PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Billionaire developer Donald Trump, who has been toying with the idea of seeking a Reform Party bid for the White House, said Thursday that he is "indeed" running for president -- but then added, "perhaps."
At a taping of MSNBC's "Hardball" at a University of Pennsylvania auditorium, host Chris Matthews asked the New Yorker if he was running for president."I am indeed," Trump said to cheers and applause from the 1,200 students in the audience. After a long pause, he added, "Perhaps."
Toward the end of the show, Matthews sought to clarify Trump's position on a White House bid.
"Perhaps," Trump said. "I only want the nomination if I think I can win. I have to get past the perhaps."
Trump is not assured the Reform Party nomination -- Pat Buchanan also is seeking it -- and he ranks low in national polls as a candidate.
"Pat can run and Pat can get 3 or 4 percent of the vote, but he's not going to win," Trump said. "And what's the point of running if he's not going to win? He really was responsible for the defeat of George Bush with his speech at the (1992) Republican Convention."
Trump, whose net worth is about $5 billion, said he would be willing to spend "upwards of $100 million" to campaign.
Last month, he formed an exploratory committee and quit the Republican Party to register as a member of the Reform Party's New York affiliate.
He has said that he would decide by early next year whether to seek the Reform Party nomination.