Donald Trump Says His Huge Net Worth Makes Him Qualified to Run for President

April 18, 2011 -- Donald Trump is everywhere these days -- from a Tea Party rally in Florida to the set of "The Apprentice" to the Sunday political talk shows, where he suggested the U.S. should invade Libya.

And amid all the talk of birtherism -- his repeated calls for President Obama to release an official copy of his birth certificate -- Trump has lately been offering another argument for why Americans should pay attention to him and his possible presidential candidacy.

Trump is talking about size. The size of his financials, that is.

"I have a much bigger net worth" than Mitt Romney, Trump said recently, referring to the former governor of Massachusetts who launched a presidential exploratory committee earlier this month. "Mitt Romney is basically a small business guy if you think about it. I'm a much bigger businessman. … I mean my net worth is many, many, many times Mitt Romney's."

Members of Romney's staff declined to comment on Trump's statement.

Just how serious is Trump about running for president?

"I wish I didn't have to do it. I would prefer not doing it. But I love this country. And if you ask me what are the odds, I'll let you know some time prior to June," he told CNN's Candy Crowley on "State of the Union" Sunday. "But I will tell you, I am giving it serious, serious thought. And I'm honored by the polls, because people agree with what I'm saying."

Trump recently floated the possibility that if he runs and fails to capture the Republican nomination, he might pursue an independent bid for the White House, a prospect that does not sit well with establishment Republicans.

What would you ask Donald Trump?

But executives at NBC, the network that airs his reality television show "The Apprentice" appear to be unconvinced by Trump's presidential maneuverings, so much so that they have not been actively planning who would take over the series should Trump run.

"This is Donald being Donald," one senior NBC executive told The New York Times, dismissing the reality of Trump's presidential ambitions.

Their skepticism may hinge on some of the more eye-popping policy comments Trump has made For example, in his CNN interview over the weekend, Trump took issue with President Obama's handling of the situation in Libya, which Trump called a "mess."

"Either I'd go in and take the oil, or I don't go in at all," Trump said. "We can't be the policeman for the world."

When pressed on whether he was serious about taking the Libyans' oil, Trump replied, "Absolutely."

Trump's decision to go after Romney, who like Trump found success in the business world, is no accident. The one-time presidential candidate is widely viewed as one of the front-runners for the 2012 GOP nomination.

Though polls taken this early in the primary season often shed little light on who will be the eventual nominee, a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey showed Trump running in a strong second place to Romney.

The poll, released earlier this month, found Romney leading with 21 percent support among GOP primary voters, followed by Trump and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who each garnered 17 percent. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich stood at 11 percent and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin got 10 percent.

Trump is also trying to capitalize on that momentum by appealing to a powerful segment of potential Republican voters -- those who self-identify as Tea Party members.

Over the weekend, the multi-millionaire real estate mogul showed up at a raucous Tea Party rally in Boca Raton, Fla., where he deployed a well-known line from his television show while talking about President Obama.

"You're fired," Trump said he might one day like to tell the president.

"We've got a long way to go before we start using that. It's too early, and to be honest, it's too trivial," Trump told the crowd of several thousand. "But I have it in the back of my mind."

Trump plans to ramp up his activity on the speaking circuit, with events already scheduled in crucial early primary states such as Iowa and New Hampshire in June. He has also been generating headlines with a spate of television interviews.

ABC's George Stephanopoulos will sit down one-on-one with Trump Monday, which will air on "Good Morning America" Tuesday morning.