Exactly this. He didn't disappear from the spotlight, ever. That's what spineless cowards do, like Romney between 2008 - 2012. Never seen him ever, then all of a sudden he's nominated and appears before the media like he's qualified to represent everyone.

Trump was on all day long, tackling every controversial issue. I remember he was on doing an interview for the Terri Schiavo controversy, and was outspoken about her right to live and not be starved to death for two weeks that they called euthanasia. This was LONG before he was ever thinking about running. He risked his reputation and public image for that, while most men would never comment on such a thing.