Newt says Trump is in a Slump

USA Today:  "Let me just say flatly, I am totally for John McCain, who is a great war hero and a terrific human being, who has worked very hard for veterans. And I’m totally for Paul Ryan, who is the heart of the House Republican Party and probably the most problem-solving leader we’ve had in the Congress on the Republican side in the last 20 years," Gingrich said in an interview with Fox Business Network Wednesday. "So I think somewhat what Trump has done is just very self-destructive."

Gingrich said Trump’s behavior needs to shift to that of a general election candidate.

"Trump is still behaving like as though it was the primaries and there were 17 candidates. He has not made the transition to being the potential president of the United States, which is a much tougher league," the former House speaker said.

But Gingrich doesn’t think this week will put the nail in the coffin for Trump. Rather, he likened it to a slump once experienced by legendary NFL quarterback Joe Montana.

Gingrich said Montana had a “stretch during his career where he kept throwing interceptions; and for about half a season, it looked like he wasn’t Joe Montana anymore. And then he figured out what he was doing, and he changed. Trump, Trump is in that kind of a slump.”

"He's thrown a series of interceptions in the last week that really do not bode well for the campaign," Gingrich continued.

Newt: We are at war

“Let me start where I am coming from and let me be as blunt and direct as I can be — western civilization is in a war. We should frankly test every person here who is of a Muslim background, and if they believe in Sharia, they should be deported,” Gingrich said. “Sharia is incompatible with western civilization. Modern Muslims who have given up Sharia — glad to have them as citizens. Perfectly happy to have them next door. But we need to be fairly relentless about who our enemies are.”

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Newt Gingrich on Donald Trump back in February

Pro Publica:  “This is not a guy who’s shallow or simple, but he is a guy who knows an immense amount about marketing, which is why he talks at a fourth-grade level. He talks at the lowest level of any candidate in either party, not because he’s stupid,” Gingrich said told the crowd of executive-level political staffers and corporate sponsors. “He does it because he knows if you talk at a fourth-grade level everybody can understand you.”

Gingrich remained neutral in the GOP primary until May, when he endorsed Trump and said he wouldn’t rule out joining the ticket. He met Wednesday with Trump in Indiana and according to CNN was seen leaving a hotel in the same motorcade as Trump’s children.

In the February speech, Gingrich said he had no idea what kind of president Trump might be. “I do not believe anybody including Trump can tell you what a Trump presidency would be like,” Gingrich said.

The recording of the speech was made available to ProPublica by the Center for Media and Democracy, a Madison, Wisconsin, group with the stated goal of exposing corporate influences on politics.

At one point, Gingrich suggested he was shocked to hear of a highly educated supporter of Trump’s. “I had a very sophisticated medical doctor in Des Moines write me two days ago and say he sent a thousand dollar check to Trump. And I wrote back and said what are you doing?” Gingrich said to laughs. “He said I have finally concluded that we have to kick over the table in Washington.”

Gingrich and the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday evening.