Thread: Gingrich cuts off reporters when asked about ex-wife's open marriage claims

Gingrich cuts off reporters when asked about ex-wife's open marriage claims
By Cameron Joseph - 01/19/12 01:23 PM ET

BEAUFORT, S.C. — Newt Gingrich abruptly ended a news conference Thursday when pressed on his extramarital affairs.

“I’m not going to say anything about Marianne,” Gingrich said with an edge to his voice as he was pressed with questions about an explosive interview his ex-wife Marianne Gingrich has given to ABC. Marianne Gingrich claimed her former husband asked her for an “open marriage” so he could continue a romantic involvement with a congressional aide who eventually became his third wife, Callista Gingrich.

“It’s an issue I confront every time it comes up, and I confront it exactly the same way it comes up — and the people seem to be satisfied by it,” Gingrich said when asked by a reporter if he thought he needed to further address the matter.

Reporters tried to ask Gingrich more specifically about his ex-wife’s charges, but he refused to answer.

“I just answered you — that’s my answer,” he responded testily before trying to move on to the endorsement his campaign received Thursday from Rick Perry, who bowed out of the race.

“I want to thank all of you for being here, I’m delighted Gov. Perry endorsed me and I look forward to tonight at the debate,” he said before walking off quickly.

Gingrich is rising in polls in South Carolina, but his surge could be threatened by the interview his second wife gave to ABC News. The network Thursday released a partial transcript of her remarks, which overshadowed news of Perry’s decision to quit the race.
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Marianne Gingrich’s interview is scheduled to air Thursday night on ABC, but the early release of the transcript makes it likely to come up at the presidential debate that same night.

Gingrich noted that his daughters have complained to ABC that showing the interview is “tawdry and inappropriate.”

“Both of my daughters are prepared to speak on the record to anyone who’d like to talk to them,” he said. “Several other people who knew the situation are prepared to speak on the record. I’m not getting involved.”

At a barbeque and rally in Walterboro, S.C. later in the afternoon, Gingrich and Callista were joined by one of his daughters, a grandson, brother and sister. The show of force seemed designed to encourage the perception that Gingrich is a family man.

At the event, Gingrich took a shot at the media for digging into his past.

"We knew the news media would be as destructive as it could be. And so, we had to raise the question, ‘do we really want to go through that?” he said, claiming it had taken him and his family a year to decide he would run for president.

Gingrich has shown signs of momentum in South Carolina, which will hold its primary Saturday, before the interview broke. He had a strong performance in Monday’s debate, his events had drawn big crowds and Romney’s campaign gave indications it was worried.

It’s unclear what, if any, immediate effect the interview will have on the primary. The influential Drudge Report website first reported its existence and has been touting the story for the past 24 hours. The Washington Post released its own interview with Marianne Gingrich, and her charges have dominated most of Thursday’s news cycle.

Earlier in the day, the Romney campaign held a press call to attack Gingrich, but it focused on his record as House Speaker, not on his marriages.

Hosted by former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu (R) and Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), the Romney surrogates blasted Gingrich for his ethics violations while House Speaker, the government shutdown under his watch and his long history as a Washington insider.

“We had … well over 218 Republicans in the Congress when Newt was the Speaker, and you can’t find more than a handful who will come to his defense,” King said. “And it has nothing to do with ideology, nothing to do with philosophy. It’s all the erratic, self-serving narcissism of Newt.”

Sununu said Democrats are “laughing with glee behind closed doors” at the prospect of a Gingrich nomination.

He warned that Gingrich has so much baggage, including the ethics violations for which he was fined $300,000, that an “October surprise” during the 2012 election would be inevitable.

“There was a 7-to-1 vote in that Ethics Committee, which means the material was pretty convincing, even to the four Republicans, three of which voted against him,” Sununu said. “I think it reflects on his reliability as a leader and, frankly, reflects on the fact that [House Minority Leader Nancy] Pelosi was part of that process, and whatever Congresswoman Pelosi knows, President Obama knows.

“And if Pelosi knows, Obama knows. And if Obama knows, this is certainly a ripe package for an October surprise.”

Pelosi served on the Ethics Committee that investigated Gingrich for tax cheating and campaign finance violations in the late 1990s.

She told Talking Points Memo in early December that she will reveal information about him when the time is right.

Gingrich also was confronted over his extramarital affairs at a campaign rally late Thursday morning, asked by a man who called him a “very inspiring” candidate how he would explain his “lapses in judgment” to voters.

