Donald Trump Greets Fans in NH, Declares Victory in Obama Birth Certificate Skirmish
PORTSMOUTH, N.H., April 27, 2011 -- Donald Trump descended on this crucial early primary state on Wednesday and promptly declared victory.
"I'm very proud of myself because I've accomplished something that nobody else has been able to accomplish," Trump told a gaggle of local and national reporters who assembled in an airport hangar here Wednesday morning.
Speaking shortly after the White House released a copy of President Obama's long-form birth certificate, Trump was eager to take credit.
"I am really honored, frankly, to have played such a big role in hopefully getting rid of this issue," he said, adding that he would have to see whether the document "checks out."
Trump spent the next seven hours on a whirlwind tour of the Seacoast area of this state, which holds the nation's first primary, swooping into a roadside diner and, later, leading a raucous walk around downtown Portsmouth, signing autographs and stopping by local businesses along the way.
"Who else gets this crowd? Does anybody else get this crowd?" Trump boasted as he emerged from a high-dollar fundraiser organized by the New Hampshire Republican Party at an exclusive club in this seaside town. "I don't think so," he said, answering his own question.
The trip was vintage Trump. He touched down in a helicopter emblazoned with his name, the same one sometimes seen in episodes of his television series, "The Apprentice." A three-car motorcade -- two black SUVs and a stretch limousine -- ferried him around town.
A hundred or more spectators lined the streets of Portsmouth waiting for Trump to emerge from the private, $1,000-a-plate fundraising lunch, including local business owner Gayle Wade, who was eager to snap a picture.
"I have always adored Donald Trump," said Wade, a long-time resident of New Hampshire and a registered Republican.
But when asked whether she would support the billionaire real estate mogul if he ran for president, she smiled.
"Who knows? Probably not," she said. "He's a good businessman, but I think it probably takes more than that to be president."
Other Granite State voters were more optimistic about Trump's presidential chances.
Kelly Shrimpton, who got a glimpse of Trump when he stopped at the Roundabout Diner not far from the airport, said she would consider voting for him.
"He is a smart man," Shrimpton said. "He has done well for himself he has a lot of input in the country. I think he could be a good candidate."
At the diner where Trump shook hands with residents and posed for photos, Flip Hudson, who said he voted for Obama in 2008, expressed a willingness to back Trump in 2012.
"I trust him more than I would some of the politicians," he said, "you just don't know where they are coming from."
To hear Trump tell it, his trip here, his first as a potential presidential candidate to an early nominating state, was a mere formality. He told reporters at the ABC News affiliate WMUR that he has already made up his mind about whether or not to run.
"I know in my mind, yes," Trump said. "I know what I am going to do."
He said on Wednesday that he intends to keep his promise to make an announcement about his presidential intentions before June.
A parade of onlookers accompanied by a throng of reporters and television cameras followed Trump for several blocks around Portsmouth Wednesday afternoon as the reality television star ducked into the Federal Cigar shop, Popovers on the Square, a cafe, and Bellman's Jewelers.
"Mr. Trump, can I get a signature," one person shouted.
