the man donald j. trump. the purpose, an expected presidential endorsement at a news conference that we will carry live. while you never know what might happen at a trump event, it has mitt romney has the hand picked apprentice. the choice comes as a surprise to many who thought newt was the more natural fit with their matching levels of self-esteem and contempt for the president fp for romney, it may bring some publicity. one wonder if the timing isn't perfect for mitt. a candidate who continues to face fire over the assertion that he's quote, not concerned about the very poor. in walks the donald, a self-starved king maker with the golden hair and a golden fortunate that dwarves even romney's riches. >> i like being able to fire people who provide services to me. >> you're fired. >> as the announcement is made, somewhere in sin city you might find a sulking newt gingrich. he had this to say. >> i'm just watching in amazement. >> why is it amazing? >> because some people have this knack of gathering attentio

was a seven minute ceremony in las vegas, an event with mitt romney and donald trump, the endorsementook place as mitt romney said he didn't expect to be with mr. trump in his hotel room. well, let's begin with the story about eric holder squaring off today with republicans on a house committee demanding that the justice department turn over those documents. now at the start of the hearing, the chairman told the house oversight government reform committee that it's necessary for the justice department to produce the information that the committee is requiring. the attorney general saying he will consider the demand but said with one exception, the department was inclined to follow long standing tradition of withholding internal documents about congressional inquiries in order to prereceive the ability to get candid advice from top officials. there was one exchange with congressman dan burton who announced yesterday he's retiring. i think you've been hiding something here. you taught give us the documents. it appears you have been stone waul walling. here's another exchange as question

>> donald trump is going to be traveling to las vegas to endorse mitt romney. >> it's my honor, real honor and privilege to endorse mitt romney. >> donald! what the [ bleep ] are you doing? >> all media invited, which i'm pretty sure is just on the trump letterhead. >> i've gone almost this entire election cycle without having to mention donald trump. >> it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. >> will his endorsement help anyone? >> there are some things you can't imagine happening in your life. >> one is real, one is not. who knows? >> why take the endorsement now? >> donald! what the [ bleep ] are you doing? >> mitt romney has a problem with people's perception that he doesn't connect with middle class voter. >> he doesn't need a mass millionaire property mogul. >> they both like firing people and they've both made millions doing it. >> corporations are people, my friend. i like being able to fire people that provide services to me. i'm not concerned about the poor. >> how are these comments specifically going to play out in las vegas? >> all of these are unforced errors on his part.

>>neil: punxsutawney phil predicting six more weeks of winter but did the donald just "trump" the phil? welcome, even, i am neil cavuto and the donald said mitt is it so the heck with phil, and, now in the first interview since saying so, he will be here. not phil. the donald. so much for newt who thought the endorsement was in the bag. not from phil. the donald. today, taking a jab at the donald. >> let me say first of all i like hiring people. >>neil: while newt could be trying to dismiss it, being liked by donald trump is a lot better than not being liked. the donald will be joining us soon but, first, this is a big, big win my guest says. better to have than not? >>guest: sure, you played a clip of newt gingrich and he probably would have walked over his grandmother to have the endorsement from donald trump. he was so clearly chasing it, and courting donald trump for many months. >>neil: he thought it was in the bag. >>guest: they did and a number of news outlets reported the endorsement was going to newt gingrich and they had to walk that back. donald trump is no dummy he wants to

campaign aides confirm that the real estate mogul donald trump will endorse team romney in las vegas despite reports that newt gingrich told advisors last night he expected to get trump's endorse president. he will make an announcement in the hour but he did not say about what. governor romney is take heat for saying he is "not concerned for very poor people," because they have a safety net and explained he is concerned about the 90 to 95 percent of americans struggling and speaker gingrich too aim. >> i believe we should care about the very poor. unlike governor romney. well both governor romney and president obama belief 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. >>shepard: polls now show he is well positioned for a huge win this weekend in nevada and a survey from the las vegas review journal gives him 20-point lead over gingrich and rick santorum and ron paul are way down there. john roberts is live in las vegas. my favorite quote of the day comes from the polls which show that donald trump endorsement will

