later: “I think if I announce I will do incredibly well.”

Most of what he discussed in terms of issues he painted in broad strokes. Asked, for example, how he square his businessman principles against the need for a safety net for certain people. “Jobs are your best social program,” he said.

Given his popularity as host of “The Apprentice” he was asked whether this election would become a popularity contest. “I think it’s a competence contest this time,” he said. “I’m a very competent person. I get things done. I get people working.”

He was asked about President Barack Obama’s biggest failure. Here’s what he said:

He had an interesting exchange with Doug Scamman of Stratham, the former Republican speaker of the New Hampshire House and a member of the SMG editorial board. Scamman wanted to talk about big money and its influence in politics. Trump wanted to talk about leadership. Here’s the exchange:

Trump was asked about his No. 1 issue and he cited security … and bits of a lot of other issues: Immigration, Common Core, and Second Amendment to name a few. Here’s what he said:

Here are some other thoughts from The Donald during his visit:

• On the Republican establishment: “The last thing they want is for me to run,” he said.
• On gambling as a revenue source: “It’s not the panacea that people think it is,” he said, describing what he called “a tale of two cities” with the revenue from gaming but with the social problems too. He said he got out of Atlantic City seven years ago because of growing competition in other states. “When I saw that I got out,” he said.
• Asked about giving job advice to a young person: “It’s not always about the money,” he said. “You’ve got to do what you love.”
• Describing himself: “I’m a Republican conservative with a heart,” he said.

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