COMMENTARY | In reading the Drudge Report this morning, there was some confusion as to who Trump would endorse. Many sources said that Trump wound endorse Newt Gingrich. But Matt Drudge had his own sources and knew that Trump was to endorse Romney. The Associated Press confirmed this later in the day. What does this mean for the candidates in this ever-changing race? It will be a boost in the short term to Romney as the endorsement occurred in Las Vegas, Nevada, where the next caucus will be this Saturday.
As a serious Republican voter, I was disgusted how Trump paraded himself into the race. He threatened to jump in the race for President himself as a Republican while last year’s “Celebrity Apprentice” was on NBC. Then he continued his threat to run as a third party candidate while many of the Republican candidates, including Gingrich and Romney, courted Trump in New York for his endorsement. I was pleased that my candidate, Ron Paul, did not join this media circus to court Trump’s endorsement.
Newt Gingrich has a little egg on his face. His campaign was so confident Trump was to endorse him that they told news outlets last night that it would happen. Did Trump change his mind or did Newt have bad information? This setback just makes Gingrich’s week even worse after he was routed by Romney in the Florida primary Tuesday night. He needs something positive in the news cycle to turn things around quickly.
Trump had been very lukewarm about Romney and his chances prior to today. Trump explained this fact away by saying he knows Romney better after meeting with him several times over the last few months. The endorsement may good for Romney in the long term in that it makes him seem even more as the inevitable nominee of the party. I think Trump, like many Republican voters, do not want the real change that Ron Paul will provide or don’t like his non-interventionist foreign policy. Trump concluded that Romney is the lesser of two evils between him and Gingrich. It will be interesting to see how involved Trump will thrust himself into the Romney campaign. If Romney is elected, I do not see any cabinet position for the Donald, however.