The Men Behind the 'Draft Donald Trump' Movement [View All]

[Judi Lynn]

The Men Behind the 'Draft Donald Trump' Movement
By MICHAEL SCHERER Michael Scherer – 22 mins ago
Did you hear about Donald Trump? He tied for first place in the CNN poll, after coming in second in the NBC/WSJ poll. He wrote a scathing letter to the New York Times, and another to Vanity Fair. He is considering running as an independent. He met with Mike Huckabee. He has a beef with Bill Cosby. He talked with Reince Priebus. He thinks Obama is hiding something. It goes on.

The Donald is back big time in the national news cycle, after decades of comings and goings. The current notoriety all centers around his potential presidential run - though he also just bought a winery in Virginia, which he will rename, wait for it, "Trump." (See twelve Republicans who could be president in '12.)

So here's some more Trump trivia to add to the veritable bonfire of Trump news. As there is no Trump campaign at the moment, Trump supporters have two main ways of supporting the Trump effort, such as it is. One is called DraftTrump2012.com, which has been put together by the celebrated and controversial Roger Stone, a GOP operative who helped put together Trump's abandoned 2000 bid for the Reform Party ticket. The website accepts Pay Pal donations, and is registered through Federal Election Committee, but has yet to post any reports of its haul. The goal of the group, says Stone, is to hire staffers in early primary states to begin independent grassroots organizations on Trump's behalf. Trump says that though he is happy for Stone's support, Stone is not working for him in any official capacity.

The second independent draft Trump effort, ShouldTrumpRun.com, which does not accept contributions, is far closer to the man itself. It is being run by a close friend of Trump, Stewart Rahr, and a senior executive at the Trump Organization, Michael Cohen, who keeps an office down the hall from Trump, on the 26th floor of Fifth Avenue's Trump Tower. The idea for this effort sprang from a conversation Cohen and Rahr had last year over drinks in Rahr's Manhattan apartment, which is in a Trump-branded building. A poll had just come out showing some interest in a Trump candidacy in New Hampshire. (Watch "Fringe Presidential Candidates.")

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