On CLOSE UP this morning, Donald Trump. Thursday was a big day for the New York real estate tycoon. He authorized the formation of a presidential exploratory committee and last night had dinner with the man who's encouraging him to run, Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura. When we sat down this week, I asked him whether he thought his reputation would hurt him. The reputation of Donald Trump, the man who dates a different woman every year. I don't do that. I mean, I -- I've been with a number of women, but it's been over a fairly long period of time. I've had great relationships with women. The fact that... You've called them your Achilles heel. The fact that my women are more beautiful than Warren Beatty's women, I guess a lot of people have a problem with that. But I don't call it an Achil -- I say I don't drink, I don't smoke, I never had a drug in my life. I never had a drug, I never had a glass of alcohol. I never had a cup of coffee. Why? Why did you never... But I do go out with beautiful women. Do -- why did you never have a drink? Well, I have a brother -- had a brother -- who -- who was a very, very heavy drinker. And he passed away, and -- and really the cause of that was from alcoholism. I mean, he was truly -- and he was a great influence on my life because he used to look at me, at a young age -- he was 10 years older than I -- and he'd look at me and say, 'Don't ever, ever drink.' Because he knew he had a problem. This was in the formative years. And... How old were you when he died? ...he'd also said 'Don't smoke. If I ever catch you with a cigarette, I'll go wild.' And you know, somehow, it just had an im -- because I saw he was having a problem. He was an incredible guy. He was a handsome guy, the best personality of all. He was just -- he had it all. But he was stuck on booze and he smoked. Smoked like crazy. I mean, they were two terrible things and he couldn't shake it. And you know, it's a drug. They're both terrible drugs. And you know, I'd like to see the lawyers start going after the alcohol companies the way they went after the cigarette companies because I think alcohol is a much greater detriment than it -- than cigarettes. And I think cigarettes stink. But I do have, on the other hand, I mean, we all have our little vices. And I do go out with women. But that's not so bad, is it? Any skeletons, do you think, Donald, that -- I mean, if you decide to run, you know that your background is going to be examined with a fine-tooth comb. Is there anything that you can think of that you'd like to look at me and say, 'Matt, let me admit it right now. Because -- let's get it on the table, because I don't want it to come out six months from now'? Well, I mean, wouldn't you love that? But the fact is... Yes. ...that we could -- we could have a really good deal here. But, you know, I've been a very public figure, in a sense. I've been more public than the so-called public figures. And I think everything is known about me. If I go some place, if I -- if I sneak into a room someplace, it's written about. So you know, you really pretty much know what you're getting. I think you know what you're getting with me much more so than most of the politicians that you deal with. And I wouldn't be doing this. I mean, there -- there really is nothing in the closets. Of course, reporters can make things up, and as you know, they do, because they're a vile lot. But there is... The whole lot? No, not the whole lot. There's some tremendously talented and wonderful people. I mean, Maureen Dowd is great at the Times and other people are terrific. And you know, they're terrific. But at the same time, you deal -- I -- there's so much scum out there, it's unbelievable. Some of them are so bad. I mean, they write stories telling me, 'We know the story's false, but, Donald, it's going to be great.' Let me point out a little contradiction here. Earlier in the interview, you're telling me -- you're quoting me a poll from the National Enquirer. Donald, I mean, that would fit in that category, wouldn't it? I -- hey, excuse me. I mean, I don't want to defend the National Enquirer, but they got the awards for the O.J. Simpson coverage and everything else over all of you characters. I mean, you know, the National Enquirer has done an amazing job. And they do. It's the largest thing there is. I guess they have six million readers or something. And when they do a poll, in many respects, that represents more to me than when some guy that doesn't like me does a poll and he asks a question in a way that nobody could possibly say yes. One thing we know about you -- gambling. You're a major player in the gambling industry. Right. What happens to your gambling holdings if you decide to run for president? Well, I'd probably have to do something with a trust or put it in trust. I'm the biggest in Atlantic City by far. And you know, we're doing spectacular business in Atlantic City at the Trump Taj Mahal and all the places. And I'd probably have to put that in trust. Taxes. You want to see a break. You want to see a cut? Yes. How big? A substantial cut. I think that... To who? To -- really the -- not to my guys. Not to the wealthy people who are really the people that dislike me the most, in all fairness, except for the ones that know me. But, really, I'd like to see a cut for the middle classes and -- and really the lower-income people. And it should be very, very substantial. Along the lines of maybe even greater than the Republican suggestion. Paid for from the surplus? Paid for by trade deficits that now are staggering. Where I look at Korea and some of these countries that are ripping us so badly, it's unbelievable. Paid for very easily by that. NAFTA, big failure in your opinion? I don't like NAFTA. I've never been in favor of NAFTA. The good economy -- the current economy we have makes it look OK. But I've never been a fan of NAFTA. But you think you'd be pretty good sitting down across the table during some trade negotiations, don't you? I think I'd be the best. I mean, who's better than -- I mean, look, that would be my strength. And this country would take in lots of money from lots of foreign countries that have been ripping us off so badly. When you look at what Japan has