long time to produce the certificate and when it came out as you know check out the internet many people say it is not real. okay? that it's a forgery. >> and the republican candidates. donald trump for the hour. this is "piers morgan tonight." donald, thank you for inviting me in your -- this is almost the lair of the 1% of the 1%. >> thank you for being here. >> what do you think about this whole occupy wall street thing? you, i guess, are in the target range. you're the prime example of capitalist success in america. what do you make of them? do you think they have justification for the anger? >> i think some are very serious people. i think some are down there for dating purposes and i have said, you know, they're down looking for girls, looking for women, looking for men. they're looking for anything. some are very serious people and they should be serious because the economy's terrible. i personally think wall street isn't their target. i think their target is the white house and certainly washington. but they are some very serious people and it was interesting. somebody called me before from cnn, actually, and they want me to do -- i have a big building right there. 40 wall street. it's actually the tallest building in downtown manhattan and unfortunately because it used to be the world trade center but it's now the world's tallest in downtown and they want me to do an interview with representatives from the group occupy wall street. >> how do you feel about that? >> i sort of think it's cool. there's something i like about it. i might do it. >> michael moore on my show tuesday night in a live kind of town hall thing with an audience. >> right. i saw that show. >> right. he asked a view. i said, come on, the public, wall street, collectively, all financial institutions, the government. the white house. and he said, it's 100% wall street. >> well, i disagree with that. i sat next to michael years ago. i really like him. i went with him and i said whoa-whoa is that the same guy? we all do our thing in life. right? i disagree with that. a lot has to do with politics, the president and bad decisions that have been made. and we'll see what happens but it's a mess. and i'm not sure that, you know, they have been there a long time and perhaps they shouldn't be allowed to stay that long. a lot of decisions have to be made because it's getting bigger and bigger and businesses are very much affected in downtown manhattan around the wall street area. >> and other cities now. oakland is been a lot of unrest in the last couple of days. how much do you blame the ordinary man and woman on an average american street? in other words, how much is personal responsibility got to come in to play when it comes to finances? >> well, you always say that but they were duped in to doing mortgages. i used to give speeches of success. they'd ask me about success and they pay more a lot of money. i give a lot of money to charity and i felt guilty when i don't take it and i'd say four or five years ago i would say don't go for these -- i used to call them exploding mortgages. that's what they were. they were exploding mortgages. i was right and so many letters of of people thanking me because they didn't do it. they didn't do the exploding mortgage. 150% of what they're asking for. you move in to a beautiful house. but like you can't afford and you don't have to pay interest the first year. don't worry about it. you have to blame everybody but you have to blame government. you have to blame wall street. you have to blame the bankers in particular and i think today the bankers are a big problem because they're not loaning money. you know, they did get bailed out. >> not only not loaning money but my anger to the bankers is that they seemed to have learned nothing about how to behave in this crisis. in the sense that having been responsible certainly partly responsible for bringing the country to the financial knees, they get bailed out by the taxpayer. the first thing many of them have done is to stick the noses back in the bonus trough and give themselves millions of dollars again. they don't seem to get it. you work with these guys day in, day out. what do you think of that, in particular? >> some of the banks are asking fees to keep your money. all of a sudden, you know, we are getting fees for keeping money so i don't like that. i don't like a lot of things that bankers have done. when you talk about the occupy wall street protesters, i mean, they do have some points. and i'm -- >> which are the points that you -- >> i'm a conservative guy, a republican guy. >> that you agree. >> the biggest problem i have with what's happening with the system is the banks, unless youl're somebody like me, if i want to borrow money, i can borrow all the money i want at the lowest rates i have ever seen. that's because i don't need it. if you need money or want a house in phoenix, arizona, you didn't get. they'll get a 25% loan. a 30% loan and tied up like a sardine. >> they have the money, right? >> they have the money. they're not using it. >> what's the way to unlock this? you're one of the smartest business people i know. how do you get through to apparently immovable wall now where the banks have the money but don't want to lend it and the economy is trapped in hell? >> part of the problem that the banks have in all fairness, piers, i'm not a huge fan of the banks. i see what's happening. i sell apartments to people and tell me i can't get financing, mr. trump. you have to get the financing or pay me cash. they can't pay cash, most people. there are a lot of different problems with the banks but one of the things is regulations. the regulators are making it so tough on people. i called a banks and they said the problem we have is the regulators are literally watching every line of every statement and if we loan this guy money to build a building or if we loan this one, you know, unless he putts up like 60% or 70% equity, that's not even a loan, he said we can't give him the one and tell me the regulators are literally oning the banks. the banks are afraid and rainy lel know even afraid. in some cases they can't make the deal so i don't know what the reason is. i think that's a big part of the reason but i can tell you this. the banks have money. they're not loaning it and especially to people that want to buy houses. >> is there more that barack obama can do as president to unlock this, to move the paralysis? >> you have to get the banks do their thing. you have to tell the regulators, look, some of the deals will be bad but they have to do their