WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s dream of the White House is built on the belief that America will turn to a can-do outsider, particularly a successful business tycoon, to fix the mess that is Washington. It’s likely just a dream.
Voters enjoy candidates full of outrage and without ties to the byzantine, polarized, money-saturated ways of the nation’s capital. Audiences flock to hear and cheer them in New Hampshire, Iowa and elsewhere. And then they usually vote for a more statesmanlike, experienced choice.
Trump, 69, the brash New York City-based billionaire businessman and television show host, plans a “major announcement” Tuesday on his presidential intentions. He’s flirted with running before, but this time he appears to be taking the steps needed to formally enter the Republican race.
He’d start as a clear underdog and wouldn’t even be the favorite among outsider candidates. Former neurosurgeon Ben Carson’s supporters have spent the last year raising money and building an organization, and former business executive Carly Fiorina has drawn friendly audiences in key primary and caucus states.
Trump, like Carson and Fiorina, faces another challenge: No political experience.
The last president who had never run for public office was Dwight Eisenhower. While never before elected , he WAS supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II.