In that response, Gingrich emphasized his closeness to his daughters and the fact that he is a grandfather.

“I’ve been very open about my life,” he said. “I’ve been very open about the mistakes that I have made. I was very open about needing to go to God for forgiveness and seeking reconciliation. Callista and I have a wonderful relationship, we are very close to our two daughters and their husbands. We’re very close to our two grandchildren, Maggie and Robert.”

The former Speaker did get some good news earlier in the day when Rick Perry endorsed him after exiting the GOP race.

“Newt is not perfect, but who among us is?” the Texas governor said.

At the beginning of the press availability Thursday, Gingrich touted his endorsement from Perry and said he feels confident he can win in South Carolina and become the eventual nominee.

“When this becomes a two-person race, then Romney has a huge problem because he’s too liberal for most Republican voters,” Gingrich said. “Gov. Perry helped today. We are going to do everything we can in the next 72 hours to win here, and I think we have a real chance to win.”

Gingrich also has called on Rick Santorum to exit the presidential race and endorse his candidacy.

— Jonathan Easley contributed.

This story was updated at 3:35 p.m.

Gingrich cuts off reporters when asked about ex-wife's open marriage claims - The Hill's Ballot Box

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Gingrich Slams CNN's King: 'I Am Appalled That You Would Begin a Presidential Debate With a Topic Like That'

By Noel Sheppard | January 19, 2012 | 20:52

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CNN’s John King despicably started Thursday’s Republican presidential debate in South Carolina by bringing up allegations made by Newt Gingrich’s ex-wife earlier in the day.

When asked to respond to the controversy, the former Speaker of the House said, “I am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate with a topic like that,” (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary):

Read more: Gingrich Slams CNN's King: 'I Am Appalled That You Would Begin a Presidential Debate With a Topic Like That' | NewsBusters.org

To the amazement of those in the audience as well as viewers at home, King addressed this issue right out of the gate.

“As you know," said the moderator to the former Speaker, "your ex-wife gave an interview to ABC News and another interview with the Washington Post and this story has now gone viral on the Internet. In it, she says you came to her in 1999 at a time when you were having an affair. She says you asked her, Sir, to enter into an open marriage. Would you like to take some time to respond to that?”

“No,” answered Gingrich, “but I will.”

After a pause, the former Speaker said, "I think the destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to govern this country, harder to attract decent people to run for public office, and I am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate with a topic like that.”

This elicited a standing ovation from the crowd on hand.

When they settled down, Gingrich continued, “Every person in here knows personal pain. Every person in here has had someone close to them go through painful things. To take an ex-wife and make it two days before a primary a significant question in a presidential campaign is as close to despicable as anything I can imagine.”

This evoked more applause from the audience.

“My two daughters,” continued the former Speaker, “wrote the head of ABC and made the point that it was wrong, that they should pull it, and I am frankly astounded that CNN would take trash like that and use it to open a presidential debate.”

Once again, the audience applauded Gingrich’s remarks, after which King said, “As you noted, Mr. Speaker, this story did not come from our network. As you also know, it is the subject of conversation on the campaign.”

The former Speaker was having none of this and scolded, “John, it was repeated by your network. You chose to start the debate with it. Don’t try to blame somebody else. You and your staff chose to start this debate with that.”

Obviously feeling he needed to now explain the matter, Gingrich said, “The story is false. Every personal friend I have who knew us in that period says the story is false. We offered several of them to ABC to prove it was false. They weren’t interested because they would like to attack any Republican.”

Rolling to a crescendo, the former Speaker said, “I am tired of the elite media protecting Barack Obama by attacking Republicans.”

Associate Editor’s note: As you are likely aware, since the financial collapse of 2008, charities and non-profit organizations have seen a sharp reduction in donations. Although the environment has improved, contributions are still nowhere near where they were prior to the recession. Unfortunately, the Media Research Center has not been immune. With this in mind, your support has become more important than ever. With a critical election approaching, the liberal media needs to be monitored 24/7. As we have been predicting for months, the press are willing to do anything to get their beloved politicians elected and/or reelected. As such, we need your help to fight this fight. Any contribution, even $10, is greatly appreciated. Please consider a tax-deductible gift to the Media Research Center to help us battle the liberal media. Thank you.
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Read more: Gingrich Slams CNN's King: 'I Am Appalled That You Would Begin a Presidential Debate With a Topic Like That' | NewsBusters.org

Read more: Gingrich Slams CNN's King: 'I Am Appalled That You Would Begin a Presidential Debate With a Topic Like That' | NewsBusters.org


Gingrich Slams CNN's King: 'I Am Appalled That You Would Begin a Presidential Debate With a Topic Like That' | NewsBusters.org


I think he is very belligerent...my opinion of course!!!!!

