Donald Trump Will Not Run for President, 'Celebrity Apprentice' Lives On

This just in: Donald Trump will not be running for president.

The Donald made the announcement at NBC's upfront presentation today, a venue that makes some sense in that his candidacy would have made an impact on "Celebrity Apprentice."

Had Trump decided to run, he would not have been able to host the TV show, or else his opponent (President Obama) would have been given equal prime time broadcast time. Considering "Celebrity Apprentice" runs for two hours on Sundays, that would be a pretty big deal.

"This decision does not come easily or without regret," said Trump, "especially when my potential candidacy continues to be validated by ranking at the top of the Republican contenders in polls across the country."

True enough, Trump had been showing some serious popularity in polls among Republican voters.

Trump raised his profile and caused a great deal of controversy in bringing up the "birther" argument again (challenging Obama's place of birth) and demanding the President show his birth certificate. When President Obama released the document, Trump took credit.

He then went on to question Obama's acceptance into Harvard, saying that his grades weren't good enough. These two attacks were seen as covertly racist by many voters, politicians, and pundits alike.

There's no doubt that Trump will still be using his public profile to raise some increasingly silly questions about President Obama, even though (or perhaps especially because) Trump will not be running.

It's a shame, isn't it? He could have been our first orange president.