>> this is happening inside the donald trump hotel on the las vegas strip. otel in las vegas. across the las vegas boulevard, across the strip is the venetian hotel owned by a big supporter for newt gingrich. a battle of the strip going on right now between these two campaigns. >> of course, it's at a trump property. we've been hearing so much and people actually honest, people in social media are asking me, why does it matter? we've been saying that endorsements really don't matter. that months of polling will show you that. what's the big deal, jim? >> that's true. endorsements will show you that they don't matter very much. the polling does indicate that. but at the same time, keep in mind, coming out of florida, newt gingrich really could have used this endorsement. he came out of that primary very beat up and bruised. it was a tough loss for the former speaker down there in florida. had he gotten this endorsement because of donald trump's street cred inside the tea party, it would have given him a boost. would it have been enough to take the nevada caucu

donald trump.ome thought and some reported actually that newt gingrich was going to get trump's endorsement. gingrich had reaction to this today. >> i'm just watching in amazement. >> why is it amazing? >> because some people have this knack of gathering attention. >> talking about donald trump, perhaps? >> the donald is a force of his own. >> would you like to have that force on your side? >> oh, yeah. >> that didn't get an answer. we're back with the panel. a.b., what about this development in the world of politics? >> well, i don't know a lot of republicans who really think that the donald trump endorsement is important or helpful for mitt romney. i think it was helpful for mitt romney -- to stand next to donald trump to change the subject from his comments electric yesterday, which are still news today about his lack of concern for the very poor. >> bret: which continues on in the full context that -- >> we all know the context, brett. >> bret: not all of us know the context. if you look at som

he wouldn't go to be a part of the debate donald trump was going to moderate. t a lot of tweets of people saying why is the news taking this so seriously. trump doesn't need another platform. so does donald trump really bring something to a campaign such as mitt romney's that he actually needs? >> i can't imagine what that would be, thomas. i've been thinking a lot about that. why does romney need the narrative that another rich guy is endorsing him? plus you're well aware of all of trump's baggage. why he would want somebody who had his phoney presidential run of the president being born somewhere outside this country, which is a toxic issue within the republican party. i don't understand the strategy. but maybe i'm missing something. >> we'll know for sure coming up this afternoon. jon ralston, thank you. >>> what will this endorsement mean for mitt romney and rival newt gingrich? joining me now is former communications director jen sakky and trey harden. it's great to see you this morning. we have a rock and roll hour going on trying to figure out. we have no

earlier today in a las vegas hotel ballroom, a hotel owned by donald trump, the donald from new york endorses mitt romney and he accepted the endorsement. he said that there are some things in life you just can't imagine. mitt romney went on to say, this is one of them. donald trump who is, of course, a household name thanks to his television show "the apprentice" as well as his empire that includes casinos and hotels in las vegas and atlantic city, he is ever the publicity man. he stoked speculation about who he would endorse. many yesterday speculating it was going to be newt gingrich including the gingrich campaign leaking word it was going to be donald trump. but this afternoon in las vegas, donald trump had this to say. >> well, thank you very much. this is a great honor for me. as everybody in this room knows, our country is in serious serious trouble. whether it's opec, the opec nations or china or virtually anybody that we do business with throughout the world, they take advantage of uls, they laugh at us. they can't believe their good fortunes. i deal with these people and t

it didn't seem like he was giving donald trump a bear hug. >> i'll be speaking live donald trump in a few minutes here. a lot of good questions to ask him about what this means, how does he translate the support into action. that's coming up in a little while. gloria, thanks very much. >>> also other important news we're following, including in syria right now. there are dramatic developments unfolding. in fact new video from syria allegedly showing gains by some of the forces opposed to the regime by president assad. this video purports to show members of the free syrian army celebrating after seizing control of the neighborhood and homes from government security forces. and this video allegedly showing attacks on homes which have seen some of the most brutal backlash against the uprising. cnn cannot independently confirm the authenticity of these videos. let's bring in holly. it looks like goes from bad to worse. the arab world, rest of the region, not doing anything right now. >> it doesn't seem like they're doing anything that will force the regime to change its behavior with rega

why donald trump? why no. this announcement is all about donald trump. it will take a bit of the air out of governor romney. i don't see how that adds to his credibility. that doesn't make sense to me. >> it also is strange when you look at the history of mitt romney and donald trump. we have what donald trump said in august regarding mitt romney. he said i wasn't in love with the job he did in massachusetts. he wasn't popular. he was a one-term governor. he didn't have a high approval rating and i don't like that. i like a guy running for president to be the most popular guy you can have. the romneycare is not a good situation. that's one of things. i want to play what he said on cnn in april regarding mitt romney. let's play it. >> mitt romney is a small business guy. he buys companies, he closed companies. he get rid of jobs. i built a great company. >> how does he backtrack from those comments not so long ago about mitt romney, and how did rom stand next to the guy who said those words? >> i have no idea. there's very little value in this endorsement

