Donald Trump made his endorsement this afternoon at a hotel in Las Vegas at 3:30 PM, despite earlier reports that he would endorse Newt Gingrich.
Earlier reported:
First reported by KLAS-TV in Las Vegas, other news organizations have picked up the announcement that Donald Trump will endorse Newt Gingrich for president today, however, shortly after 2:30 ET today, Rush Limbaugh announced he had a phone call from Trump who confirmed he will endorse Mitt Romney.
Trump, known for his Real Estate deals, casinos, hotels, and reality show, and the man who last year made his own brief bid for the White House, has announced his support for Mitt Romney contrary to previous reports. The candidates, including Gingrich, are all in Nevada campaigning in these last few days before Nevada’s Republican caucuses on Saturday. Gingrich is in Las Vegas, spending time on the trail to connect with voters and hoping for a better result than his Florida showing where Romney claimed a victory with 46.4 percent of the vote and Gingrich came in a distant second with 31.9 percent.
As of January 31, Gallup has Romney at 31 percent with Gingrich not far behind at 26 percent. Santorum comes in third with 16 percent, and Paul has 11 percent of the vote. The numbers presented by the Las Vegas Review-Journal Poll, as reported by Real Clear Politics still give Romney the win but with a much larger lead. That poll says Romney has 45 percent of the vote and Gingrich has 25 percent. Santorum has 11 percent and Paul brings up the rear with only 9 percent.
Yesterday, Gingrich was in Reno, Nevada and when asked about Trump’s possible upcoming endorsement, Gingrich said he had “no idea what the Donald is going to do.” Then he added, “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.”
This past weekend, Trump appeared on CBS’ Face The Nation. In that interview, Trump applauded Gingrich by saying, “He’s got great ideas. He’s very smart, he’s very tough and he is a great debater.”
Despite the Donald's praise for Gingrigh, he has thrown his support to Romney. "I really think he could do a great job," Trump told reporters at his hotel in Las Vegas ahead of an appearance there with Romney. "I love his stance on China. He's somebody that really understands that China is ripping us off." What this endorsement will do for Romney is anybody’s guess. Trump tends to polarize people and this may cause a mixed bag of reactions on the part of voters.
Image source of Donald Trump: Wikipedia
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