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Trump drops 'Apprentice,' will launch presidential exploratory committee 

By DAN TUOHY

New Hampshire Union Leader Donald Trump will launch a presidential exploratory committee Wednesday, the eve of the business mogul’s return to New Hampshire.A senior adviser tells the New Hampshire Union Leader that Trump will not be renewing his contract with NBC for the reality television “Apprentice” series.

Combined with staff hires, Trump’s announcement that he will form an exploratory committee for the first time is a sign the billionaire is seriously considering running for the Republican nomination.Trump’s statement on forming the exploratory committee hints at the razzle-dazzle to come for a turbo-charged personality known for skewering the political establishment.

He refers to politicians who are “all talk and no action,” his tremendous business success, and how he is “the only one who can make America truly great again!”

Job creation, improving manufacturing, border security, rebuilding infrastructure, strengthening the military and local control of education are some of Trump’s priorities, according to his forthcoming announcement.

Trump has flirted with running for President before, but his moves ahead of 2016 are far more concrete.He has a team of political advisers based in New York and he has hired staff in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Senior political adviser Corey Lewandowski, who is a Granite Stater, was hired in February.

Lewandowski cited Trump’s vision and leadership and called him a problem-solver.According to Lewandowski, “Apprentice” producer Mark Burnett personally called Trump to offer another season of the “Apprentice” but Trump turned him down.

“Nobody in the history of television has turned down a renewal,” Lewandowski said in a phone interview with the Union Leader.

“But Mr. Trump can do that.”Trump visits New Hampshire on Thursday to meet with a group of local veterans and business owners. He is scheduled to speak to the media before a 5:30 p.m. reception at the home of state Rep. Steve Stepanek, R-Amherst.

Trump is also one of the confirmed possible presidential hopefuls to speak at the New Hampshire Republican Party’s “First in the Nation” Republican Leadership Summit being held in Nashua on April 17-18.