CLEVELAND, July 20 (UPI) — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich offered a forceful case for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, saying Democrats have been too lax in defending the country against terrorists, a mistake he said cannot be repeated for another four years.
Gingrich began by rattling off a string of terrorists attacks over the last several weeks, including the bombing of an airport in Turkey, the killings at a Bastille Day celebration in France and the killing of 49 people at an orlando nightclub among other recent atrocities, criticizing President Barack Obama for failing to move more forcefully to combat extremism.
“We cannot let ourselves grow numb to these accumulating atrocities. One analysis estimated since Jan. 2015, some 30,000 people have been killed at the hands of terrorists,” Gingrich said. “Donald Trump is right. We are at war with radical Islamists. We are losing the war and we must change course to win the war.”
Gingrich went farther, presenting a doomsday scenario of terrorists getting access to a nuclear weapon.
“the truth is, although we are losing the war with radical Islamists, we have been very lucky,” Gingrich said. “The danger is even worse than Sept. 11. The worst-case scenario is losing an American city to terrorists armed with weapons of mass destruction. Instead of losing 3,000 people, we could lose 300,000 people.”
Gingrich was reportedly on Trump’s short list as a vice presidential nominee before Trump named Indiana Gov. Mike Pence last week. Gingrich mentioned Pence in the address, saying Trump had made a “very fine” choice for vice president.
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