LAS VEGAS – Newt Gingrich's presidential campaign needed some good news Thursday and got none as the former Georgia congressman sought to rebound from a stinging defeat in Florida and to gain traction against a surging Mitt Romney.
A new poll showed Romney with a 20-point lead over Gingrich in the Silver State, a state the former Massachusetts governor won convincingly in the 2008 presidential primary.
Then real estate mogul and reality TV start Donald Trump endorsed Romney Thursday after Gingrich campaign sources told news reporters the billionaire was going to support the former House speaker instead.
Some of the former House speaker’s campaign troubles were self-inflicted. His campaign abruptly canceled a meeting it had scheduled with Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval Wednesday. A Nevada campaign aide called the cancellation a miscommunication.
But Gingrich appeared undaunted -- even feisty. His spokesman confirmed the campaign was preparing to challenge Florida’s decision to grant all of its 50 delegates to Romney, saying Gingrich should get an amount proportional to the votes he got there.
Gingrich also took a shot at Romney for recently saying he was "not concerned about the very poor" because they have an "ample safety net." Romney sought to clarify his comments this week, saying he was focused on helping the middle class but would work to patch any holes in the safety net for the poor.
"I really believe that we should care about the very poor, unlike Gov. Romney," Gingrich told hundreds of cheering supporters at a forklift manufacturing plant here. "But I believe we should care differently than President Obama. Both Gov. Romney and Barack Obama sincerely believe a 'safety net' is all the poor need. I don't believe that. What the poor need is a trampoline so they can spring up."
A few hours later, Trump -- who once considered running for president and then offered to moderate a debate for the candidates – stood side by side with Romney and his wife at the Trump International Hotel Last Vegas.
"Mitt is tough. He is smart. He is sharp. He is not going to allow bad things to continue to happen to this country," Trump said. "So, Gov. Romney, go out and get them. You can do it."
Romney welcomed the endorsement while expressing surprise.
“There are some things that you just can’t imagine happening in your life,” Romney said. “This is one of them.”
During his tour of the forklift manufacturing plant in Las Vegas earlier Thursday, Gingrich said he did not expect an endorsement from the Donald and expressed amazement about how much attention Trump was getting. The campaign issued a news release Thursday evening that highlights critical comments Trump previously made about Romney's track record as a businessman and governor and about his initial unwillingness to immediately release his tax records.
Trump’s public support gives Romney a boost of free national media attention following his victory over Gingrich in Tuesday’s Florida GOP primary.
Meanwhile, a new polls shows Romney is headed for a big win in Nevada’s Republican caucuses Saturday with 45 percent of the vote. Gingrich collected 25 percent support among likely caucus-goers in the Las Vegas Review-Journal/8NewsNow telephone survey. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum got 11 percent, while Texas congressman Ron Paul collected 9 percent. Nine percent said they were undecided.
Gingrich kept to a lighter campaign schedule in Las Vegas Thursday, attending the rally at the manufacturing plant before meeting with dozens of Hispanic community and business leaders at the Mundo Mexican restaurant.
Romney won Nevada in the State’s 2008 GOP caucuses with 51 percent of the vote. Even if he matches that support this time, it could still provide an opening for Gingrich, said David Damore, a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
"Romney is going to be able to claim clear wins in two key swing states and further enhance the narrative that he is the inevitable nominee," Damore said in an email. "Gingrich is going to say, ‘Of course Romney won, but still half of the party does not want him to be the nominee.'"
Expectations are low for Gingrich, even among his most ardent supporters.
"Romney never left" Nevada, Sandra Pierce, a retired tax accountant from North Las Vegas, said Wednesday in between making campaign calls for Gingrich at his campaign office on the edge of town. "He is the perpetual campaigner in Nevada... I believe Romney will win, but Newt will pick up some delegates."
Pat Wallace, a sales trainer who moved from Lawrenceville to Las Vegas three years ago, said he supports Gingrich because of his government experience. He agreed Gingrich faces long odds in Nevada and hopes Santorum will drop out, saying that could boost Gingrich.
“I don’t know that he can win [in Nevada] but he can come close,” Wallace said of Gingrich after watching him speak at the forklift manufacturing plant. “I’m looking 40-30. Let the other clowns get the other 30 percent. They need to go ahead and get out.”
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