thing. not everything's going to be an aaa person with a perfect rating and much more money. you know, if you have a lot of money, they'll give you all the money you want. if you don't have that much money, they're not loaning, so i think if i were president obama, i'd say, fellows, you have to ease up a little bit because they're not loaning the money to people to buy houses. now, i tell this to people, friends of mine and young people and this is a great time to buy a house but not from you or me. this is a great time to buy a house from a bank and you can get the money because they own the house. they have no choice. they have to get rid of it because these houses are being vandalized. people don't realize. first of all, the group leaves and they hate the bank because they're forced out. so they vandalize the house and then everybody else gets in to the picture. the banks desperate to sell houses. they're not desperate to loan money. but when they already have the house they'll give you a purchase money mortgage and take back financing. this is a great time to buy houses but only from banks. >> did you agree with the bailing out of the banks after lehman brothers collapsed? >> i'll tell you this. look. i'm a very conservative person and i'm a republican but i watched banks that were the strongest banks in the nation and i'm friendly with many of the heads of those banks and those people were scared. they thought it was over. and i'm talking about goldman sachs, the biggest banks. these people thought it was over. there was going to be a run on every institution. you can have the strongest bank in the world but if there's a run on the bank it is not strong because the numbers, you know, it is just so very simple leverage. >> what would have happened? if -- >> you don't know. >> how bad would it have been? they deserve to have a run on them is the counter argument. >> you don't know how bad it would have been. i think it would have been very, very bad. now, there are certain industries when you talk about banks, you're talking about the entire financial system. could have collapsed. when you talk about loaning money to, you know, make solar panels, where it makes no sense or loaning money to make cars in finland, or loaning money or not even loaning money, giving money to china, hundreds of millions of dollas a year to china when they're, in fact, so rich and making -- they're making trillions. we are losing trillions. that's a whole different thing. as far as the banks are concerned, you're talking about the financial system of this country, piers. i'll tell you what. i was there and i watched big, powerful bankers, arrogant guys, guys that were hot stuff, guys that thought they'd go in to a restaurant, they were the kings. and i watched them and they were like weak, poor, pathetic men. they really thought it was over. so, and they're smart. so, when you say, did they do the right thing? and i know it's not popular. in some circles. i think you probably had to do it. >> the argument from someone would be, look, we were in the situation we were in. it was important we didn't go under. yes, we got bailed out and paid it back. the taxpayer doesn't suffer. not an argument that resonates with the occupy wall street. what do you say that to? >> they didn't really -- when you think of it, they got cheap money and they paid it back. but they're not loaning it out now and don't forget there was an argument that you save the banks and take over the banks. in other words, yes, give money to goldman sachs but we own it. >> should the government have done that? >> that was the other argument. >> then they -- >> i argued this. >> could be ordering them to release the money. >> i ordered that. frankly, you could have -- no. you sell it as soon as things get normal but shareholders came out rather well with the bailout. now, usually when something bad happens the shareholders are wiped out. not necessarily the bondholders but the shareholders wiped out. so there was a question of period of time and thinking about it that if we're going to give bank of america, you know, billions and billions of dollars and citi but almost all of the banks, congratulations. we own the bank. we own the bank. 100%. we're going to run the bank with the same people or different people but we'll run the bank and when times get better we're going to make a lot of money and sell the bank at a tremendous profit. so, they did a very, very tny version of that. the case could have been made that you do that. >> let's take a little break and then talk to you about the republican debates, republican candidates, the tax plans they're putting up there. what do you think of all of your friends in the gop? >> okay. when you have diabetes... your doctor will say get smart about your weight. i tried weight loss plans... but their shakes aren't always made for people with diabetes. that's why there's new glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. and they have 6 grams of sugars. with 15 grams of protein to help manage hunger... look who's getting smart about her weight. [ male announcer ] new glucerna hunger smart. a smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes. [ male announcer ] new glucerna hunger smart. montgomery and abigail higgins had... ...a tree that bore the most rare and magical fruit. which provided for their every financial need. and then, in one blinding blink of an eye, their tree had given its last. but with their raymond james financial advisor, they had prepared for even the unthinkable. and they danced. see what a raymond james advisor can do for you. with new extra-strength bayer advanced aspirin. it has microparticles, enters the bloodstream faster and rushes relief to the site of pain. it's clinically proven to relieve pain twice as fast. new bayer advanced aspirin. better deposit that before you get hurt! [ echoing ] hurt! hey, wha-- [ camera clicks ] oh, state farm bank's pocket agent. it lets you deposit checks right from your phone. you just shoot, send, done! boom. give it up! [ male announcer ] another reason more people stay with state farm. get to a better state. so if i didn't know better i'd say you're having some sort of big tire sale. yes we are. yeah. how many tires does ford buy every year? over 3 million. you say you can beat any advertised price on tires? correct. anywhere? yes. like this price? yes. riously? yes what about this one? i'll beat it. this one? s we will. right, i only have one more question for you...this one? (laughing) yeah. get $100 rebate when you buy four tires. 100 bucks! only at your ford dealer. 