Trump won't rule out run, but praises Romney campaign

Donald Trump again refused to rule out a presidential bid Monday amid the increasing likelihood that Mitt Romney would win the Florida primary and the eventual Republican nomination.

The reality show television host, who at one point last year was leading the GOP polls, said that he planned to endorse a Republican candidate shortly, but that he would consider entering the race as an independent candidate if his choice did not emerge from the GOP field.

"I really want to endorse somebody and I'm going to be doing that over the not-so-distant future, and I'm going to be doing that, and if that person doesn't win, you know, we'll see what happens," Trump said on Fox News. "My preference is to endorse somebody, I love what I'm doing, as you guys know very well, I love it, I want to keep doing it, but I also love this country and we have to get somebody who is going to do that."

Trump, who has been critical of Romney in the past — especially when the former governor skipped a planned Newsmax debate that was to be hosted by the real estate mogul — had praise for Romney's campaign performance. Trump said that he viewed it as an asset when a candidate could talk about his wealth and how that tied into the "American dream."

"I actually think it's a great thing when you can show you've been successful, when you've made a lot of money and employed a lot of people. … I think Mitt Romney is starting to do that," Trump said.

Trump also credited Romney's performance in recent debates.

"Newt will tell you, he was off. He did not do well. He wasn't terrible, but he certainly didn't do great, and I think Mitt Romney actually did great," Trump said. "I thought in those last two debates that Mitt was fantastic."

Trump reiterated that he would not make his final decision about running for president until after his reality television show ended its season in the spring.

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