Former first lady hails Trump nod
February 3, 2012 - 2:05 am
Former Nevada first lady Dema Guinn was among the first to be informed that Donald Trump was endorsing Mitt Romney for president.
She was told earlier this week "something big was coming down."
Late Wednesday, in the midst of conflicting reports over whom Trump would endorse, Guinn got a confirmation call.
"I was half-asleep," she said Thursday after attending Trump's endorsement announcement at Trump International Hotel.
"I woke up at 5 a.m. and couldn't sleep, I was so excited," she said. "If Kenny were alive, he would be supporting Mitt."
Asked to identify the caller, she declined, but feel free to speculate that it was Romney or his wife, Ann. They have been close for years, back to when Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn and Romney were co-chairs of the Republican Governors Association in 2004-2005.
Romney not only acknowledged Guinn's presence in the crowd and asked her to stand, but she was one of the first attendees the Romney greeted moments after Trump's announcement.
Dema Guinn turns 74 on July 28. Her husband, a two-term Republican governor from 1999-2007, was 73 when he died in July 2010 after falling while working on the roof of their Las Vegas home.
"I'm here representing my husband, and I'm doing what my husband would want," Dema Guinn said. "He would say, 'Get out there and support Mitt.' "
Trump's endorsement means a lot, she said, "because he's a businessman. We need a businessman, not a career politician. Mitt's a businessman."
THE SCENE AND HEARD
Russia's Irina Shayk, cover girl of the 2011 Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, and her best friend, fellow S.I. swimsuit model Jessica White, are celebrity co-hosts tonight at 1 Oak (Mirage). Sports Illustrated will be returning Feb. 14 with its 2012 crop of swimsuit models after the cover girl launch party on Feb. 14 in New York. The two days of Las Vegas appearances will include appearances at numerous hotels, including The Cosmopolitan, which will host an inaugural music festival for invited guests.
SIGHTINGS
GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul and his wife, Carol, celebrated their 55th anniversary Wednesday night at "Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular" (Venetian). They went backstage afterwards and met the stars of the show, Anthony Crivello and Kirsten Hertzenberg.
THE PUNCH LINE
"Mitt Romney's campaign will start getting Secret Service protection this week. That's just to protect him from Newt Gingrich." -- Jay Leno
Norm Clarke can be reached at 702-383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com. Follow Norm on Twitter @Norm_Clarke.