Trump says he’ll run for NY governor — if there’s no primary

If there’s no Republican primary, the Donald says he will run for governor.

In his latest round of flirting with a possible gubernatorial bid, Donald Trump told a gathering of 300 Republicans at his Grand Hyatt Hotel Wednesday night that he would be a can’t miss candidate to defeat the incumbent Gov. Andrew Cuomo. But there was a catch, he said: he will only run if the Republican Party is united behind him.

“The last thing you need is a primary where two people go beat the hell out of each other and then come limping into an election against someone that should absolutely be beaten,” Trump told the crowd. “If that were the case, I would run and I believe I would win.”

Trump made fun of Cuomo’s $33 million campaign, noting that he would spend “whatever it takes” to win, should he opt to run.

“Fortunately for me, that’s not a lot of money,” he quipped.

The Donald’s current approval ratings are low and no insiders think he will actually run, according to the New York Daily News. Still, the dinner drummed up $60,000 in funds for the Manhattan Republican Party.

Trump has repeatedly hinted at running for governor of New York since toying with, but deciding against, a presidential bid in 2012. [NYDN] — Julie Strickland