Report: Trump to Endorse….Romney

Donald Trump will endorse Mitt Romney for president in Las Vegas Thursday, FOX News Channel confirmed, less than 24 hours after media reports indicated he would endorse his chief rival, Newt Gingrich.

Three sources from within the Romney campaign told FOX that the real estate magnate will throw his support behind the former Massachusetts governor in an announcement expected at 3:15 ET at the Trump International Hotel in Sin City.

A Trump adviser had circulated a memo Wednesday night, saying that the real estate magnate would make “a major announcement” pertaining to the presidential race.

Several news organizations reported later that evening that Trump — who toyed with the idea of a White House bid himself — would endorse Gingrich. The mix-up was apparently caused by the Gingrich campaign, which started telling reporters that the former House speaker would get Trump’s backing Wednesday.

But Gingrich himself had told reporters he did not know what Trump was planning to announce and that he had not had any contact with the reality TV star since a meeting in New York a few weeks ago, according to The Los Angeles Times.

“I have no idea what The Donald is going to do,” Gingrich said while campaigning in Reno on Wednesday ahead of the Feb. 4 caucuses in Nevada. “He is always interesting, and I don’t know of anybody who does a better job of getting attention by announcing that he will presently announce something.”

Trump’s announcement marks his latest intrusion into the 2012 Republican nomination after he flirted with the idea of a candidacy last year and even enjoyed a brief pop in the polls.

The 65-year-old developer first gained serious attention last March as he questioned President Barack Obama’s birth certificate in an aggressive series of public appearances. The “Celebrity Apprentice” host also offered harsh words for China and suggested that the US should seize Iraq’s oil fields to pay for its military presence.

It was unclear what effect Trump’s endorsement would have on the Republican primary race.

A FOX News poll in January found that 13 percent of Republican voters would be more likely to vote for a Trump-endorsed candidate and 15 percent less likely while 72 percent said it would make no difference.

Others questioned the timing of the endorsement, coming just one day after Romney made a verbal gaffe by saying he was not concerned about the “very poor.”

The remark — which Romney made as part of a larger point about his economic focus on the middle class — nevertheless opened Romney up to accusations that his wealth has made him out of touch with many Americans.

“Why does Romney need the narrative that another super rich guy is endorsing him?” Las Vegas Sun columnist, and dean of the Nevada press corps, Jon Ralston wondered Thursday. “I find the strategy by Romney unfathomable unless he’s just trying to change the subject from the ‘very poor’ comments that got him in trouble.”

Rick Tyler, who heads up Gingrich’s super PAC, “Winning our Future,” was quick to weigh in.

“Looks like Mitt has another ‘out of touch’ endorsement. Maybe he can speak for Mitt about his concern for the very poor,” he wrote on Twitter.

An unnamed Romney adviser told Politico that the Trump endorsement was a “defensive move,” made to prevent Gingrich from securing his backing and gaining a lift in the polls. The adviser also said that trump retained a loyal following among many conservatives.

Reacting to the news, Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz was quick to make a joke at Romney’s expense.

“It really wouldn’t be surprising if Donald Trump endorsed Mitt Romney because they both like firing people and they both made millions doing it,” she said in a television interview.

{New York Post/Matzav.com Newscenter}