Helsinki was "just a mistake" for President Donald Trump, but he "pretty well" got out of what he'd said during his press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Thursday, and he hopes the president has "learned something."
Gingrich, though, told Fox News' "America's Newsroom" that many of the former Obama administration officials who are now criticizing the president are the ones who were in charge of national security at the time Russia was meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
"When the president misspoke the the other day in Helsinki, I immediately tweeted out that it was a mistake, the biggest mistake I thought of his presidency up until now and he had to correct it immediately," Within 24 hours, Trump gave a long talk, and Gingrich said he thinks that got him out of what he'd said, when it appeared he believed Russia over U.S. intelligence agencies on the matter of interference in the 2016 election.
"He was too enthusiastic, spent too many hours with Putin and he was rocking and rolling," said Gingrich. "You can't do that when you are the president because the whole world is watching you. When you make a mistake, the whole world shakes and shudders. I hope that the president has learned something."
However, Gingrich said, Trump is more tough on Russia than former President Barack Obama "ever dreamed of being."
"He has expelled 60 Russian agents from the country and he has closed four Russian offices," said Gingrich. "He has imposed sanctions on over 100 Russian individuals and companies. He has provided offensive weapons to the Ukrainians, which Obama refused to do."
It was people from the Obama administration who had the toughest words against Trump, said Gingrich, including former CIA Director John Brennan, who said the president had committed treason and ex-FBI Director James Comey, who said nobody can vote Republican and be a patriot.
"They are now hysterical trying to get us to look at Trump rather than look at them," said Gingrich. "It was their failure. They didn't do their job, and I think whatever the Russians got away with is because of the weakness the Obama administration had.
Gingrich added that the Trump administration is now getting into its next phase of foreign policy, including with China, North Korea and Russia, and he predicts the American side will be 'remarkably tough."
"My prediction is that the American system will be remarkably tough, that we are going to pay attention," said Gingrich.
However, "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who graduated first in his class at West Point, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis a four-star Marine general. Chief of Staff John Kelly a four-star Marine general, National Security Advisor John Bolton, one of the toughest guys on foreign policy in the entire country, those guys aren't going to get together to drink the kool-aid and pretend either that the North Korean dictator or the Russian dictator are nice guys," said Gingrich.
He also predicted Trump will keep implementing tougher policies.
"I think that Trump is a guy who likes to be friendly, he likes to be positive," said Gingrich, "but he didn't get to be a billionaire by being stupid and he knows how to make sure whether or not you are delivering on the contract."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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