Gingrich Slams CNN's King: 'I Am Appalled That You Would Begin a Presidential Debate With a Topic Like That'

I'm appalled that someone that likes getting their freak on wants to do it in the White House on MY Dime..... so whats up with the plans there Newt ... Nutty Barry's got dance night... what have you got planned slick... swingers Partys

I'm even more appalled that Americans are voting for this man ... The Republican Party has completely lost its fricken mind and is rapidly turned into the other Irrellivant Party

We as a county endured a Town Drunk "Village Idiot" that destroyed the Republican Party

We as a county endured a psychopathic compulsive Lier Crack head that destroyed the Democratic Party

and now we have a Megalomaniac Globalist Swinger and America has him leading in South Carolina

America is gone, Insanity rules the Masses .. on the bright side there could be an opportunity to pass out American flags as the dumbed down citizens are marched into the FEMA Camps

video at link below



NBC's Curry Claims Gingrich 'Playing the Race Card' in South Carolina
By: Kyle Drennen
Thursday, January 19, 2012 11:39 AM EST


On Thursday's NBC Today, co-host Ann Curry accused Newt Gingrich of playing up racial tensions to get votes in the South Carolina GOP primary: "...you've been increasingly stepping up your characterization of President Obama as a "food stamp president," interestingly, in the lead-up now to South Carolina....Are you intentionally playing the race card to win votes?"

Gingrich dismissed the accusation and condemned those promoting it: "You know, modern liberals are just, I think frankly, totally off the deep end....their only answer is to yell racism and hide."

Curry quoted a New York Times editorial as evidence of Gingrich's supposedly racially charged campaign tactic: "In South Carolina, where a Confederate flag still waves on the front lawn of the state capital, largely because of the efforts of the state GOP, it remains good primary politics to stir up racial animosity and then link it to President Obama."

In response, Gingrich explained:


...when conservatives care about the poor, and conservatives offer ideas to help the poor, and conservatives suggest that the poor would rather have a paycheck than a food stamp, the very liberals who have failed them, at places like The New York Times, promptly scream racism, because they have no defense for the failure of liberal institutions which have trapped poor children in bad schools, trapped them in bad neighborhoods, trapped them in crime-ridden situations. Liberal solutions have failed.

Curry claimed that Gingrich had began criticizing Obama over food stamps in the lead-up to the South Carolina primary. Gingrich directed her to her own network for evidence to the contrary: "I was asked about it on Meet the Press in May of last year. I have consistently all year long....said Barack Obama is the best food stamp president....his policies have put more Americans on food stamps than any president in history."

Back then, host David Gregory used the same line of attack as Curry: "First of all, you gave a speech in Georgia with language a lot of people think could be coded racially-tinged language, calling the president, the first black president, a food stamp president."

After being rebuffed by Gingrich on the race card charge, Curry tried another line of attack: "Alright, let's move on. Back in 1995, your ex-wife Marianne, told Vanity Fair that she could derail your campaign with one TV interview. Tonight she is giving that interview. Is there anything that she can say, Newt Gingrich, that could end your campaign?...Is your ex-wife someone that you think people should see as credible, on your character?"

Gingrich lambasted the media for dredging up the criticism: "My two daughters, Kathy and Jackie, have sent a letter to the president of ABC News, saying from a family perspective, they think this is totally wrong....16 and 20-year-old stories, you know, we have real stories this week of the failure of the Obama administration. And I realize that some of the elite media would like to do almost anything other than cover his failures."

Here is a full transcript of the January 19 interview:


7:07AM ET

ANN CURRY: Newt Gingrich, the aforementioned is in Hilton Head, South Carolina, he's joining us now this morning exclusively. Mr. speaker, good morning.

NEWT GINGRICH: Ann, it's good to talk to you.

CURRY: Alright, now let's begin with this breaking news that with most precincts counted, it was actually Rick Santorum and not Mitt Romney who won in South – in Iowa, rather. If this is – given this news, why shouldn't Rick Santorum and not you, be the alternative to Mitt Romney?

GINGRICH: Well, the fact is if you look at your own poll, I'm clearly within five points now of beating Romney, there's a poll that will come out later on this morning that says as of last night I'm two points ahead of Romney. The only effective conservative vote is to vote for Newt Gingrich. Rick Santorum is a fine person, but I think he's running in fourth place in South Carolina. So South Carolina conservatives, if they want to stop a Massachusetts moderate, only have one effective vote, and that's for Newt Gingrich. That's just a mathematical reality, given the polling.

