TV personality and self-proclaimed brand Donald Trump now says he may run for U.S. president as an independent if he is not happy with the Republican candidate. UPI /Laura Cavanaugh 

 

NEW YORK, Nov. 30 (UPI) — TV personality and self-proclaimed brand Donald Trump now says he may run for U.S. president as an independent if he is not happy with the Republican candidate.

Trump told CBS News he will be able to make a decision in May.

"Come May, when the 'Celebrity Apprentice' is completed, my contract to NBC is completed. I'm a free agent, as the expression goes," he said Tuesday. "I can make a decision. You know, obviously it would have to be as an independent."

Trump, one of many seemingly long-shot candidates who have briefly topped the polls in the crowded Republican field, withdrew in May. He blamed laws that require networks to give equal time to all candidates.

He said he has "very good relationships" with all the Republican candidates but has not made up his mind about an endorsement. On Tuesday, he tweeted that he expects President Obama to start a war with Iran to boost his chances of re-election.

In a new book "Time To Get Tough," Trump says his net worth is more than $7 billion, $3 billion of that "brand value."