David Eldridge The Washington Times - March 23, 2011, 05:12PM

Donald Trump is getting serious about a run for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination.

The Des Moines Register reports the New York real estate mogul has scheduled his first appearance in Iowa as a potential candidate.

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Mr. Trump, who has already announced a June visit to New Hampshire, earlier this month topped two other leading GOP contenders, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, in a Wall Street Journal/NBC poll of favorability ratings.

The billionaire and reality show star talked openly about running for president during a surprise appearance in February at CPAC, a Washington conference of conservatives. Since then he has popped up regularly on radio and television talk shows to weigh in on the economy, foreign affairs and national politics — often tweaking both Republicans and Democrats.

On Wednesday, he appeared on “The View” and questioned why President Obama won’t release his birth certificate.

Micheal Cohen, a top Trump deputy and the organizer behind an exploratory Trump-candidacy website, said his boss will announce a decision one way or the other before he appears June 10 as the headline speaker at the Iowa Republican Party’s Lincoln Day dinner.