US businessman and reality television personality Donald Trump has endorsed Mitt Romney in the race for the 2012 Republican nomination just a day after US media reported he would be endorsing Newt Gingrich.
Mr Trump, himself an on-again/off-again candidate for president and former Republican, announced his support for Romney in Las Vegas this evening.
Mr Trump told reporters he got to know the former Massachusetts governor during several recent conversations and was impressed with his tough talk on China and said he was won over by Mitt Romney's strong performance campaigning in Florida."I was very impressed by the last two debates," he said.
Mr Trump, who announced he was leaving the party two months ago, seems an unlikely choice for Republican kingmaker. But the casino owner and reality television star is popular in Nevada, and from the Romney team's perspective it is better to have him with them than against them.
Nevada's caucuses on Saturday are the next contest in the state-by-state process of choosing a Republican nominee. Mr Romney has won two of the first four contests, taking primaries in New Hampshire and Florida by healthy margins.
Former House of Representatives speaker Newt Gingrich won South Carolina's primary, and former US senator Rick Santorum won Iowa's caucuses by a narrow margin over Mr Romney.
Mr Romney seemed to snatch Donald Trump's backing from his main rival, Mr Gingrich. US media had reported late yesterday that Mr Trump would support the former House speaker, whose presidential campaign has been struggling since his upset victory over Mr Romney in South Carolina on Jan. 21st.
But Mr Trump's support could backfire on Mr Romney, a day after the wealthy former private equity executive gave a clumsy reminder of the challenges he faces winning over voters hit by the economic downturn and convincing them he can relate to their problems.
"I'm not concerned about the very poor, we have a safety net there," Mr Romney said yesterday on CNN, adding, "If it needs repair, I'll fix it."
Donald Trump, who cultivates an aura of glitz and glamour, estimated last year that his personal net worth could be as high as $7 billion. He was derided as he considerd entering the 2012 presidential race last year for pushing a discredited charge that Mr Obama was not born in the United States.
"This signifies a further consolidation of the Republican base," Republican strategist Ford O'Connell said. "But, given Romney's comments yesterday, I could see (Obama's campaign) would like to tie this as a way to portray Mitt Romney as someone who is not in touch with the plight of the average American."
The Democratic National Committee quickly seized the opportunity to release a video titled, "Mitt Romney and Donald Trump: They both like firing People," referring to the tagline of Trump's TV reality show and an earlier Romney gaffe, "I like being able to fire people."
A Fox News poll in January suggested support from Mr Trump could do a candidate more harm than good. Only 10 per cent of those surveyed said Mr Trump's support would make them more likely to vote for a candidate.
Twenty-seven per cent said his endorsement would make them less likely to vote for a candidate, and the rest said it would make no difference.
Mr Gingrich hit Romney for his comments, but also criticised Mr Obama. "I really believe that we should care about the very poor, unlike governor Romney. But I believe we should care differently from president Obama," he said while campaigning at a Las Vegas manufacturing plant.
"What the poor need is a trampoline so they can spring up. I'm for replacing the safety net with a trampoline."
Mr Trump announced he was leaving the party after most of the Republican White House hopefuls declined to participate in a debate he wanted to host on Dec. 27th. He has flirted with mounting his own candidacy, possibly as a third-party candidate, but now says he does not plan to run.
Polls show Newt Gingrich trailing far behind Mr Romney in Nevada, a state Romney won easily during the 2008 campaign, thanks largely to strong support from a large community of his fellow Mormons.
Mr Romney has also made the case that his business experience makes him the best candidate to fix the struggling US economy, a message that would resonate in Nevada, which has the nation's highest unemployment and home foreclosure rates.