CURRY: Well, you're talking about the numbers and this surge. Is it purely because of these negative ads that are running? Or is it – and is this what voters deserve?

GINGRICH: Well, first of all, the voters deserve a totally positive campaign. And as you'll remember, when we had a totally positive campaign, I was leading Romney by 15 points nationally in the Gallup poll. Then we got hit by a wave, a tsunami of negative attack ads, I stayed positive all the way through Iowa.

And what we discovered was, if you didn't match Romney's willingness to be very, very clear, you were just going to be unilaterally disarmed. So we haven't gone negative, we have been very clear and very factual. The new ad we just released has Senator McCain attacking Romney for being so negative and for flip-flopping. It has Governor Huckabee attacking Romney for being so negative. Those are real clips of what they said. They're clearly totally accurate. We're not distorting anything. Unlike some of the Romney ads.

CURRY: Well, let's talk about some of the things you are saying. Because the numbers are tightening while in recent days you've been increasingly stepping up your characterization of President Obama as a "food stamp president," interestingly, in the lead-up now to South Carolina. Quoting a New York Times editorial, "In South Carolina, where a Confederate flag still waves on the front lawn of the state capital, largely because of the efforts of the state GOP, it remains good primary politics to stir up racial animosity and then link it to President Obama." Are you intentionally playing the race card to win votes?

GINGRICH: You know, modern liberals are just, I think frankly, totally off the deep end. I went to the Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast Monday morning with a Republican congressman who's an African-American, Tim Scott. We talked about the corridor of shame, which President Obama campaigned in, in South Carolina, and has done nothing for. I outlined a plan to build an I-73 corridor that would turn that corridor of shame into a corridor of hope. Every African-American I know of-

CURRY: But I'm asking you, Newt Gingrich, about the nature of the way you're characterizing President Obama as a food stamp president and – go ahead.

GINGRICH: Right, and I'm trying to make a point to you, which is when conservatives care about the poor, and conservatives offer ideas to help the poor, and conservatives suggest that the poor would rather have a paycheck than a food stamp, the very liberals who have failed them, at places like The New York Times, promptly scream racism, because they have no defense for the failure of liberal institutions which have trapped poor children in bad schools, trapped them in bad neighborhoods, trapped them in crime-ridden situations. Liberal solutions have failed-

CURRY: Point taken.

GINGRICH: And their only answer is to yell racism and hide.

CURRY: Point taken. But you are using these words leading up to South Carolina. Why are you not, why didn't you step up these words, this campaign before New Hampshire? Before Iowa? Why now?

GINGRICH: I used these words – I used these at the Georgia Republican convention last year in May. And I was asked about it on Meet the Press in May of last year. I have consistently all year long, I began doing it in the 2010 campaign. I have said Barack Obama is the best food stamp president, the most effective food stamp president in history. His policies have put – and he just did it again yesterday, with the Keystone pipeline – his policies have put more Americans on food stamps than any president in history. Now why is it the liberals get so touchy about a fact? It is a fact that he has put more people on food stamps. I've been saying this for like eight months. This is not a South Carolina thing

CURRY: But there is now a new-

GINGRICH: I've been saying it consistently.

CURRY: Alright, let's move on. Back in 1995, your ex-wife Marianne, told Vanity Fair that she could derail your campaign with one TV interview. Tonight she is giving that interview. Is there anything that she can say, Newt Gingrich, that could end your campaign?

GINGRICH: I'm not going to say anything negative about Marianne. My two daughters, Kathy and Jackie, have sent a letter to the president of ABC News, saying from a family perspective, they think this is totally wrong. They think ABC should not air anything like this. And that intruding into family things that are a decade, more than a decade old, are simply wrong.

Now, I'll let my daughters speak for it I'm sure they'd be glad to come on and chat about it I'm not going to comment beyond that because I'm focused on the big issues that concern the American people, which are the current challenges we have, largely because of the failure of the Obama presidency.

CURRY: Is your ex-wife someone that you think people should see as credible, on your character?

GINGRICH: I think that my two daughters are very credible on my character. I think the people who have known me a long time are credible on my character. I think we have lots of folks willing to speak about this. I'm not going to. People will have to judge me, I'm a 68-year-old grandfather. They see how close I am to my wife, Calista. They see how close I am to my daughters and my son-in-laws, to my two grandchildren, Maggie and Robert. They'll have to make their mind up.

