Trump aide Michael Cohen said "The Donald" officially made the switch "in order to preserve his right to run for president as an independent if he's not satisfied with who the Republicans nominate." 

According to Cohen, Trump said Republicans were partly to blame for his party switch. Cohen said Trump was particularly disgusted with how the GOP handled the payroll tax cut extension issue.  

Politico reported that because Trump missed the registration deadline, his new party affiliation won't take effect until after the November 2012 election and he will still be able to vote in New York's GOP primary. 

Trump recently pulled out of a Republican presidential debate he was supposed to moderate, saying he hadn't ruled out a third-party presidential bid himself. He also previously flirted with running for president as a Republican last Spring, but decided against it because he did not want to give up his reality television show "The Apprentice." 

The real estate mogul has actually switched political affiliations before. Trump was originally a Democrat before he became a Republican. As Politico pointed out, Trump's Democrat-turned-Republican-turned Independent mirrors the same political party route as current New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.