Trump, Reno speak on campus: Trump plays 'Hardball'

It would have been the perfect venue for "The Donald" to officially declare his candidacy for the Reform Party's presidential nomination. And it almost happened. Before a roaring crowd of 1,200 Penn students and a nationwide television audience that tuned in for Donald Trump's appearance on the CNBC talk show Hardball, host Chris Matthews pitched a zinger straight at the celebrity business tycoon. "Are you running for president?" Matthews asked directly. "I am indeed," Trump replied, drawing loud applause from the Irvine Auditorium crowd. But after a long pause, he added, "perhaps." "I only want the nomination if I can win," Trump said later in the show, clarifying his response. "I have to get past the perhaps." Still, the New York real estate developer -- who has a net worth of about $5 billion -- said he is currently building a campaign team and is prepared to personally spend "upwards of $100 million" to finance his campaign. Trump helicoptered into Philadelphia for the program, the first event of Penn's Presidential Speaker Series, with an entourage of about eight political advisers and bodyguards. In an interview after the show, Matthews said he thought Trump would be a viable candidate in the 2000 primary. "It's not the heavyweight division," Matthews said of the Reform Party primary slate, which also contains former CNN commentator and Nixon operative Patrick Buchanan, whom Trump attacked throughout the show with frequent references to Buchanan's alleged anti-Semitism. During the program, Trump also responded to a number of student questions, confidently defining his positions on a variety of controversial issues. Topics ranged from the Cuban embargo, which he favors, to defense spending, which he wants to increase, to gun control, on which Trump -- a gun owner himself -- defended the right to bear arms. But much of the political discussion centered around his recent tax proposal, which calls for a one-time, 14.25 percent net-worth tax on individuals worth more than $10 million. Despite some skepticism from the Ivy League crowd -- which criticized the plan, saying its economics didn't add up -- Trump insisted the additional tax revenue would pay off the $5.7 trillion national debt and therefore eliminate debt interest payments. The savings, he explained, would provide middle class tax cuts and shore up Social Security. "I know about debt. I understand economics," Trump said, pointing to the fact that he rebuilt his business empire after it faced financial hardship in the early 1990s. "And I did well at Wharton and I know when people are going to be incentivized. And they are going to be incentivized to keep their money in this country. Taxes are going to come down." Indeed, Trump was quick to credit his alma mater with his financial success and dating prowess, noting on several occasions the benefits of a Wharton degree. "I could be married in 24 hours if need be," he quipped when Matthews asked if the self-proclaimed "world's greatest playboy" would have a first lady in his White House. "That's what happens when you go to Wharton." Penn students said they enjoyed the lively banter and the opportunity to see the celebrity tycoon -- although most didn't give Trump's tax plan a chance. "It's a bit unrealistic," Wharton senior Kai Chung said. "It's an interesting idea but politically and economically unfeasible." And Matthews said he was pleased with the crowd's enthusiasm and numbers. He noted that the Penn crowd was four times larger than the Harvard audience that showed up for Jesse Ventura on the first stop of Hardball's college tour. "There is a really positive, upbeat spirit here," Matthews said. "I thought that Penn would be too snotty for us, but they were nice. I was surprised."

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