The Donald Backs The Mitt
Jules Witcover

As Mitt Romney labors to clear away the political fallout from his declared concerns about the well-being of the middle class as opposed to the very poor, none other than Donald Trump has come to his rescue.

Trump, who has made himself more of a celebrity than ever by firing people on television, surprised the political world by endorsing Romney, who recently proclaimed that he, too, likes to fire people. Not on a television show but in real life, if they don't deliver the services he has paid them for, such as good health insurance.

As comedian Jack Benny used to say, Romney needs Trump's endorsement like a moose needs a hatrack. One megabucks fat cat coming to the aid of another megabucks fat cat isn't likely to help Romney combat his image as a country-club financial whiz out of touch with the needs of the rest of us.

In Trump, Romney has a guy who might well take him up on that offer of a $10,000 bet, it also being chump change to his new friend. Or maybe the infamous self-aggrandizement of The Donald might rub off on Mitt, diminishing the latter's awkward self-effacement that fails to turn him into a regular guy.

Part of the surprise over Trump's endorsement was the expectation in many quarters that he would embrace his narcissistic twin and soul mate, Newt Gingrich. It was not long ago when Trump, an earlier dropout in the Republican race, had mused publicly that he might re-enter it. One must conclude that he now considers Romney the sure nominee.

For all that, the notion that Trump's endorsement will persuade many Republicans to climb aboard the bandwagon of the man Gingrich calls the Massachusetts moderate requires a suspension of disbelief about the judgment and seriousness of the average voter. For that reason, don't look for many of what politicians call the "armpit shot" of Mitt and Donald clutching hands over their head in a victory pose.

A Washington Post-Pew Center poll in January reported that Trump's endorsement of any candidate would make only 8 percent of those surveyed more likely to vote for that candidate. Another 26 percent said it would make them less likely to do so.

Right now, Romney is in recovery mode from his latest tin-ear affliction, wherein he blurted out, "I'm not concerned about the very poor" because they have a safety net, adding he was focused "on middle-class Americans," who happen to be President Obama's political target of choice these days.

Romney's sweeping victory in the Florida primary, in which he and his well-heeled "independent" super PAC threw millions in negative ads at Gingrich, seems to have convinced his strategists that he can now afford to return to his earlier concentration on Obama. But zeroing in on the middle class, while explicitly giving the poor the back of his hand, may only accentuate that he doesn't have much demonstrable affinity with the just-getting-along segment of the electorate either.

More and more, it is becoming evident that the class warfare that the Republicans endlessly accuse the Democrats of waging is being spotlighted by Romney's wealth and revelations of his low tax rate and use of notorious overseas tax havens.

Romney, in the wake of the battering he took from Gingrich and friends in Florida, insisted that the fight only made him stronger. He managed in the Sunshine State to find and unleash his tougher, more combative Mitt.

Even so, the more contentious climate also forced him to defend how he got so rich as CEO of Bain Capital in what departed foe Gov. Rick Perry pointedly labeled as "vulture capitalism." It's a notion also embraced by Gingrich -- and one that, if Romney is the GOP nominee, is certain to be echoed by the Democrats in the fall.

Romney half-whines that he shouldn't be castigated for being a very successful businessman, and that his success is a legitimate argument for his bid to turn the economy around. It remains a valid contention, and he can make it better without the help of the likes of Donald Trump.