Gingrich endorsed Romney, calling him "conservative."
Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich announces that he is suspending his presidential campaign, Wednesday, May 2, 2012, in Arlington, Va.Former presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said Sunday that there are no negotiations between himself and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney over Gingrich’s role at the Republican National Convention or anything else.
Gingrich, speaking on CNN’s State of the Union, said he would “love help” paying off his campaign’s debt, which was $4.3 million at the end of March. He said he would speak at the convention, if asked. But, Gingrich said, “There’s no negotiation.”
“What I want Mitt Romney to do is help us achieve a victory in the Senate, House, and presidency,” Gingrich said.
Asked if he would consider being Romney’s vice president, Gingrich said, “I can’t imagine it… I think Romney’s going to look for somebody who’s younger.” Speaking on CBS’s Face the Nation, he added, “I’m so much my own agent, it’s inconceivable.”
As he did when he formally suspended his campaign last week, Gingrich, in his Sunday morning appearances on CNN and CBS, did not give a ringing endorsement of his former opponent, but argued that Romney is better than Democratic President Barack Obama. “This is not some magic show,” Gingrich said. “You’re either going to get Barack Obama or you’re going to get Mitt Romney. I don’t see how any conservative given that choice could end up favoring Barack Obama.”
During the primary campaign, Gingrich said frequently that Romney was not conservative enough. Sunday, he said that Romney is a conservative. “The choice is the most radical president in American history and a failed president on the economy, and someone who has a solid record on jobs and who in fact on basic principles is conservative,” Gingrich said.
Gingrich said Romney earned the right to represent the Republican Party. “He’s fought his way to the nomination. Nobody gave him an inch….You have to have some respect for a guy who spent six years of his life, put together a serious national campaign, made the case, and in the two debates that were decisive, frankly, he beat me.”
Gingrich also tried to lay to rest the question of whether he had formally endorsed Romney. Gingrich said he and Romney are talking about doing several events together. “As far as I’m concerned, I’ve endorsed him,” Gingrich said.