Defying doubters, Donald Trump makes presidential bid official

By Elizabeth Titus

June 22, 2015 at 02:11 PM

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(Bloomberg Politics) — Point, Donald Trump.

Former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove said Sunday that Trump, the real-estate mogul and reality TV personality, should not be taken seriously as a presidential candidate until he filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission.

Trump was delaying doing so after announcing his campaign last week, Rove said, because it would trigger deadlines for disclosing details about his personal wealth.

"We ought to treat him as a serious candidate when he finally files that declaration and commits himself to unveiling all of his assets and liabilities," Rove said.

Trump, a Republican, had said in his announcement speech that he wouldn't seek to take advantage of the two 45-day extensions that are commonly granted for the financial disclosures, a vow his campaign manager repeated Sunday.

On Monday, Trump made good on the first step of the vow, making his bid official with a statement of candidacy, according to a copy of his filing provided by the FEC.

As to what his financial disclosure will reveal, well, that's a different question.

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