Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich criticized President Donald Trump Monday, saying the President needs to learn to be a team player and “quit stepping on himself” if he wants to earn the support of Republicans in Congress.
Gingrich, a vocal supporter of Trump, appeared on “Fox and Friends” Monday and outlined three steps the President needs to take in order to unite with legislators, the first of which “he has already taken” by hiring John Kelly as his chief of staff.
“He understands Washington very well and he’s respected on both sides of the aisle. … Step number two, the President’s got to learn to think in team terms,” he said, equating the President’s White House strategy to that of his golf game.
“The game he’s now in is a team sport, and I think he needs to think like a team leader and team builder, and that’s a very big change for somebody who is used to playing an individual sport.”
Referencing the President’s press conference last week — in which he diverted from the talking points to blame both white supremacists and counter-protesters for the violence that broke out at a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia — Gingrich said Trump has to “be more disciplined” about the things he says.
“The last thing he has got to do, I’m being very candid here, he has got to quit stepping on himself. He had a very good infrastructure press conference the other day, and then he stepped on it, blew it, guaranteed that it wouldn’t get covered,” he said. “And then I think generally, he could end up being a remarkably great President. But he’s got to make a couple of mid-course corrections.”
Watch the clip below:
