New York businessman and reality television star Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he has formed a presidential exploratory committee, a step he has never taken before despite flirting with presidential runs since the 1980s.
Trump, a Republican, has also hired staff in Iowa, South Carolina, and New Hampshire, where he is scheduled to visit Thursday evening.
“I have a great love for our country, but it is a country that is in serious trouble. We have lost the respect of the entire world,” said Trump in a statement. “Americans deserve better than what they get from their politicians — who are all talk and no action! I have built a great company, created thousands of jobs and built a tremendous net worth with some of the finest and most prestigious assets in the world — and very little debt!”
The full statement contained four exclamation points.
This is the sixth election in which Trump has said he is exploring a run for president.
In 2012, Trump made three trips to New Hampshire and one trip to Iowa, openly teasing voters and the media about running for president by holding campaign-style events at diners and businesses. He then chose to sign on with NBC to host another season of “The Apprentice.”
In the New Hampshire Union Leader Tuesday night, a Trump adviser said Trump would end his television show as a sign that he is moving toward a presidential run. Yet, earlier this month Trump canceled an appearance at the Iowa Ag Summit to appear on television during a golf tournament held at one of his Florida golf courses.
On the stump, Trump has argued for a stronger American foreign policy and for robust infrastructure improvements.
“If I run for president and if I win,” Trump told an audience in Iowa in January, “I would totally succeed in creating jobs, defeating ISIS and stopping the Islamic terrorists.”
James Pindell can be reached at James.Pindell@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @jamespindell.