Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Monday that Donald Trump’s showing in the second presidential debate should be enough to prevent additional Republican lawmakers from abandoning Trump in the last month before the election.
Several GOP lawmakers have urged Trump to exit the race in the wake of leaked audio tapes from 2005 in which he can be heard making lewd and sexually charged comments about women. Many predicted even more Republicans would abandon their party’s standard-bearer if he didn’t deliver a sincere apology and solid performance in Sunday’s debate.
“It’s kind of crazy for someone to suggest dumping him at this point,” Gingrich told Fox News’ Sean Hannity early Monday morning after the debate concluded in St. Louis. “I would hope a lot of those who panicked over the weekend would consider their position over what we’ve learned about Hillary [Clinton] through WikiLeaks and the importance of stopping her from truly crippling the country.”
Gingrich said those who had already defected from supporting Trump before he took the debate stage on Sunday “have a lot of egg on their face because the guy who showed up tonight is the Republican nominee [and] he clearly has earned the right to be the Republican nominee.”
“He is back on track,” said the longtime Trump ally. “I think the odds are he wins despite everything the media has done in a totally one-sided way.”
Trump came out swinging against Clinton on Sunday night after receiving flack for not effectively prosecuting the case against her during their first debate last month. The billionaire hit his Democratic opponent hard over her private email practices and foreign policy mistakes, and claimed that she has failed to accomplish anything of significance during her 30 years of public service.
“You know, I’ve heard Hillary complaining about so many different things over the years,” Trump said Sunday night. “But she’s been there for 30 years, she’s been doing this stuff. She never changed. And she never will change.”
