Donald Trump said no to an offer by the Republican National Committee to deliver a speech in primetime at the upcoming Republican National Convention. However, insiders say that the billionaire real estate magnate is expected to deliver a huge surprise at the Tampa, Florida convention, which starts August 27.

Trump will be in Florida at the same time as the convention. On August 26, he is scheduled to receive his Statesman of the Year award given to him by the Sarasota County, Florida Republican Party. He plans to then stay in Florida for the convention that starts the following day.

Trump was asked to give a major speech at the convention, but told the Mitt Romney campaign that he preferred his role as an independent voice, believing he could help the Romney campaign in different ways. Insiders said that the Romney campaign has already suggested toTrump how they want his involvement to be at the Tampa convention, nevertheless it is being kept secret from the media.

Trump is the host of the hit show Celebrity Apprentice on NBC and is said to be considering an offer to join ABC and Barbara Walters in her election night live coverage in November.

Trump’s representatives have told the Romney campaign that although he fully supports Romney’s bid for the presidency, he is unable to spend the entire week at the convention because of his global business responsibilities.

His business pursuits are what kept him from making a run for the presidency. He jumped into the lead of a presumed list of candidates last year when he mentioned that at one time he was considering a run for the nomination.