But 16 and 20-year-old stories, you know, we have real stories this week of the failure of the Obama administration. And I realize that some of the elite media would like to do almost anything other than cover his failures. But the fact is, you look at the Keystone pipeline yesterday, you look at the Saudi decision to go with China to build nuclear capability on Sunday, you look at the failure of this administration to stand up to the Iranians and actually cancel an exercise with the Israelis. We have a lot we can talk about today about real problems.

CURRY: And I know you've got a busy few days ahead leading up to South Carolina. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, thank you so much for joining us this morning.

GINGRICH: Thank you.

NBC's Curry Claims Gingrich 'Playing the Race Card' in South Carolina

GINGRICH: I used these words – I used these at the Georgia Republican convention last year in May. And I was asked about it on Meet the Press in May of last year. I have consistently all year long, I began doing it in the 2010 campaign. I have said Barack Obama is the best food stamp president, the most effective food stamp president in history. His policies have put – and he just did it again yesterday, with the Keystone pipeline – his policies have put more Americans on food stamps than any president in history. Now why is it the liberals get so touchy about a fact? It is a fact that he has put more people on food stamps. I've been saying this for like eight months. This is not a South Carolina thing

As much as I dislike this man I have to agree here on what he said. Gee truth hurts Curry..doesn't it.


here is more on the same subject video at link below

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CNN Hints At 'Racial Coding' In Gingrich's Words
By: Matt Hadro
Thursday, January 19, 2012 10:06 PM EST


On Thursday’s Starting Point, CNN's Soledad O'Brien insinuated that candidate Newt Gingrich speaks with a "racial coding" on the campaign trail. She also gave credibility to former President Jimmy Carter saying Gingrich has a "subtlety of racism" about him, asking her panel if the quote was a "bombshell."

O'Brien could also have questioned Carter's remark as a smear coming from a Democrat. Instead she seemed to argue in favor of his side. “Is there racial coding in what Newt Gingrich has said in not only in these debates, but also even in some of the campaign stops?” she asked her panel.

When conservative Will Cain of TheBlaze.com tried to argue that Gingrich had not directly brought race into his comments about food stamps and low-income students, O’Brien interrupted him and told him he was “naïve.”

“I just think when you make statements that don't have any relation to race, there are a certain group of people that somehow hear,” Cain stated before he was interrupted. “Maybe I’m naïve,” he shrugged, before O’Brien laughingly affirmed that sentiment.

[Video below.]





She also defended Obama from Gingrich’s charge of him being the “food stamp president,” noting “if you actually look at those numbers, it was George Bush.” USDA data would disagree with that assumption.

The highest average number of people on food stamps for any year during the Bush administration was 28.2 million, in the fiscal year 2008. The number increased by almost 60 percent over the next three years to 44.7 million for the fiscal year 2011.

A transcript of the segment, which aired on January 19 at 7:09 a.m. EST, is as follows:

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Let's talk a little bit about Jimmy Carter's comments on Piers Morgan. I thought this was a really interesting interview, because we've been discussing this, Roland, over the last couple days. So this is what Jimmy Carter told Piers Morgan last night.

(Video Clip)

JIMMY CARTER, former President of the United States: I think he has got that subtlety of racism that I know quite well and that –

PIERS MORGAN, CNN host, Piers Morgan Tonight: Really?

CARTER: -- Gingrich knows quite well that appeals to some people in Georgia, particularly the right wing.

MORGAN: And you think he's doing it deliberately?

CARTER: I think so. He knows as well the words that you use, like "welfare mommas" and so forth, that have been appealing in the past in those days when they cherished segregation of the races. So he's appealing for that in South Carolina. I don't think it will pay off in the long run.

(End Video Clip)

O'BRIEN: So, is this a bombshell at all? I mean, I think a lot – this is the debate we were having yesterday, which was that sort of racial coding. Is there racial coding in what Newt Gingrich has said in not only in these debates, but also even in some of the campaign stops.

CAIN: You know how I feel about this, Soledad. I think when you draw a series of logical conclusions where race is not involved – if you say that unemployment is higher in urban areas and you say children emulate the behavior of their parents, draw that string. And then you say children in urban areas aren't acquiring a work ethic –

O'BRIEN: But I'm talking about things when you say that this president is the president who is the food stamp president, and if you actually look at those numbers, it was George Bush.

