BREAKING NEWS!!!

Today, in Las Vegas, Donald Trump WILL endorse Mitt Romney. Even through early morning, it was thought the endorsement would go to Gingrich but, it has now been confirmed…it’s Romney.

How much weight does a Trump endorsement carry?

Maybe not as much as one would think.

While Trump draws a crowd wherever he goes and hitting the campaign trail for Mitt would be a draw, outside that, little if any effect is likely to be seen.

Yes, Trump adds bankroll but there is another effect that may work against Romney regarding the Trump endorsement.

Adding Donald Trump to the list of Romney endorsements is simply adding yet another moderate.

Bob Dole, John McCain, Jon Huntsman, Chris Christie…all endorsing Mitt Romney, none looked at by core conservatives and solid conservatives.

Trump in fact, recently changed his voter registration from Republican to undeclared and has for months, even after bailing out of the race, hinted at a possible independent run for the White House.

Doesn’t sound much like a dyed-in-the-wool conservative, does it?

One thing made clear by the upcoming endorsement today is that Trump will not be making that independent run after all.

Another piece of fallout regarding this endorsement could be an increased involvement by Las Vegas mogul, Sheldon Adelson.

Adelson is, after all, a Trump competitor – and Gingrich, who has already received $5 million through his super PAC from Adelson, could benefit from the mogul against mogul factor.

Let’s be clear, a Donald Trump endorsement would have meant much more, from a standpoint of finances and organization, to Gingrich – but to Romney? It’s like tossing a bucket of water into lake Meade for Mitt vs pouring that bucket into a water glass for Newt.

Romney doesn’t require the organizational assistance and the extra money, while it will be spent, isn’t much of a difference.

The greatest beneficiary of Trump’s endorsement may well be Donald Trump as it puts HIS name back on the front pages.

Will Trump’s endorsement sway the independent voters? That is yet to be seen but bear in mind, as independent votes go, Trump is a Donald-Come-Lately. Independents are nearly always against the incumbent and in this GOP race to the nomination, those independents will have to decide in whom rests the biggest difference between an eventual nominee and Obama.

The more moderate support and endorsements Romney garners, the more he COULD be seen as the moderate or establishment candidate. So far, through his early primary victories, Romney has benefited most from his attacks on Gingrich and an avalanche of negative ads aimed at Gingrich.

The battle of ideas has yet to materialize and it is that battle by which many undecided voters will hinge their eventual vote.

So far, with only a little over 5% of the delegates awarded and some of those, in Florida, under challenge by Gingrich, there is a long, long way to go. For middle-of-the-road Republicans, Mitt might be your man. For conservatives wanting to shake things up in Washington, Newt is the guy to do it.

Expect Romney to attack often, in Nevada and Arizona, Gingrich’s consulting work for Fannie and Freddie as the housing market in those states is deplorable. Gingrich must respond in a way to remove himself from any wrongdoing in that regard by insisting all the documents related to his time in that arena be made public.

If those documents clear him by showing that he advised them to do the opposite of what they actually did, Gingrich can make up a lot of lost ground quickly.

The endorsement of Mitt Romney by Donald Trump is little more than a celebrity nod which probably won’t haul much political clout.