Gingrich: Trump at least as reliable as Andrew Jackson

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said Donald Trump’s temperament is unusual for presidential candidates but that the GOP nominee is at least as dependable as former President Andrew Jackson.

{mosads}”Sure. I mean, he is at least as reliable as Andrew Jackson, who was one of the most decisive presidents in American history,” Gingrich said on The New York Times’s “The Run-Up” podcast, when asked whether Trump had the mental fitness to be president.

“Nobody would have predicted Abraham Lincoln’s capabilities before he became president, and most people didn’t believe him while he was president.”

When pressed, the former Speaker said Trump has a “willingness to break up a system which is decaying.”

“I think the kind of personality that is prepared to be outside the total establishment and have the self confidence to take on the establishment of both parties is a personality which will by definition not be normal,” he said.

“It will not be a good, corporate managerial, go-along-and-get-along kind of guy, and that’s what you guys mean by temperament.”

During the interview, Gingrich acknowledged the last two weeks have been “peculiarly bad” for Trump and good for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, but he said he thinks Clinton is closer to losing than winning by a landslide.

“I think we’re a long way from this being decided,” he said.

Gingrich, who has been a strong supporter of the Republican nominee, said in an interview Sunday he thought Trump had “gotten the messages” and was beginning to turn his campaign around.

His comments came after the GOP nominee had faced a week of scathing attacks stemming from several controversies including his attacks on the family of the late Capt. Humayun Khan and his initial refusal to endorse Speaker Paul Ryan and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for reelection.