(Bloomberg News) Mitt Romney will join billionaire Donald Trump tonight in Las Vegas for a fundraiser five days after the real estate developer and reality television star sought to re-ignite debate about President Barack Obama's birthplace.

The appearance with Trump brings with it some political risk for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee and former Massachusetts governor.

Aside from the funds raised for his campaign, "there's no real advantage for Romney to appear with Trump," said Tobe Berkovitz, a communications professor and longtime Romney watcher at Boston University. "Anything Trump does is to benefit Trump. At this point, it's not like Romney needs publicity."

The fundraiser comes the week after Trump repeated his longstanding questions about whether Obama was born in the U.S.

"He didn't know he was running for president, so he told the truth," Trump said in a May 24 interview with the Daily Beast website, referencing a literary agency that once worked with Obama and included false information in a biography that he was born in Kenya. A former employee has said she made the error.

Obama released his long-form birth certificate in April 2011 and it showed his birthplace to be Honolulu, Hawaii.

"Donald Trump has become the birther-in-chief," Obama re-election spokesman Ben LaBolt said, a reference to those who insist Obama was not born in the U.S. "This once again raises questions about whether Mitt Romney will stand up to the extreme elements of his party or embrace them."

Securing Nomination

The Trump fundraiser will happen on an evening when Romney is poised to win enough additional delegates in the Texas primary to secure his party's nomination.

Trump's comments illustrate the risks associated with celebrity endorsers who have the potential to throw a campaign off message. Romney's campaign has sought to downplay Trump's remarks, while trying not to anger someone who can be helpful with fundraising.

"I can't speak for Donald Trump," Eric Fehrnstrom, a Romney senior adviser, said May 25 on CNN. "But I can tell you that Mitt Romney accepts that President Obama was born in the U.S. He doesn't view the place of his birth as an issue in this campaign."

The fundraiser will be at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas. Romney will also be joined by former Republican presidential primary rival Newt Gingrich, who will be making his first appearance with Romney since ending his White House bid May 2.

Romney's campaign is also raffling off a meal in June with Trump and the candidate as a fundraising pitch.

Other Stops

Romney is also scheduled to make campaign appearances today in Colorado and Nevada, both crucial swing states in November's election. Romney, 65, is also set to make fundraising stops later in the week throughout California.

Through April 30, Romney raised $100 million, less than half the $222 million for Obama. The incumbent president also has 12 times as much in his campaign account as Romney, $115.2 million compared with $9.2 million.

Romney and Obama honored the legacy of war veterans yesterday with tributes from both sides of the nation. The 2012 campaign marks the first modern presidential election in which neither major party candidate served in the military.

"You are the family and friends of the fallen," Obama said to a military family audience at the Memorial Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. "For the first time in nine years, Americans aren't fighting and dying in Iraq. We are winding down the war in Afghanistan, and our troops will continue to come home."

With McCain

Romney appeared with Senator John McCain of Arizona at the Veterans Museum and Memorial Center in San Diego.

In a speech to several thousand people, Romney called for a strong U.S. military.

The best choice is "to commit to preserve America as the strongest military in the world, second to none, with no comparable power anywhere in the world," he said. "We choose that course in America, not so that we just win wars, but so we can prevent wars because a strong America is the best deterrent to war that has ever been invented."

Military veterans have traditionally been strong supporters of Republican presidential candidates, although Obama is aggressively courting the constituency. McCain, the Republican nominee in 2008 and a one-time prisoner of war, won 54 percent of the veterans vote, compared with 44 percent for Obama, according to exit polls at the time.

Vets Support Romney

Veterans support Romney over Obama by 58 percent to 34 percent, according to data from an analysis of Gallup Daily tracking interviews conducted April 11 through May 24.

In this election year, the administration is reminding voters that it has fought for increased funding for veterans' health care and expansion of the GI Bill for education. It's also won approval of a tax credit that encourages businesses to hire unemployed veterans.

"As long as I'm president, we will make sure you and your loved ones receive the benefits you've earned and the respect you deserve," Obama said. "America will be there for you."

The president also designated May 28 to Nov. 11 to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War. He urged Americans to honor Vietnam veterans with programs, ceremonies, and activities.

At the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Obama said yesterday that America honors the 58,282 soldiers who paid the ultimate price and whose names are etched into the wall.

For those who returned, "even though some Americans turned their back on you, you never turned your back on America," Obama said.