Trump: It'll cost me 'peanuts' to run for president

The cost of running for president? “Peanuts,” says Donald Trump.

“I’m in it to win it. I gave up a lot. I gave up hundreds of millions in deals, you know, things that I do. In all fairness, I don’t want it to sound trivial — NBC renewed ‘The Apprentice’ because we had a great season last season, and they would love me not to be doing this, they will tell you right now,” the newly minted Republican presidential candidate said in an interview aired Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”


Regardless of the cost of his campaign, Trump said, he’s giving up big money with his TV show and other real estate and business dealings.

“The peanuts, the cheapest part, is what it costs to do it. I’m giving up hundreds of millions of dollars to do this. I’m giving up a prime-time television show. I’m giving it up to do this,” the billionaire business mogul told host Jake Tapper. “I’m a little blunt, but you know what? Maybe, that’s what we need.”

During his campaign rollout last week, Trump put his total assets at nearly $9 billion.

Trump, who has polled second to Jeb Bush in the first primary state of New Hampshire, said the former Florida governor takes him seriously.

“Trust me,” Trump added, noting that people from Bush’s campaign “take me so seriously, and they do call and they write.”

Bush is “a nice … wonderful man,” Trump was quick to add, but said he’s better positioned to lead the war against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Asked to explain his comments that he’d bomb Iraq’s oil fields to blunt ISIL’s advantage, Trump doubled down.

“Who cares? I don’t care about the government of Iraq. They’re corrupt. The government of Iraq is totally corrupt,” he said. “Who cares?”

Addressing Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton’s main competition, Trump said independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has been getting crowds comparable to his.

“Stranger things have happened,” Trump said of a potential upset in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, referring to Barack Obama’s defeat of Clinton in 2008.

Trump also defended remarks in which he characterized many immigrants crossing the U.S. border with Mexico as “rapists” and “killers.”

“It’s not Mexicans necessarily. They’re coming from all over,” Trump added, suggesting it would also be “a tiny little peanut” for Mexico to build a wall between the two countries to prevent more crossings. “I would do something very severe” if Mexico did not contribute, Trump warned.

He also lamented the U.S.’ inability to compete with China because of currency manipulation and environmental regulations.

“Look. We are restricting our factories much more than China. I go to China. They have factories that are much more competitive; I’m not saying friendly, but they’re certainly not environmentally friendly,” Trump said. “I’m a huge believer in clean air. I’m not a huge believer in the global warming phenomenon.”

“Well, there could be some man-made, too,” he added. “I’m not saying there’s zero, but not nearly to the extent.”

In the interview, taped before the Supreme Court’s decision Friday legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide, Trump said he supports “traditional marriage” but acknowledged things are “changing rapidly.”

Asked what he would say to a gay man or lesbian who questioned his commitment to the institution of marriage based on his three marriages, Trump said, “They have a very good point.”

“I’ve been a very hard-working person,” he told Tapper. “My two wives were very good, and I don’t blame them, but I was working, maybe like you, 22 hours a day. … I blame myself because my business was so powerful for me; I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”