done to us over the years, it's frightening. Yeah, but I mean, if you're elected president, that's not something you can just walk up and say on your first day -- in your inaugural address, you can't say, 'Look at Japan, they've been ripping us off for years.' You look at countries like France that do nothing for the world and they only take. I mean, they -- the worst team player that I've ever seen is France. And so many of these countries -- and then they want so much from us. There are many countries and the trade deficits are huge. And believe me, you wouldn't have trade deficits when I got finished. And I wouldn't do it personally. But do I know the people? Do I know the negotiators? And... I can see your first world tour as president, there'd be no one there to meet you at the airports all over the world. They might not want to meet me. But they'd -- they'd listen. They get away with murder. They just don't respect us. At least, they'd respect us, and they'd pay their fair share. Let's talk about health care. Bill Bradley, Al Gore, have both come up with universal health care programs. I think Mr. Bradley's would cost about $ 65 billion every year. What do you think? I think it's great. I think you have to take care of the sick. I think you have to take care of people that are not able to take care of themselves. Otherwise, what's the purpose of even having the country? You have to take care of the sick. So I'm all for it. Universal and everything else. Health care -- I'm very, very conservative, but I'm very liberal when it comes to health care and social. Your lifestyle. Why would you want to trade this in? I mean you love the parties. You like the fast lane. You like making money. The presidency doesn't pay a lot. It probably would barely cover your country club bill. Why trade this in? You know, I'm the one candidate running that really has a lot to lose. Because I'm the biggest developer in New York by far, I've done better than anybody else in the hottest city there is, which is New York City. And I'd be stopping that. And I love it. I'm building a 90-story building opposite the United Nations. I'm doing the General Motors, where your competitors are going to move into a nice studio very soon. They have the best location of all. And you know, I'm doing all of these things and I'm really loving it and I'm having fun doing it. And I'm the best at it. And I'm the only one that's in there. If I'm some politician I'd say, 'Hey, I'm this,' or Pat Buchanan, I mean, he goes off Crossfire. Every time I bring the presidency up, Donald, you -- you keep attaching business terms to it. You keep talking about it -- 'What I could do negotiating. What I could do with this group.' But that's a big thing, Matt. When you look at our trade deficits... But I haven't heard you talk -- what should the job -- what should the office mean in terms of what should it stand for? What are the morals that should be attached to it? I think it should stand for spirit in this country, which we don't have. I mean, we've been decimated for the last four years with Monica and that Linda Tripp who is the world's worst. I mean, I look at Linda Tripp, she's like, just the worst. And -- and Paula Jones and all -- I mean... Did you think the president should be impeached? I think Ken Starr's a lunatic. I really think that Ken Starr is a disaster. I hated the way the president handled it. He could have said, 'Look, I don't want to discuss it.' I've seen politicians in New York that are scoundrels get away with that for years. 'I don't talk about my personal life.' They've made a living off not talking about -- he should have done that. Instead, he had to lie. Should he have been impeached? He had to lie. I'm glad it worked out the way it did. But it was a long and terrible process. I -- I really think that Ken Starr was terrible. But I think the president handled it terribly. And it's a shame, because he could have gone down as a very good and even great president. It's a shame. Didn't you say one time about the whole scandal what bothered you most was Monica was unattractive? No, I didn't say that. I said that he certainly could have picked a better candidate. And I mean that. And you mean that. And everybody means that. They'll say, 'Oh, it's controversial, Trump.' In the meantime, everybody's saying, 'Why?' I mean, why was that? Somebody said to me that if he would have had an affair with a supermodel, he would have been everybody's hero. But, of course, I would never say a thing like that. Running mate. If you decide to go with this, who would be the ideal running mate for Donald Trump? Oh, I think Oprah would be great. Seriously. I think that -- probably that would be serious, actually. There are numerous people that would be good running mates. I -- I think that you'd have five or six people that would be actually great running mates. And I think I could convince them to run. If I decide to do this, I will have a great running mate. What's it going to take to make you decide to do this? Well, I'll be deciding sometime early next year, and I think there's only one really important thing, and that's if I can win. Not if I can get the Reform Party because I believe I can get the Reform Party. It's really if I can win. If I can win, then -- you know, look, the Reform Party has a huge obstacle. You have Democrats and you have Republicans. And you have 25 or 30 percent of the people are going to vote for one or the other or both, no matter what, no matter who's running. So you're building this huge obstacle against hundreds of years of tradition and everything else. So I think the Reform Party candidate's at a huge disadvantage. If the economy is bad at the time of the election -- and you know, we have a long way to go, and lots of things can happen -- the Reform Party candidate would, if it's the right candidate, have a good chance. If it's Pat Buchanan, there's no chance. He'll get a hard-core group of wackos. But the Reform Party candidate, if it's the right candidate, would have a good chance of winning the election, depending a little bit on the economy at the time of the election. Another boring interview. Just a boring interview. Nice seeing you. You, too. Donald Trump. It's now 7:17. Here's Katie.