Donald Trump’s endorsement today was supposed to come down on Newt Gingrich’s side. At least, that’s what leaked out last night.

Now, Trump will apparently be endorsing Mitt Romney.

This is terrible news for some in the Romney camp. One of whom, the Washington Post’s pet conservative Jen Rubin, will need an industrial strength crowbar to get her foot out of her mouth after what she wrote this morning under the impression Trump was going for Newt…

Herman Cain, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Sarah Palin and now, it seems, Donald Trump have lined up behind Newt Gingrich. It’s convenient to have a candidate like Gingrich who attracts the unserious, the unpresidential, the uninformed and the unpalatable all in one convenient locale. It saves the time and effort needed to determine who is a credible Republican and who is not (Gingrich supporters). The move is yet another boost for Rick Santorum, who definitely is in the category of responsible and credible candidates (whatever you think of his views) and has been struggling to wean the base off its attraction to Gingrich.

Referring to this December report on the least desirable endorsements (“According to a Marist poll, 79 percent of New Hampshire voters say getting Trump’s support would make them less likely or no more likely to vote for him or her”), Jesse Benton, spokesman for Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.), e-mails me, “Poor Newt. Based on the polling I’ve seen, he stands to lose 5 points from this circus act.” As for Trump, Benton cracks, “I didn’t think it was possible for Trump to lower his credibility, but somehow, he just did.”

There is a weird commonality among Cain, Trump and Gingrich — an unseemly pattern of behavior with women. Perhaps that’s simply one manifestation of their egomania. And all of these pro-Newt characters share a penchant for extreme, nasty rhetoric with a disdain for productive governance. This is all about THEM and their PR machines.

Oops!

Rubin’s piece goes on to tout Santorum’s candidacy…

Now, it seems, is precisely the right time for Santorum to push his way past Gingrich and make the pitch to conservative voters that he’s not merely the only consistent conservative alternative to Romney, he’s also the only one who’s not a joke. Really, what’s next for Newt — a Duke Cunningham endorsement from a jail cell?

Naturally, of course, much of this East Coast Establishment love for Santorum – with the exception of our buddy Quin Hillyer, who sincerely thinks he can win despite all the evidence to the contrary – is so much strategy. The Rubins among us – to include the editors of National Review, who gave us Romney, Santorum and Huntsman as acceptable candidates and declared the rest to be rubes and hucksters – know that if the conservative movement is presented with a pro-life statist like Santorum who happily argues gay marriage on the campaign trail, Romney easily secures the nomination. Gingrich at least offers enough sizzle to make the election interesting, for whatever faults he might have.

But Trump’s endorsement of Romney is, as Drew M. at Ace of Spades notes, hilarious. Not just because of what it does to Jen Rubin, though that’s part of it.

The walk-back on that should be spectacular! Look for it to include phrases like “Trump was surprisingly statesmanlike”, “the two business tycoons remind us of the best of America” and “Mitt is sooooo adorable!”

Keep in mind, I have an excellent track record of predicting Rubin’s hackery. Take this stuff to the bank or the prop-bets window.

I don’t care who you are supporting, Mitt and Trump the day after Mitt says “I don’t really concerned about the very poor”? Thank you Jebus! I need a laugh like this.

You just know at some point there will be an awkward joke from either Trump or Mitt about how compared to The Donald, Romney is practically middle-class. It’s going to be great.

And finally…Mitt’s going to be there with Trump. I can’t wait to see how he handles the “so are you a birther like Mr. Trump?” question.