Newt Gingrich said Thursday of Donald Trump that there is a "Big Trump" and a "Little Trump" and the latter is "frankly pathetic."
Gingrich, a former speaker of the House and Trump supporter who was on the Republican nominee’s shortlist of potential running mates, reacted with dismay to Trump’s criticisms of current Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wis.). Trump said at a rally on Wednesday that Ryan had not congratulated him for his debate performance, and he accused the speaker of making a "sinister deal" behind his back.
After playing the clip of Trump’s comments, Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo looked at Gingrich ruefully and asked for his response.
"Let me just say about Trump, who I admire and I try to help as much as I can," Gingrich said. "There’s a big Trump and a little Trump. The little Trump is frankly pathetic. I mean, he’s mad over not getting a phone call?"
Gingrich said Trump had one opponent he needed to focus on: Hillary Clinton.
"Her name is not Paul Ryan," he said. "It’s not anybody else. It’s Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump has to go out and make the case because the elite media won’t. He has to make a case that is clear, unified, simple–that people understand."
Gingrich praised Ryan for focusing on "defeating Hillary," whose presidency would "end American as we know it."
"Don’t spend any energy defending Trump. Spend your energy beating Hillary," he said.
He added he felt Trump would "probably" win the election.
Trump has been publicly attacking Ryan since the speaker told fellow Republicans he would no longer defend the nominee after a tape emerged of Trump making sexually explicit remarks in 2005. Since that time, several accounts have emerged from women who say Trump acted inappropriately with them, including sexual harassment.
The Trump campaign has demanded a retraction of a New York Times story detailing two women’s accounts of sexual misconduct.