i want to say thank you to donald trump for his endorsement. it means a great deal to me to have the endorsement of mr. trump and people across this country who care about the future of america. >> all right. i guess what happens in vegas doesn't stay in vegas. leave it to trump to break all of the rules, greg. >> here is the thing, this is not about mitt romney. it's not about newt gingrich. it's about obama. and basically what donald just said to the world is that he believes that mitt is the guy that's going to win because let's face it, there has been so much infighting going on, it's almost like donald trump is uniting america, which makes him the true hero in this story. >> is it really, or did he, eric, pick the obvious guy? really? i can even pick that. bet the house on it. >> did he pick the obvious guy who wants to win? he's clearly said mitt romney has the best chance to beat obama and he likes mitt romney's chance on china. donald trump is very, very involved with china. he doesn't like what they're doing to us or the oil situation.

it might be donald trump. >> sure. when's the last time you talked about donald trump? he wants us. jenna: and here we are talking about it yet again. you mentioned that gaffe. not a gaffe, this was something that mitt romney has been pulled out of context. according to some, some say this really shows something about what mitt romney feels or how he feels about classes. he was asked how his connection with voters is going, and he had this kind of long answer about, you know, jobs in america. and in the answer to this question she his saw: -- he says this: i believe i will be able to instill confidence in the american people and by the way, i'm not concerned about the very poor. we have a safety net there. if it needs repair, i'll fix it. i'm not concerned about the very rich, they're doing just fine. where the editorials are today is this comment, i'm not concerned about the very poor. what do you do when something like this comes out? >> i remember one time when i was white house secretary, president bush had a response to something regarding iran. and it sent my alar

donald trump will be there six hours from now. one of our affiliates out there says that trump will be endorsing newt gingrich. we've reached out to the trump camp. we've reached out to the gingrich camp. neither of them are denying this. stay tuned. we'll try to confirm an endorsement. remember, they last met back in december at trump tower in new york. kyra, one more thing. a brand new poll in nevada in the battle for the nomination out there. look at this. this is from the las vegas review journal. mitt romney is high atop, 20 points ahead of newt gingrich. rick santorum at 11%. ron paul at 9 percent percent. romney won there four years ago in the kraucaucuses. this was before his big victory tuesday night. >> paul, thanks. cnn saturday it's nevada's turn to weigh in on the republican nominee. coverage begins at 6:00 eastern with a special edition of the situation room with wolf blitzer. we have live coverage of the caucus results. >>> facebook finally files to go public. that means we're getting our first peek into the inner fi

being in donald trump's magnificent hotel and having his endorsement is a delight. i'm honored and pleased to have his endorsement. >> trump's support could backfire on romney as many americans do not identify with the super rich. a recent fox news poll found 27% said trump's endorsement would make them less likely to vote if a candidate. >>> next school year could be starting a bit early for some students here in our area. details of a measure that just passed. >>> plus, more concerns surrounding iran including a newly launched satellite. we are checking more headlines coming up next. ahhh. so soft. time out. sweet. [ female announcer ] with charmin ultra soft, you can get that cushiony feeling you love while still using less. charmin ultra soft is designed with extra cushions that are soft and more absorbent and you can use four times less versus the leading value brand. ♪ ah. [ female announcer ] we all go. why not enjoy the go with charmin ultra soft. with flu complications. lysol disinfectant spray is approved to kill over 50 germs on surfaces. this includes col

he tried to minimize donald trump. t single-handedly killed trump debate that was going to happen the end of december. and he made little out of the face-to-face meeting he had with donald trump. he was trying to avoid the cameras. he doesn't want to get bogged down with trump and the sideshow that comes with him. but this was awkward today and you a sense he wound get it over with. it was only five minutes in length. it was in and out. and a of in a workman like performance for mitt romney who is glad to have this but has no interest in highlighting it at this point >> but i wonder if at any point, if he diss donald trump by keeping some distance from donald trump because of the your fired or whatever reason, and this is the second time and i don't think that would sit well with donald trump. he's not used to being dissed if that happens. >> and even if mitt romney is the nominee, we haven't her the last of donald trump. he's not going the next nine months as a silent soldier. he will be there on the sidelines. on bala

