2012 SelectSmart.com Presidential Candidate Selector Positions Donald Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American business magnate, socialite, author, and television personality.

Foreign policy and war issues: He would have liked to fire the Bush Administration for its decision to invade Iraq, according to an interview in the August edition "Esquire," due to be released on Friday. "Look at the war in Iraq and the mess that we're in. I would never have handled it that way. Does anybody really believe that Iraq is going to be a wonderful democracy where people are going to run down to the voting box and gently put in their ballot and the winner is happily going to step up to lead the country?" "Bin Laden would have been caught long ago. Tell me, how is it possible that we can't find a guy who's six-foot-six and supposedly needs a dialysis machine? Can you explain that one to me? We have all our energies focused on one place, where they shouldn't be focused," he said. Source
Stay in Iraq and keep the oil: “You stay and protect the oil and you take the oil and you take whatever is necessary for them and you take what’s necessary for us and we pay our self back $1.5 trillion or more. We take care of Britain, we take care of other countries that helped us and we don’t be so stupid.” Source
The U.S. must continue to nurture and safeguard our special relationship with the state of Israel. This relationship must remain the cornerstone of our policy tactics through the entire Middle-East region, as it has been for administrations of both parties for more than half a century. Source

Security/liberties: Views not known at this time.

Social Security: Let people invest their own retirement funds Source

Stem cell research: Views not known at this time.

Same sex issues: “They should not be able to marry,” he said. But asked whether gay couples should be able access the same benefits as married couples, he said his “attitude on it has not been fully formed.” Given a second to think, Trump said on marriage and civil benefits, “As of this moment, I would say no and no.” Source

Trade issues: “I think that fair trade is a much better word than ‘free trade.’ I listen to these people saying, ‘Oh, that’s going to hurt free trade.’ What’s ‘free trade’ when a country has imbalances of hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars…?” Source

Budget issues: King: If you were in the Senate, would you vote for the stimulus plan? Trump: Well, I'd vote for a stimulus plan. I'm not sure that all of the things in there are appropriate. Some of the little toys that they have are not really appropriate, and they're a little surprising that they seem to want it, because the publicity on it has been terrible. I would certainly vote for a stimulus, but I would really vote for banks having to loan out the money because they're not doing that. Source

Business & labor issues: Larry King: Is Obama right or wrong to go after these executives with salary caps? Donald Trump: Well, I think he's absolutely right. Billions of dollars is being given to banks and others. You know, once you start using taxpayer money, it's a whole new game. So I absolutely think he's right. Source

Abortion issues: Pro-choice, but ban partial birth abortion. (Jul 2000) Favors abortion rights bur respects opposition. (Dec 1999) Source However, more recently he said: “If I do run for president, I want you to know I’m pro-life,” Source

Capital punishment: Capital punishment isn’t uncivilized; murderers living is. (Jul 2000) Death penalty deters like violent TV leads kids astray. (Jul 2000) Source

Marijuana: Views not known at this time.

Gun control: I generally oppose gun control, but I support the ban on assault weapons and I support a slightly longer waiting period to purchase a gun. With today’s Internet technology we should be able to tell within 72-hours if a potential gun owner has a record. Source: The America We Deserve, by Donald Trump, p.102 Jul 2, 2000 Source “I’m against gun control" he told the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in February 2011. Source

Minimum wage: Views not known at this time.

Health care: I’m a conservative on most issues but a liberal on health. It is an unacceptable but accurate fact that the number of uninsured Americans has risen to 42 million. Working out detailed plans will take time. But the goal should be clear: Our people are our greatest asset. We must take care of our own. We must have universal healthcare. Source "I will fight to end Obamacare and replace it with something that makes sense for people in business, something that will not bankrupt the country" Source

Environmental issues: Views not known at this time.

Immigration issues: Control borders; even legal immigration should be difficult. (Jul 2000) Limit new immigration; focus on people already here. (Dec 1999) Source
TRUMP: Well it all starts with the Federal government not coming out with a law. They've been talking about it for years and they still haven't done anything about it. And Arizona is really getting crime-ridden. There's people coming over, there's killings all over the place, there's shootings all over the place. LARRY KING: But do you favor stopping people on the street? TRUMP: What are you going to do? I mean, are you going to stop people to see if they're supposed to be there? And personally as a citizen I wouldn't mind, I really wouldn't mind... I think everybody needs to have papers, you know, and be legally here. We need to have papers if we go anywhere else in the world, so people need to have also the papers here. Source

Education issues: 2007-2008 Bring on the competition; tear down the union walls. (Jul 2000) School choice will improve public schools. (Jul 2000) Source

Wikipedia entry