Donald Trump flirted with running for president twice before, in 1988 and again in 2000.
So it's not shocking, now that Trump has officially ended his unofficial campaign for the job of leader of the free world, that some are saying this latest tease is a massive PR stunt that massively backfired in his face.
At the beginning, Trump surprised the other Republican contenders with a media blitz and a surprisingly strong showing in the polls. He vaulted to the top of the rankings, holding his own with frontrunners like Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee, both of whom ran in 2008.
Now, average citizens probably think of endless TV ads when you say "presidential campaign." That advertising blitz marks the end -- not the beginning -- of the presidential race.
The beginning is played out entirely in the mass media. It's a public relations war until late in the game.
Trump knows this game. He's a publicity pro with decades of experience with the New York press. He's no stranger to PR stunts. And while he'd never held elected office, he did have the advantage of nationwide name recognition, something most of his more qualified political opponents lacked.
It's also true that many candidates for president benefit from simply being candidates, declared or undeclared. Mike Huckabee got a TV show on FOX by being a candidate in 2008 and continuing to hint at running again. Sarah Palin's books and TV ratings would skydive if she announced she wasn't running in 2012 after all.
Running for president, even as the longest of long shots, gives you a national stage. The New York Times will write about you. CNN will have you on the air.
National networks will televise every debate you participate in, even if it's just you, Herman Cain and some ex-governor nobody's heard of, doing a forum sponsored by the Fairfax Valley Republican Women's Club.
For a while, it looked like Trump was a serious threat. He was getting traction with the right-wing base by embracing the birther movement, which questioned whether President Barack Obama was actually born in the United States.
Trump went after China, breaking presidential campaign etiquette by using the F word in a speech when referring to China's trade practices. He gave interview after interview. He happily plugged his TV show, Celebrity Apprentice, and said the ratings had never been higher.
The Donald got a softball interview on Oprah featuring his new wife and his kids.
Then he went from soaring in the stratosphere to crashing down to earth.
The cartoon Doonesbury went on a daily and prolonged Trump assault, making fun of his complicated hair (triple-combover?), his embrace of the birther movement and his lack of substance on issues of policy.
Reporters started asking tough questions about whether Trump was actually a billionaire, as he claimed. They asked him on live TV why he bashed China while selling clothing and souvenirs made in China at his Trump gift shops.
Obama produced his long-form birth certificate, putting a stake through the heart of birthers.
Trump was humorless and dour during the White House Correspondents Dinner, where he was a frequent target of jokes that only got repeated on late-night shows and Comedy Central.
Then Obama gave a rare Sunday night speech to the nation, pre-empting Trump's TV show, to announce that Navy SEALs had found Osama Bin Laden and shot him dead.
Trump plummeted in the polls. He became a Democratic dream opponent and a GOP nightmare. What if his name recognition and money made him the actual nominee? The Republicans would get pasted.
In the end, this head-fake at running for presidency was a PR stunt that backfired.
Today, Trump's negatives are way up. What isn't up are the ratings for Celebrity Apprentice.
Now that the national media has started to dig into his business dealings and his past, the damage done to the Trump brand may only get worse.
Reporters love a good story, and Trump is a press magnet. The thing is, press magnets don't just attract good stories. They attract bad ones, too.