Trump eyes governor’s office
NEW YORK – From The Donald to The Governor?
Why not, bemused New Yorkers said Friday, after discovering that Donald Trump is flirting with running for the state’s top job.
“He’s got a lot of love for New York,” said Sherrell Peter, 19, of the Bronx, who works in a Trump Tower gift shop. “And New Yorkers love Trump.”
Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno confirmed Friday that the billionaire is pondering running as a Republican for the office being vacated next year by Gov. George Pataki.
A day after tantalizing reporters by saying only that a mystery wealthy candidate was “thinking” of running, Bruno told an Albany, N.Y., television station that he was referring to the real estate developer.
Trump was uncharacteristically mum about his plans.
But former Mayor Ed Koch, an old rival – and a booster of Democratic front-runner Eliot Spitzer – was quick to poke fun at Trump’s chances against the current attorney general.
“You should be so lucky,” Koch said to Spitzer, whom he was endorsing at City Hall.
Another GOP candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, also welcomed a Trump run. “Come on in, the water is fine,” said Dominick Ianno, a Weld spokesman.
It’s not the first time Trump has tinkered with the idea of running for office.
In 1999, he considered running for president on the Reform Party line before scrapping the idea.
Since then, Trump has morphed into a TV megastar on “The Apprentice,” married his third wife and is now expecting his fifth child.
“If New Yorkers would vote for Howard Stern, they might vote for Trump,” said Alan Liebowitz, 42, recalling the shock jock’s flirtation with a 1994 candidacy for governor.
But Trump might have a tough time swapping his flashy Fifth Avenue penthouse for a place in Albany – even if it is a mansion.
“Why would he bother?” said Pete Leibman, 35, who works a block from Trump Tower.
Still, some New Yorkers said they would happily hire the political novice as governor.
“This guy doesn’t sleep, he’s in the office every day and he’s always asking for opinions,” said Byron Barillas, 22, a doorman at Trump Tower. “We could use a straight-shooter like him.”