Video: US election 2012: Donald Trump endorses Mitt Romney
Donald Trump endorses U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's candidacy for president
Multimedia
Video
Romney triumphs in Florida primary
Republican hopeful Mitt Romney wins a landslide victory in Florida, turning round his campaign to position himself as the strongest contender for presidential nomination.
He was lambasted last month for saying that he liked "being able to fire people". But Mitt Romney won an endorsement from the man who has made his name doing just that – Donald Trump.
Mr Trump, the property tycoon best known for firing contestants on the US version of The Apprentice, endorsed the Republican presidential front-runner at a rally in Las Vegas.
Having declared last year that Mr Romney was "going to lose" the party's nomination contest because "he doesn't resonate", the man with the world's most infamous comb-over changed his mind.
"It is my honour, real honour and privilege to endorse Mitt Romney,” Mr Trump said. “Mitt is tough, he’s smart and he’s strong. he’s not going to let bad things to continue to happen to this country we love".
Mr Romney thanked the tycoon for his backing. “There are some things you just can’t imagine in your life,” he said. “This is one of them".
Earlier in the day he told his near-million Twitter followers:
"I will be making a major announcement today at 12:30 pm PST at Trump International Hotel & Tower, Las Vegas"
Two hours before his expected announcement in Nevada, he confirmed the endorsement, saying he made the decision after getting to know Mr Romney after meeting with him several times in the past few months.
He also cited Mr Romney's strong debate performances as well as his tough stance on China as reasons for the endorsement.
However the 65-year-old mogul, who enjoyed widespread publicity last year by claiming that he was considering running for the party's presidential nomination himself, found time for one last stunt.
Late on Wednesday night, aides to Newt Gingrich, Mr Romney's main rival, said that Mr Trump would in fact be endorsing their man. It is understood that Mr Gingrich told them this himself.
The tycoon was said to have "sent signals" to the former House Speaker that he would indeed be throwing his weight behind his embattled campaign, which suffered a heavy loss in Florida this week.
Asked to confirm the endorsement, Mr Gingrich would say only: "I don't know of anybody who does a better job of getting attention by announcing that he will presently announce something."
This turned out to be truer than Mr Gingrich appeared to know. Hours later, aides to Mr Romney began briefing that the backing of the man who likes to be called "The Donald" was actually theirs.
The decision came two months after Mr Romney torpedoed an attempt by Mr Trump to play an influential role in the Iowa Caucus by declining to attend a televised debate the tycoon tried to convene.
Speaking in Nevada on Thursday, Mr Gingrich tried to shrug off the snub, telling supporters: "I like hiring people," and attacking Mr Romney's remark this week that he was "not concerned with the very poor".
"I believe we should care about the very poor, unlike Governor Romney," Mr Gingrich said.
He earlier accused his rival of "dividing Americans against each other" through his comments.
"My goal is to find steps for every American to have a job, every American to work, every American to be able to buy a house," Mr Gingrich told supporters.
It is unclear whether Mr Trump's endorsement will help Mr Romney bring in new supporters. Polls last year indicated that about half of Republican voters viewed him favourably and half unfavourably.
His resurrection of a conspiracy theory that Mr Obama was born in Africa – which eventually pushed the president to release a copy of his full birth certificate – alienated many moderate voters.
However, it will be useful for him to ensure Mr Trump will not run as an independent candidate, a scenario that would probably aid Mr Obama by taking votes from the eventual Republican nominee.
The tycoon was flirting with the prospect as recently as last weekend. "I hope I don't have to, but I may absolutely," he said.
Gary Howard, a spokesman to Ron Paul, the Texas congressman and fellow presidential candidate, summed up the reaction of many to the news. "Please explain to us why anyone would care," he said.
- Jon Swaine
