Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich drew comparisons between Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan in an interview this week.
"Look, Trump has been campaigning in a Republican primary with harsh language and has been routinely attacked by the elite media as much as they can,"
Gingrich told Slate.
"Reagan went through the same cycle. Do you know how many points Reagan was behind Carter in March?
"Twenty-five points. So if you had talked to me in March of 1980, you would have said, 'How can I support this crazy right-winger who makes movies with chimpanzees and is 25 points behind Carter?' And I would have said, 'Because I think he can win.' Which, by the way, he did."
Gingrich said he and his wife were at a meeting with Trump and others on Monday, and they were "impressed" with the real estate mogul.
"In that kind of a setting he talks in a relatively low tone. He is very much somebody who has been good at business. And he listens well. He outlined the campaign as he saw it," Gingrich said.
"I think he did a good job listening. He occasionally asked clarifying questions. He was very open to critical advice. I am not going to get into details, but I will say my overall impression was that in that setting he was totally under control as a guy who has done a ton of business and knows exactly how to operate in that kind of room."
Trump has turned the Republican party upside-down, and
he leads in both polls and delegate votes thus far.
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