Newt Gingrich delivers a parade of terrifying horribles to distract from Ted Cruz's stunning diss of Trump at RNC

Gingrich apparently figured he'd give America a nightmare to make us forget about Cruz's non-endorsement

By Sophia Tesfaye

Senior Politics Editor

Published July 21, 2016 2:59AM (EDT)

When Newt Gingrich appeared at the Republican National Convention Wednesday, he did so an hour and a half earlier than he had hoped, and after an unprecedented move by Ted Cruz that rocked Quicken Loans Arena in a shocking round of boos for the one-time Tea Party superstar.

The former speaker was already set to put on a brave face, scheduled to speak directly before the "safe" pick for vice president who won over Donald Trump's gut, Indiana Governor Mike Pence. But after Cruz delivered a rousing speech to the hall of delegates without offering his endorsement of Trump, Gingrich was forced to also "Newtsplain," as CNN's Jake Tapper called it, away the epic diss that had just occurred.

“Ted Cruz said, ‘You can vote your conscience for anyone who will uphold the Constitution,’” Gingrich said, addressing the chaos that Eric Trump had ignored in the speech before. “In this election there is only one candidate who will support the Constitution.”

“So to paraphrase Ted Cruz," Gingrich told the crowd, "if you want to protect the Constitution your only possible choice this fall is the Trump-Pence.”

"With no requirement for endorsement, [Trump] encouraged his competitors to speak once again," he said, seemingly arguing that not having to resort to threats and coercion is a laudable feat. "Gov. Rick Perry, Gov. Chris Christie, Gov. Scott Walker, Dr. Ben Carson, Sen. Marco Rubio and Sen. Ted Cruz have all responded to Donald comes generosity."

Ginrich then quickly jumped into the most nightmarish vision of the global climate delivered at any point throughout an RNC full of the most insidious right-wing lies.

"We are at war," Gingrich said in his usual, lecturing tone.

"We are at war with radical Islamists," he explained, "and we are losing the war"

"They are determined to kill us."

"The danger we face is much worse than the horrors that happened in Germany on New Year's Eve, when twelve-hundred women were assaulted," Gingrich said. "It's worse than what's happening in Israel, where average citizens fear for their lives whenever they leave their homes.The danger is even worse than September 11."


By Sophia Tesfaye

Sophia Tesfaye is Salon's senior editor for news and politics, and resides in Washington, D.C. You can find her on Twitter at @SophiaTesfaye.

MORE FROM Sophia Tesfaye


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Election 2016 Elections 2016 Newt Gingrich Rnc Cleveland