agencies and cabinet with people who know how to manage things. >> let me ask you a question, donald trump endorsed mitt romney today for the nomination. and as you know, donald is very, very tough on china. he's really a china basher and india basher also. are you worried that mitt romney who has already been tough on china might lead us into major hostilities regarding trade and the currency? >> well, i'm not a china basher, and i don't think that america should be china bashers because that's not going to change anything. if you want your currency to slope more, which they are gradually doing, the wrong way to do it is to scream and yell at them in public. that simply doesn't work with the chinese. so i hope mr. romney would understand that. >> are you at all worried regarding the private equity business? are you worried that with mitt romney running, president obama is going to go what newt gingrich did with newt's bain capital bashing and raise that to the tenth power, might end up hurting a very valuable industry to private equity business. does that concern you at all? >> well, it c

we start with donald trump's endorsement late today by mitt romney. dana milbank and steve carnaky join us. here's trump throwing his support behind romney late today. >> it's my honor, real honor and privilege to endorse mitt romney. mitt is tough. he's smart. he's sha sharp. he's not going to allow bad things to continue to happen to this country that we all love. so governor romney, go out and get um. you can do it. >> you know, it's like announcing the miss world winner. it was pure trump in the golden tower of vegas. he looked great as usual. he made his appearance. as if he had just been endorsed by boss daily in the old days of chicago. he treated it like it was an actual event and not a faux event. >> this is what romney needed is getting another rich guy behind him. that's what he needs to solidify in this race. >> this guy flaunts his wealth. what made this guy, romney, think he benefitted from this show today? >> you know, there was this time during the primary -- >> they should have put a tiara on him. >> i bet he would have done it. if rom

>> i spoke with donald trump earlier today. i indicated we just can't make this debate. >> reporter: and trump was none too happy. and he hasn't always had nice things to say about the governor. once saying, he's going to lose. he doesn't resonate. >> how about mitt romney? >> if you look at his record as governor, it wasn't totally stellar. his job production was not great at all. in fact, it was the third-worst in the nation. >> reporter: you talk about jobs. you've been critical of governor romney's jobs numbers in massachusetts. do you take that back now? >> i think he did a good job. but you have to understand, i just really got to know governor romney over the last short period of time. and i really like what i see. >> reporter: and today, it didn't take long for the democratic national committee to pounce, on an endorsement from a man whose famous line is, "you're fired." >> you're fired. you're fired. >> i like being able to fire people. >> reporter: one reason fox news polls show americans are nearly three-times as like

my meineke. . >>> mitt romney's campaign gets a boost from donald trump. that's right. s tell cnn that trump len doris romney at an announcement today. our political director mark preston is in d.c. so mark, is this a surprise? did we suspect that he would endorse romney? >> reporter: well, you know, in the last 12-14 hours there's been speculation that donald trump would back former house speaker newt gingrich, and that's where things were going. however, as you said, we've learned this morning that that endorsement in just a couple of hours will be paid public, and it's going to go to mitt romney instead. i don't think we should be too surprised by that for a couple of reasons. one, mitt romney and donald trump are both businessmen. they have had wild success in the private sector, and donald trump has really been a big proponent of that, and in the last couple of weeks we've seen mitt romney really turn a leaf when it comes to the debates and the ability to go on the attack, and donald trump has been very vocal in saying that, you know, the candidate from the republic

still think that the trifecta, the perfect trifecta would have been herman cain, sarah palin, and donald trump, all for newt. those were the three that i thought would go in that -- i mean, doesn't that feel right? >> well, and we don't know. donald may still go for newt, at the end of the day. which, actually, i think would have meant something. if not for the endorsement, for the money. then newt gingrich -- if donald trump wrote newt's super pac a big, fat check, then newt gingrich is not just reliant on one sheldon addleson -- >> who he is meeting with today in nevada. >> where it's interesting if it's mitt, mitt's been a little, shall we say, embarrassed by donald trump. he went to the debate, met with him in private, snuck out the back door. there's been an uneasy relationship going, probably for the optics that you mentioned, martin, of it being two millionaires sitting in a room. but, again, no one turns down any endorsement. >> but to s.e.'s point, donald trump has been treating this entire race like an atm. he is withdrawing money and attention, he is not writing checks. >> so far. >

