Gingrich: Trump has been ‘self-destructive’
Donald Trump ally Newt Gingrich said Wednesday that the GOP presidential nominee has been “self-destructive” and needs to “grow into the size of the job.”
“Can he in August slow down, take a deep breath and reorganize how he’s operating so that he gets to the standard of a potential president of the United States? He has not done that up to now,” Gingrich told Fox Business’s Maria Bartiromo.
{mosads}Gingrich praised Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), whom Trump declined to endorse for reelection in an interview with The Washington Post on Tuesday.
The former House Speaker called McCain a “terrific human being” and Ryan “probably the most problem-solving leader we’ve had in the Congress on the Republican side in the last 20 years.”
“I think some of what Trump has done is very self-destructive,” Gingrich added.
Trump on Tuesday snubbed Ryan and McCain, who have both stood by their endorsements of him while criticizing his feuding with the parents of a slain American Muslim soldier.
Trump saying he wasn’t ready to endorse Ryan and criticizing McCain’s work on behalf of veterans cast doubt on GOP unity amid already swirling criticism over Trump’s feuding with the soldier’s family.
Gingrich likened Trump’s candidacy to being on “The Apprentice,” but said in this situation, “He doesn’t get to say, ‘You’re fired.’ The American people get to say you’re fired.”
“I think he has the potential to win the election, I think he has to potential to be a historic president, but to do that he’s got to grow into the size of the job,” Gingrich said.
Gingrich was reportedly among Republicans looking to speak with Trump for an “intervention” aimed at getting the outspoken real estate tycoon back on message.
“There’s always going to be a residual possibility that Trump can win,” Gingrich told Fox Business, pointing to views of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and the desire among the public for change.
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
