Donald Trump 2016?: Real Estate Mogul Reportedly Spent $1 Million On 'Research'

Real Estate mogul Donald Trump made headlines in 2012 when talk of a possible presidential bid surfaced. Prior to that, in 2011, he led the charge to lobby President Barack Obama to release his official birth certificate. The White House later obliged.

These days, The Donald has been quietly making the rounds at a number of conservative and Republican Party events. Trump also reportedly spent over $1 million on "electoral research" according to the New Yorker's special counsel, Michael Cohen.

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"At this point, Mr. Trump has not made any decision on a political run," Cohen said of Trump's 2016 prospects, noting his recent speaking tour of sorts and adding that the billionaire businessman is "exactly what this country needs".

Trump, 66, appeared in Oxon Hill, Md. this past March, where he gave a fiery speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, which was held at National Harbor. CPAC is known for being an annual gathering of who's who of the nation's conservatives, and one that has given rise to the national popularity of otherwise regional political figures, such as Lt. Col. Allen West of Florida. West was the keynote speaker in 2011 for CPAC, which likely accelerated his growth into a national conservative icon.

According to the New York Post, Trump was a guest at the Oakland County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner in Michigan last week, where he touched on the topic of his possible candidacy in 2016. "Everybody tells me 'Please run for president'...I would be much happier if a great and competent person came along," Trump said.

Trump projected that Hillary Rodham Clinton would likely receive the Democratic nomination for president in 2016, and warned that, should Republicans fail to choose the "right person" to face her, they would lose in a "landslide".