Billionaire businessman and media mogul Donald Trump has said on the “Today” show that he is a Tea Party supporter. "I'm very proud of some of the ideas they put forth," Trump said, adding, "They want to stop this ridiculous, absolutely killer spending that's going on. What's going on in this country — the way we're spending money like drunken sailors — we are absolutely, I'm telling you, we're going to destroy our own freedom."
Trump's open support for the Tea Party comes just a day after a NBC/Wall Street Journal national poll showed him ahead all of his potential Republican rivals among tea party supporters with 20 percent of the support. Asked if he considers himself a tea party activists, Trump said, “I think so.”
In the NBC/WSJ poll, Trump finished at second place with Mike Huckabee, both at 17 percent. Mitt Romney was the top choice among Republican primary voters. Talking about his popularity, Trump explained, "I think that I connect with people because I happen to be smart, I happen to have a lot of common sense, I happen to know what I'm doing, I built a great company."
Trump said on the show that he would make a decision by June. He remarked that he now believes "there is a big possibility" Obama was not born in the United States, despite Hawaiian officials certifying Obama's birth in the state."I'd like to have him show his birth certificate," Trump said of the president. "And to be honest with you, I hope he can."
