Featured Image Credit: NBC
Topics: Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, Politics, US News, Viral
Emily Brown
Decades before he took up residence in the White House, Donald Trump shared his thoughts on the kind of people who run for president in the United States.
Trump was known for a long time for being a businessman; a big name in real estate, and the star of the US Apprentice series.
That all changed when he launched his campaign to become POTUS in 2015, but it wasn't the first time Trump had considered what it would be like to be the leader of one of the world's most powerful countries.
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The new President-Elect previously spoke on the topic in an interview when he was just 34 years old, in the early 1980s.
Trump had already launched the Trump Organization by that time, and was focusing on building and renovating businesses like hotels, casinos, and golf courses.
In the interview, Trump was asked if he would like to be the President of the United States, to which he responded: "I really don't believe I would."
Cut to four decades later, when he's just fought tooth and nail to beat Kamala Harris and become the 47th president.
At the time, however, Trump continued: "I would like to see somebody as the president who could do the job, and there are very capable people in this country [...].
"The most capable people are not necessarily running for political office, and that is a very sad commentary."
When asked specifically why 'someone like [him]' wouldn't run for office, 34-year-old Trump said that while he wouldn't be against 'dedicating [his] life' to the country, he didn't believe that the most fitting people got the job.
"I would dedicate my life to this country, but I see it as being a mean life", he began.
"I also see it as somebody with strong views, and somebody with the kind of views that are maybe a little bit unpopular, which may be right, but may be unpopular - [they] wouldn't necessarily have a chance of getting elected against somebody with no great brain but a big smile.
"That's a sad commentary for the political process [...] Abraham Lincoln would probably not be electable today."
Today's Trump has already made a number of plans for his return to office once he's inaugurated, and though his views have divided members of the public, he managed to secure the majority of electoral votes after polls closed on November 5.
His opponent, Kamala Harris, fell short of the 270 votes needed, but later told her supporters that she would 'keep fighting'.