4 Mistakes Donald Trump Made During 2012 Presidential Race

Donald Trump’s never held public office but managed to become a huge distraction during the 2012 presidential race.

Donald Trump’s no politician, but the entrepreneur became a focus of the 2012 presidential race after repeatedly criticizing Barack Obama and weighing in on the Republican candidates. Staunchly conservative, Trump didn’t hide his disappointment when voters re-elected Obama president Tuesday. But disappointed isn’t all Trump will be remembered as when the 2012 race is revisited. “The Apprentice” star will also be remembered for making several controversial moves viewed as disrespectful to the president and as a distraction to the GOP campaign. Below are four major missteps Trump made.

Trump refused to deny rumors that he would run for president. This move detracted from the Republican politicians who had already thrown their hats into the ring. When Trump ultimately did not run, he was accused of perpetuating rumors about his political ambitions to draw publicity to himself.

In October 2012, just weeks before Election Day, Trump offered President Barack Obama $5 million to the charity of his choice if the president agreed to release his college transcripts and passport applications to him. The public widely panned Trump for revisiting the birthers’ claims about the president, especially since he had voiced such claims previously. Barbara Walters of ABC’s “The View” even chastised Trump on air for issuing such a challenge to the president. 

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Trump proved that he wasn’t a gracious loser after Obama won re-election. He fired off a series of objections on Twitter following the news that Obama had defeated Republican challenger Mitt Romney. He deleted one tweet calling for a “revolution.” He wrote, “Lets fight like hell and stop this great and disgusting injustice!” He also tweeted that “the electoral college is a disaster for a democracy” because initially Romney appeared to be winning the popular vote. Ultimately, however, Obama won both the electoral college and popular vote. 

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British newspaper the Daily Mail reported on Wednesday that Trump embarrassed himself by repeatedly giving unsolicited advice on campaign strategy to the Romney camp. A spokesman for Trump denied that the mogul had harassed senior advisers to the Romney campaign. “Trump was one of Mitt’s strongest and most popular surrogates,” the spokesman said. “Mr. Trump and Romney’s senior staff communicated on a continuous basis and no such complaints alleged were ever voiced. I suspect the two will continue to maintain a relationship for years to come.”

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