donald trump on the stump for newt gingrich in las vegas or is he? expected to endorse a candidate today. will he lay his bet on gingrich or provide romney a surprise? and the susan g. komen cancer foundation is siting efficiency and not politics for defunding their grant to plan the parenthood. that and much more coming up. >>> republicans do not have a nominee yet, but the race is on for the veepstakes. ask john mccain how crucial choosing a running mate can be. reed wilson and patrick gavin are joining us. you power ranked these guys. marco rubio, he said he doesn't want it. what makes you think he's the favorite here? >> that's what you have to say. you have to say you don't want to be vice president. you have to say you have the greatest job in the world. but if the leader of your party comes to you and says i need you serving on the ticket so we can win, that sort of objection is going to go right out the window. i have been struck by a lot of the candidates like virginia governor bob mcdonnell, he's said if they asked, we'd consider it. >> but

the impacts of the donald trump endorsement.ingrich wants someone to play him in the movies. we're on the historic campus of william and mary in williamsburg, virginia. chchasase e scscenene,e, x cocomimingng s soooonn exextrtra a bubutttter titickcketets,s, s swon pepengnguiuin n jojouruy jujuninioror m minints momoviviefefononee evevilil p pririncncee bobollllywywoooodd 3-3-dd shsharark k atattatack nened d ththe e hehead 5%5% c casashbhbacackk ririghght t nonow,w, g getet 5 k onon m movovieies.s. itit p payays s toto d di. ♪ ( whirring and crackling sounds ) man: assembly lines that fix themselves. the most innovative companies are doing things they never could before, by building on the cisco intelligent network. to help protect your eye health as you age... would you take it? well, there is. [ male announcer ] it's called ocuvite. a vitamin totally dedicated to your eyes, from the eye-care experts at bausch + lomb. as you age, eyes can lose vital nutrients. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. [ male announcer ] ocuvi

we start with donald trump's endorsement late today by mitt romney. dana milbank and steve kornacki join us. dana, you don't need much satire to catch today's elements. here's trump throwing his support behind romney late today. >> it's my honor, real honor and privilege to endorse mitt romney. mitt is tough. he's smart. he's sharp. he's not going to allow bad things to continue to happen to this country that we all love. so, governor romney, go out and get 'em. you can do it. >> you know, it's like announcing the miss world winner. it was pure trump in the golden tower of vegas. he looked great as usual. he made his appearance. romney came out and said all the right things as if he'd just been endorsed by boss daley in the old days of chicago. he treated it like it was an actual event and not a faux event. >> this is what romney needed is to have a really rich guy on the stage, another really rich guy getting behind him. i think that's really going to solidify what he needs in this race. >> this guy flaunts his wealth. fine. but he's not in politics.

nbc confirms donald trump will endorse mitt romney later today in vegas, not newt gingrich, as others had reported. what do the donald and romney possibly have in common? >>> plus, is the longest war in american history coming to an end sooner than expected? >>> and first lady michelle obama gets down with ellen. >> how many was that for her? >> 25. >> i just stopped. >> all right. >>> good day, i'm andrea mitchell live in washington. in our daily fix today, donald trump, who has been coy about his own presidential ambitions, to say the least, is officially throwing his support behind mitt romney this afternoon, endorsing romney in las vegas. michael duffy is washington bureau chief for "time" magazine. i've gone almost this entire election cycle, so far, without having to mention donald trump. i think today, i've run out of -- >> you broke down. >> i've run out of rope. >> you finally broke down. >> i broke down. but michael, what does he bring to mitt romney? is this the time to re-emphasize romney's wealth? hardly. is there any support base? >> i think with donald trump, there's al

donald trump has been awarded three development rights. he building into a luxury hotel. >> we are extremely honored and committed, it says daughter ivanka trump. city leaders say it is great economic news. >> we are in limbo right now. we do not know what to do. >> others to enjoy the historic ambience have mixed feelings. >> if they are losing lots of money on this, and maybe it is a way to do it. >> there is the iconic clock tower. you can take an elevator all the way up to the observation deck. >> in case it is no longer open to the public, i want to take a look. >> under the deal, and he must maintain public access to the tower and preserve the building's historic features. this is a long-term commitment. they have awarded trapped a 60- year lease. once again, they expect work to start in 2014 with the hotel doors opening in 2016 or 2017. >> still to come, new speed cameras in our region are controversial. a surprising group that is >> we are looking at 33 degrees. that was the high temperature today for reagan national airport. it fel