CAMPAIGN 2012

Source: Trump to Endorse Romney in GOP Primary

Updated: February 2, 2012 | 1:29 p.m.
February 2, 2012 | 11:10 a.m.

Donald Trump (Chet Susslin)

Real-estate mogul Donald Trump is expected to endorse Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination for president on Thursday afternoon in Las Vegas, a source who spoke to Trump confirmed to National Journal.

Trump is holding a 12:30 PST event at his Trump International Hotel. Speculation about a possible Trump endorsement mounted on Wednesday night after the business mogul-turned-reality TV star said in an e-mail that he would hold a press conference about a topic “[pertaining] to the presidential race.”

Romney is heavily favored to win the state's Republican caucuses on Saturday.

“We’ll see tomorrow, have some fun,” the business mogul-turned-reality TV star told CBS News/National Journal when asked on Wednesday if he planned to make an endorsement at the Thursday event.

There have been wildly conflicting reports out of the campaigns, with some reporters told that Trump would endorse former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and others told he would back Romney.

Trump himself flirted with the idea of a presidential bid last spring but chose instead to continue with his reality show, The Apprentice. In December, he announced he would moderate a GOP debate several days after Christmas, but the debate fell through when Gingrich was the only candidate to agree to it.

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