OPINION:
Donald Trump was so mobbed walking out of the ballroom after his speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) that his security pulled him into a safe room.
The billionaire developer was heading down the hall for an interview with me at The Washington Times video booth, but about a hundred fans swarmed over him to take a photo and shake his hand. We had to do the interview in a room protected by his personal security staff.
Mr. Trump is a rock star for Republicans, but he’s never been easily categorized.
So I asked him straight out if he considers himself a member of the Tea Party.
“I certainly seem to be in a sense. They like me, and I like them. And we have very much the same principles,” Mr. Trump answered. “When I speak to the Tea Party, they have the biggest crowd of anybody.”
The star of “Celebrity Apprentice” on NBC added that, “I seem to get along very well with the Tea Party. Part of it is a mutual respect. I have a great respect for the Tea Party.”
Mr. Trump is on this year’s CPAC straw poll for the 11,000 attendees to vote on who they want to run for president in 2016.
The real estate mogul isn’t ready to announce his intentions, but he did explain why he likes this audience.
“The Tea Party, CPAC, this is a group of people who love the country. They want what’s good for the country,” said The Donald. “They’re hard workers, and they love the country. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
Liberals have almost every celebrity in Hollywood raising money for their leftists candidate and awareness for their hippy positions.
The Tea Party has one prime time network star: Donald Trump. And as he says, there’s nothing wrong with that.
• Emily Miller is senior editor of opinion for The Washington Times and author of“Emily Gets Her Gun” (Regnery, 2013).
Please read our comment policy before commenting.