Hijacked by Donald Trump

Monica Almeida/The New York Times — Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann, with Donald Trump in February in Las Vegas for an endorsement announcement.

Romney, on His Big Day, Finds Himself Upstaged

By ASHLEY PARKER, NYT
Published: May 29, 2012

LAS VEGAS — It was supposed to be a day of triumph for Mitt Romney, when he would at last formally claim the Republican presidential nomination with a victory in the Texas primary. And Mr. Romney was to focus attention on an aggressive new attack on President Obama, highlighting the White House’s role in backing failed companies like Solyndra.

Instead, Tuesday was hijacked by Donald J. Trump. Inexplicably to many in his party, Mr. Romney had scheduled an appearance at a fund-raiser in Las Vegas on Tuesday night with Mr. Trump.

And Mr. Trump, ever ready to seize the spotlight and toss rhetorical grenades, played to type in several interviews, repeating his doubts about the president’s Hawaiian birth certificate.

“A lot of people do not think it was an authentic certificate,” Mr. Trump said in a combative interview with Wolf Blitzer on CNN. “Now, you won’t report it, Wolf, but many people do not think it was authentic.”

(More here.)