Romney took the microphone and expressed a bit of befuddlement.
“There are some things that you just can’t imagine happening in your life. This is one of them,” he said. “Being in Donald Trump’s magnificent hotel and having his endorsement is a delight.”
Minutes after an endorsement that lasted 6 minutes, Romney left the stage. Trump lingered. He welcomed the crush of reporters around him – as he had also done, twice, nearly two hours before the formal endorsement was to take place.
“Well, I think recently he’s felt much more comfortable about it,” Trump said of Romney and his wealth. “I mean, I’m so comfortable about it that I printed my statements in the book.”
Rampant and widely reported rumors suggested that Trump would endorse Newt Gingrich today, but those proved untrue as the Romney campaign quietly prepared for the endorsement.
“I like him very much,” Trump said of Gingrich. “He’s a friend of mine and, as you know, they wanted the endorsement. I left two messages on his line, I haven’t been able to speak to him.”
Of Ron Paul, he said, “He’s just got no chance of being elected. Personally, I think he’s wasting a lot of time.”
Trump last year flirted with a run for president and even led the polls for a period of time. By May, he decided not to run but not before making disparaging comments about Romney and his candidacy.
“If you look at his record as governor, it wasn’t totally stellar,’’ Trump told ABC in April. “His job production was not great at all. In fact, it was the third worst in the nation. There are some pretty negative things with respect to Mitt Romney, which frankly he’s going to have to overcome.’’
He also told CNN at the time that he was “a much bigger businessman and have a much, much bigger net worth.”
Today, Romney seemed to concede that point.
“I spent my life in the private sector — not quite as successful as this guy,” Romney said, motioning to Trump. “But successful nonetheless.”