3 million tires. 11 major brands, fiona's kind-of-nice. i don't know why you're not here. [♪...] >> announcer: now get a $250 airfare credit, plus save up to 65%. call 1-800-sandals. certain restrictions apply. mr. trump is the type of person that if he wants to endorse you he doesn't have to ask you. he's waiting for the field to narrow down a little bit more before he decides whether or not he wants to put his endorsement on any particular candidate. we didn't get in to that. >> donald, let's talk about politics and in particular the gop. you've become whether you wanted to or to the godfather of the gop. they're rinning up here for your advice, blessing, opinions. why is that? why are you a talisman for them and what are you making of the republican race at the moment? >> well, i think first of all they have some very good people running and i've become friendly with some of them but i don't think they want so much me but my ideas, what i represent because i represent a large group of people, many millions of people, that feel that this country is certainly not what it used to be which is an understatement. but because they look at what's going on with china, with opec, with india, with mexico, with so many -- with everybody. the entire world is ripping off the united states. we don't make good deals anymore. it used to be years ago we'd never make a bad deal. we were smarter, tougher, better. we had all the cards. and now, we never make a good deal. >> how much of this -- i'm going to back to this later the foreign aspect of this but how much is done to america being weak? >> we are weak. we're pathetic and stems from leadership. it's very simple. >> how many leaders? how far do you go back? >> look. i was never a big fan and proud of you and the job you did and thank you celebrity apprentice and donald trump. the truth is you have done a good job and you know me. i have never a fan of george bush. >> i remember you telling me once he put back america 50 years. >> well, he put it back a long way so i was never a fan but we have taken it to a whole new level with obama. obama could have straightened it out. now it's gotten so bad it's not just deficits. we're not respected beforement we're at a level we never have been at before. >> americans feel strangely vulnerable. they're not used to this. when you eve been the superpower for my entire lifetime and now the emerging superpowers to compete with you and successfully. >> we created those superpowers. we created our competition. so-called free trade that was really unfair trade. china makes $350 billion on us this year and laughing at us. they're building george washington bridges but much bigger. >> why has america stopped doing that kind of thing? >> well, the environmental approvals are impossible. >> bureaucracy is crazy here, right? >> unbelievable. i mean, if you want to build a bridge today, i have had many islands to buy like near new york, near manhattan. and i say, how long would it take to get a bridge built? they say maybe 20 years and not sure we can get it. 20 years. in china, they build a bridge. you know what it's called? build a bridge. they start working. >> why can't the bureaucracy be eliminated? >> it can't be eliminated but can be made quicker, better and more efficient. it's getting much worse. the epa is really, really tough. i know the head of the epa. she used to be in new jersey and i really like her. terrific. but you know what? it's gotten so bad. i have friends they want to do things, piers. they can't think of it. >> which of all the republican candidates at the moment do you think has it in him to get america out of the? >> i have to start off saying i think any of them are better than what we have now. we really have got a chief campaigner. you look at obama. and i don't know him. i never met him. and i think he's truly a nice guy and looks to me like a nice guy but all he does is campaign. he should be sitting behind his desk making sure that china stops with the rips. that all of these other countries, that opec -- i mean, every time, every time i see on your show or any other show that the economy's getting better, i say, watch what happens with oil prices. next day oil prices up $3 a barrel and then all of a sudden the economy comes back. oil is such a power. bigger power than interest rates in a way. >> clearly america will have a choice within a year now of which way to go with their president and they're going to need the republican party, a candidate. the interesting thing about the race is that mitt romney has barely put a foot wrong but he's kind of flat lined around the 25% mark in all the polls. can't seem to make the jump to being the outright front-runner and seeing lots of people -- >> amazing. >> rick perry and herman cain coming along. the guy that most people think is probably the best option can't get the right kind of traction. >> well, look. i've gotten to know mitt romney very well and very impressed by him. i think he's a terrific guy and much different guy in person than what you watch on television although i have to say even watching on television he was great in the debates. so, i think he does come along. i think he's doing fine but you're right. you know, why isn't he at 60% instead of 23%. >> why is it do you think? >> nobody knows. who, why. >> is he not sexy enough? >> he's a very handsome guy. he's got the look. he's got the brains. >> is he a bit dull? >> i don't think so. i have to tell you, i have gotten to know him well and i don't think so at all but for some reason it's not resonating yet and the word yet is important. 90% of the people, believe it or not. i saw this poll this morning on your station, on your channel, 90% of the people didn't make up their mind yet. shocking to me. they haven't really definitively made up their mine. he'll do well and do well if he ended up winning. i met with her maine cain. >> what do you think of him? verycharismatic. seems to be weak on what he thinks about stuff. >> you know what? you also get people. okay? you get people. i get you for certain things. i get somebody else. i mean, one of the problem that is we have with our leader currently is that if you look at our trade negotiators, i know the top 25 killers in -- let's say wall street. i mean, i don't like to use the term because wall street is a -- >> financial business. >> i know the wall street -- i know the killers of the world. they're better than -- we have the greatest business people in the world. nobody close. and i take one, i say, guess what. congratulations you handle china. come o