A New Hampshire man believes he may have given Donald Trump the idea to run for president nearly three decades ago.
In 1987, Mike Dunbar, of Portsmouth, started a "Draft Trump for President" movement and arranged for the then-41-year-old businessman to speak at his Rotary luncheon.
"I saw in 1987 a man of action, a man who gets things done," Dunbar said. "I planted a seed and that seed grew and it's now become a tree and it's borne fruit."
Trump arrived that October day by helicopter and delivered his speech to the rotary club. Dunbar said it was very similar to Trump's inauguration address.
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"I believed he had what it took. He does have what it takes. He's now President Trump," Dunbar said.
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Dunbar, a chair maker by trade, went on to win a city council seat himself. But he says his biggest political win is giving Trump a start.
"History pivoted, history turned and I was there and I created the pivot around which it turned," he said.
Trump gave Dunbar a signed book, and they exchanged letters for several years — in one, Trump said he hadn't forgotten Dunbar's friendship.
Now retired, he said he plans to write a book on the experience with Trump in 1987.
