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ARLINGTON, VA -- Newt Gingrich finally ended his presidential bid on Wednesday at a hotel just outside of the nation's capital, where he once led the Republican Party in Congress.
Newt Gingrich end his run for president on after winning only two of the dozens of nominating contests in the Republican primary race. Watch his entire speech.
After a week of broadcasting his intent to suspend his campaign -- including the release of a video earlier this week thanking supporters and previewing the announcement -- Gingrich formally ended his bid for the Republican presidential nomination at an event his campaign had billed as a "press conference to announce suspension of campaign."
Benjamin Myers / Reuters
Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich speaks next to his wife Callista Gingrich as he suspends his presidential campaign May 2 in Arlington, Va.
"Today, I'm suspending the campaign but suspending the campaign does not mean suspending citizenship. Callista and I are committed to be active citizens. We owe it to America. We owe it to Maggie and Robert," Gingrich said, referring to his only two grandchildren, here in his home state of Virginia.
Once bitter rival of Mitt Romney, the presumptive GOP nominee, Gingrich vowed during his 26 minute speech to do whatever possible to beat Barack Obama but came short of actually endorsing Romney.
"I'm asked sometimes is Mitt Romney conservative enough. And my answer is simple: compared to Barack Obama? You know, this is not a choice between Mitt Romney and Ronald Reagan. This is a choice between Mitt Romney and the most radical leftist President in American history," Gingrich said while addressing roughly 100 members of the media inside the Hilton Hotel.
Romney said in a statement: "Newt Gingrich has brought creativity and intellectual vitality to American political life. During the course of this campaign, Newt demonstrated both eloquence and fearlessness in advancing conservative ideas. Although he long ago created an enduring place for himself in American history, I am confident that he will continue to make important contributions to our party and to the life of the nation."
Gingrich’s spokesman said an official endorsement of Romney is still to come.
The news was far from surprising, given the way the former House speaker had been openly discussing the prospect of his exiting from the race ever since he finished poorly in the Delaware primary.
After finishing nearly 30 percent behind Mitt Romney in DE -- a state Gingrich frequented leading up to the election -- the speaker basically gave two concession speeches while campaigning in North Carolina last week. He began calling Romney the "nominee" and said it was time to "be honest about what's happening in the real world as opposed to what you would like to have happen."
Gingrich's campaign had been considered virtually dead for weeks, though the winner of the South Carolina and Georgia primaries vowed to contest the nomination all the way through the Republican convention this summer in Tampa. Gingrich had assailed Romney's conservatism, and, to boot, President Obama's campaign circulated a video this morning featuring the ex-speaker's greatest hits against Romney.
That said, the month of May is far later in the election cycle than most political observers thought Gingrich would last. After suffering missteps in the launch of his campaign, most of Gingrich's senior staff quit on him last June.
Gingrich must also still work to erase millions of debts incurred during his campaign, mostly during its tail end.
But at today’s event, the Speaker seemed cheerful and unfazed by the $4 million hole he is in. He rather spent time talking about one of his most memorable ideas from the past 10 months – his proposed moon colony.
“My wife has pointed out to me approximately 219 times, give or take three, that the moon colony was probably not my most clever comment in this campaign. I thought, frankly, in my role providing material for Saturday night live it was helpful but the underlying key point is real,” Gingrich joked.
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Now that was a close call! Millard Fillmore will continue to be the president with the worst name. He would have EASILY been topped by "Newton Gingrich"!
Now that was a close call! Millard Fillmore will continue to be the president with the worst name. He would have EASILY been topped by "Newton Gingrich"!
"Today, I'm suspending the campaign but suspending the campaign does not mean suspending citizenship. Callista and I are committed to be active citizens. We owe it to America.
Translation - we're still going to be out selling books, DVDs, and movies to anybody that will buy them.
LOL. He really should be stripped of the citizenship and sent to the moon,
Good riddance!
Lets look back at the clown car on the road to the White House. Palin, bachman, perry, cain, newt, huntsman, paul, trump, knucklehead, bobblehead, romney, wacko, bucko and finally NOBODY. The gop has nobody left. The election is over. Obama wins.
So, the guy who told us how awful Mitt Romoney is will NOW throw his support to -- Mitt Romoney! What changed? Nothing!
Your right. And I also find it hilarious how the gop losers so far, are very vague and light on their endorsements...except Santorum who can't seem to muster even the conciliatory hand shake. Romney wins the gop nomination....because he has the most money, not because people like him. A sad way to win a popularity contest.
