Evan McMorris-Santoro February 2, 2012, 12:31 PM

Only Donald Trump can pull this off. Thursday’s campaign 2012 media discussion has centered entirely on who’s getting the endorsement from the leading voice of the extremist conspiracy that the President of the United States is a secret foreigner. Meanwhile, recent polling suggests that a Trump endorsement is a poisoned chalice at best, as his current negatives could in fact drag down his chosen candidate.

There are only three things you need to remember as you contemplate what The Donald’s endorsement means:

He’s As Much Of A Birther As He Ever Was — Not even the release of President Obama’s long-form birth certificate has swayed Trump from his role as the most famous face on the movement that claims the occupant of the White House is a foreign-born fraud. In October, Trump’s spokesperson told me “I don’t know” if the long-form certificate is real. Trump himself told Piers Morgan that he thinks the certificate is “a forgery” during that same week.

He Pushed Another Racist Anti-Obama Conspiracy Theory In December: Since the current indications are that this endorsement is heading Mitt Romney’s way, that could mean the former Massachusetts governor will wind up standing next to a man who recently accused Obama of ignoring Christmas in favor of Kwaanza. The completely untrue right-wing meme was a favorite of the darker corners of the conservative movement. Standing with and/or accepting the endorsement from Trump opens up the prospect of having to distance himself from this kind of material down the road.

A Fox Poll Found He’s A Net Negative To Whomever He Endorses: In September, a Fox News Poll asked respondents if an endorsement from Trump would make them more or less likely to support a candidate. The results? Just 6% said they would be more likely to vote for a Trump-backed candidate, while 31% said they would be less likely. The rest said it would make no difference at all.

2012, 2012 Presidential Primaries, Donald Trump