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Executives at NBC have revealed that a Donald Trump Administration might have been closer to reality than incredulous voters believed. According NBC Chairman Robert Greenblatt, the hair-nificent mogul had to be convinced to drop out of the 2012 presidential race, reports E! Online.

When asked about Trump’s remarks during the presidential race and if they ever considered stepping in, Greenblatt replied: “That’s a good question. I don’t really know the answer to it. We live in this country where you can sort of say anything you want as long as you’re not harming people. He’s got a political belief system and we talk to him all the time, but I really don’t think that what he’s doing in his personal life is going to corrupt what’s happening on the show. That said, if he sort of becomes somehow hurtful or says or does things that cross a line, I guess we would figure out what to do about that.”

[…]

According to Greenblatt, the public has gotten off lucky regarding Trump in the media. “We talked him out of running for president. Wasn’t that good enough?” he jokingly asked the room of reporters.

RELATED: Trump Kids Beg Dad To Stop Obama-Bashing?

Greenblatt was joined by NBC Entertainment President Jennifer Salke and President of Alternative and Late Night Programming Paul Telegdy to discuss Trump’s polarizing and controversial foray into presidential politics.

When “The Donald” eventually did bow out of the race, he did so suddenly, unexpectedly and shrouded in mystery, leaving many too wonder exactly why he did. His announcement didn’t offer any clues, other than he really believed that he could become President of the United States:

“After considerable deliberation and reflection, I have decided not to pursue Presidency,” he said. It’s not because he wouldn’t win, though, because he would, probably with billions of votes to spare. “This decision does not come easily or without regret; especially when my potential candidacy continues to be validated by ranking at the top of the Republican contenders in polls across the country.”

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Though this is the first time that an NBC exec has gone on record with the revelation, it has been rumored that they were behind Trump’s sudden exit since it happened.

The New York Times reported at the time that NBC execs presented Trump with an ultimatum: “Celebrity Apprentice” or continue his run for president.

Over the week-end, “Donald started saying: ‘ [Former Gov. Mike] Huckabee’s out. Maybe I should stay in this thing,’ ” said an executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

NBC gave him until Monday, when they were announcing their fall line-up to major advertisers, to make a decision, and sweetened the deal with a rumored $50 million dollars.

As most successful capitalists would do, he followed the money.

“I maintain the strong conviction that if I were to run, I would be able to win the primary and ultimately, the general election,” said Trump during his announcement. “Ultimately, however, business is my greatest passion, and I am not ready to leave the private sector.”

Crisis diverted. And by crisis, we mean one more minute of being forced to listen to Trump blather on about birth certificates and transcripts, while his hair struggled to hold on to his scalp for dear life.

See Trump do what he does best below:

As previously reported by NewsOne, Trump spent the lion’s share of his run for office (read: self-promotional tour) dredging up his contribution to American politics, “The Birther Theory.” Refusing to give up the lunacy that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States, he continuously harassed the POTUS to release his birth certificate; and when that wasn’t enough, he asked to see his college applications and transcripts.

It became such an embarrassing obsession, that continued long after he was out of the race, that his children allegedly met with him in his 5th Avenue office to implore him to stop making a fool of himself, subsequently risking his legacy and their future.

As for the rest of the country, some of us don’t really care if he makes a fool of himself, just as long as he doesn’t do it from the Oval Office.

So, thank you, NBC, for ending the freak show. “Celebrity Apprentice” is as much Donald Trump reality that this nation can stand.

SEE ALSO: 10 Crazy GOP Meltdowns After Obama’s Re-Election