I hear he will be back in Avengers 2 as a greedy evil mega slob from a vanishing world sent here to consume us all.
Yeah Newt, we just laid around drinking beer and making babies while those unemployment checks came rolling in every week! NOT! Millions of us were searching for and applying to job opportunities, in my case at 4 in the morning! So don't let the door hit your a$$ on the way out!
wow there are some ugly comments in here - I think running for president takes a lot of courage and is probably one of the most challenging things a person could do - especially in today's political climate - I don't know how guys like Mitt, Newt and Rick do it - I for one would not subject myself to all the ridicule and hate filled comments - but am glad somebody still runs. Kudos to Newt for stepping down and supporting Mitt. Now its time to put the primaries behind us and get on with our primary objective - defeating BO - go Mitt!
I beg to differ - it takes a HUGE ego, lots of MONEY and SMARTS - Newt had the ego and smarts, but not the money. Romoney has both ego and money but the smarts are somewhat lacking - he's scary in what he says.
It wont happen. Republicans are doomed to fail and fail miserably. Romney will not be able to take the truth and face his karma, I suggest lots of kleenex.....4 more years here we come.......pop the corks
When your 'primary objective' is merely defeating another politician, that is why you get stuck with an idiot like Mitt. He has the same puppet strings attached to him that Obama does and the hands that hold them are criminals Goldman Sachs. If Hitler were alive and polled higher than Obama would you 'unite' behind him?? Ron Paul is way better than either of these two clowns....and yes in the major polls he beats Obama.
Guess that's the difference between us regular folks and politicians -- he can "be cheerful" even owing $4 million. To the rest of us this sounds like real money! As someone pointed out the other day on the radio, Romney got the job done: he had his campaign in place and ready for the long-term. He has the experience, the leadership, and the presence to be a good president and I have confidence the American people will elect him....
Calypso looks pi$$ed in the photo.
LOL Doesn't she though?! Ain't it grand? LOL
Hey Newt....don't let the door hit you in your fat pants on your way out-it swings right.
doesnt matter....the voters suspended his bid months ago.
Yea! Yea!! I`m going all!! the way to the convention !! mark my word !! all the way no matter what!! Unless your $$$ runs out!! all the way!! we are here to stay!! We`ll see u at Tiffanys--got plenty of money for that !! ALLL The WWaayyyyy!!
Thats only if the old ugly casino guy kept writing checks to him......ya know he bounced a 500 dollar check last month.
Mittwit was right about one thing. Newt was creative. Hell the guy had idiots convinced he is a conservative. Now watch him try to convince everyone Romney is a conservative. One fraud backing another. Go with the troops and support Ron Paul!
The only thing Ronnie can do is ride a bike better than Romney..Constitutionalist..ck his voting record..earmarks..He is part of the problem..He tickles the ears of the young people and they love it. He wants something for all his Delegates...
conservative? more like satans uncle
Take your computer animated looking wife ( as perfect looking as she can be ) and go all the way to Tiffanys.
Thank God. Can you imagine his wife "first" lady.
What a waste of money carting that old ugly fart windbag around and someone dishin out the bucks to buy his election circus for him. What a freaken waste. The old ugly casino dude could have helped so many people with that amount of money.
I'm kinda sad. No more wacky nuts left in the GOP race. Oops! I forgot, there's still Ron Paul. Unfortunately that cranky old fool isn't as amusing as the others.
very egocentric, out of reality kind of guy, we will surely miss the american lunar colony by the end of his second term....... definitely a LUNATIC with no moral core......impeached by his own party , found guilty of corruption, very misguided "family values kind of guy"........cannot stand people actually believing all his lies and conduct...REST in peace the political career of "THE PRESIDENT OF THE MOON"...........
Don't let the door hit ya ...
Well kids? SNL should be entertaining with the wrap up of the clown car vacation. Start lickin yer chops for the real feast. bbq mitt anyone?
Hey Newt - how did that Amnesty thing work out for you?
It's about time you realized you were going nowhere in this nomination race. Be sure to take your cheap china doll with you. Besure to put her in bubble wrap so as to make sure she doesn't crack on your way home with your tail between your legs. I don't know whose worst looking you or the mrs....
His wife is a weird looking bird.
That's his wife? I thought it was his blowup doll.