When it comes to running for president, billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump rarely puts his money where his mouth is. But that mouth certainly likes to boast about money.
The latest iteration of this trend has Trump gloating that he has a Gucci store worth more than 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney. In an interview with the Des Moines Register this week, Trump bragged that he is the “most successful person ever to run for the presidency.”
“Nobody’s been more successful than me. I’m the most successful person ever to run. Ross Perot isn’t successful like me. Romney—I have a Gucci store that’s worth more than Romney,” the reality TV host added.
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The 68-year-old Republican will announce whether or not he’ll make a bid for the Oval Office on June 16, in New York City at the Trump Tower Atrium. Trump has flirted with the idea of running for president more than once – including in the 2000, 2008 and 2012 election cycles – although he never officially became a candidate.
The ever-confident Trump—who is in Iowa this week, which holds the first-in-the-nation caucuses—also insisted to the Des Moines Register that he has a strategy for defeating the terrorist group known as ISIS. But he didn’t want to give his game plan away, out of fear his potential rivals will steal his idea.
“If I tell you right now, everyone else is going to say ‘Wow, what a great idea.’ You’re going to have 10 candidates going to use it and they’re going to forget where it came from. Which is me,” said Trump. But the GOPer did note his strategy “would be decisive and quick and it would be very beautiful. Very surgical.”
According to a Quinnipiac University poll from last week, Trump did finish within the top 10 of the emerging GOP field. That matters, as Fox News, which is hosting the first GOP debate on Aug. 6, has said participation will be limited to those who finish in the top 10 of polls in the lead up to the debate.
But Trump’s standing could have more to do with his celebrity status than his viability as a candidate. According to the same poll, 21% of GOP voters said they would definitely not back Trump for president—the highest percentage for any potential or declared GOP candidates.