(Crosstalk)

CAIN: There are more people on food stamps who are white than black. I just think when you make statements that don't have any relation to race, there are a certain group of people that somehow hear –

(Crosstalk)

CAIN: Maybe I'm naive.

CAIN: Yes. Yes, you are. You are naive. Yes, you are.

(Crosstalk)

ROLAND MARTIN: Now that was (Unintelligible) at 7:05 in the morning.

O'BRIEN: I'd say you are naive. You are.

(Crosstalk)

BROWNSTEIN: I think in many ways the heart of the Tea Party movement, there's evidence at the heart of the Tea Party movement is opposition to transfer payments. So what Newt Gingrich is doing with food stamps is something that has never been done with it before. In the 80s, as Jimmy Carter suggested, Republicans talked about welfare queens. Welfare was the symbol of government that took money from people who were working hard and ostensibly gave it to people who didn't deserve it. That went away in the 1990s when Bill Clinton and Gingrich and Bob Dole, Trent Lott agreed on welfare reform.

What you're seeing now, I think, when Gingrich is talking about food stamps is raising that as kind of a replacement for the welfare argument in a way that it has never been used before. But it is the same core argument, whether you have a racial development or not. The core Republican argument about government is it's taking money from hardworking people and giving it to those who don't deserve it.

MARTIN: Okay. Are y'all done?

(Crosstalk)

MARTIN: Right. Let me help you with something. When Newt Gingrich says, I'm going to go to the NAACP and I'm going to say, stop demanding welfare checks and demand paychecks. He didn't say La Raza, he didn't say the National Organization of Women, he didn't say I'm going to a Tea Party rally. He specifically said the NAACP. What does that mean? I'm talking to black people.

O'BRIEN: And when he talks about poor children and trying to give opportunities to work as janitors, he's talking about, he says, kids who are –

MARTIN: And then he cleans it up. Then he comes back to clean it up. And the problem is, look, you knew exactly what you were saying the first time, and so then when you say, no what I really mean is – and then you see commentators say, well here's what I think he meant – no, no, no. We heard what he said, we know what he meant, and we know the game.

-- Matt Hadro is a News Analyst at the Media Research Center

CNN Hints At 'Racial Coding' In Gingrich's Words

video at link below



Gingrich Says He’ll Need Public Support for ‘Eight Years’ to Fix Policies of ‘Phony President’

By Fred Lucas
January 19, 2012
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Gingrich 2012

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich shakes hands with supporters while standing with his wife Callista Gingrich before speaking at Mutt's Barbeque in Easley, S.C. Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. (AP Photo/The Independent-Mail, Nathan Gray) THE GREENVILLE NEWS OUT, SENECA NEWS OUT

Bluffton, S.C. (CNSNews.com) – Newt Gingrich, poised for a potential comeback, told South Carolina voters he needed their support for two terms in the White House and referred to President Barack Obama as a “phony president” when poking fun at his Disney World visit.

The former speaker of the House had poor showings in Iowa and New Hampshire, but recent polls show Gingrich leading former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. He also received the endorsement of Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday, after Perry announced he was quitting the race.

A Rasmussen poll from Jan. 18 shows Gingrich leading Romney 33 percent to 31 percent, while an Insider Advantage poll shows Gingrich leading Romney 32 percent to 29 percent.

Gingrich has said if he won South Carolina, he could roll on to win the Republican nomination. But he has also insisted there might be no way to stop Romney from becoming the nominee if he wins the state’s primary on Saturday.

Speaking to a large gathering of seniors on Thursday, Gingrich referenced needing public support for serving eight years, or two full four-year terms, as president.

“No one person, not even the president, can fix the scale of trouble we’re in,” Gingrich told the audience. “So I’m here to ask you to be with me for the next eight years, to stand side by side with Callista and me to remind the Congress everyday where we’re trying to go and also the governor, the state legislature, the city council, the county commission and the school board. We all have to migrate in the same direction.”

It has been a tumultuous week leading up to the South Carolina primary – which has picked the winner of the party’s nomination since 1980. Notably, the race is now down to the final four candidates, Romney, Gingrich, Texas Rep. Ron Paul and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.

On Monday, former Utah Gov. John Huntsman dropped out of the race and endorsed Romney. On Thursday, the Iowa Republican Party announced that it had certified that Santorum actually won the Iowa Caucus by 34 votes, after previously saying that Romney had won the state by eight votes. That same day Perry, once a frontrunner for the nomination, dropped out and endorsed Gingrich.

Gingrich also took a shot at Obama for holding a town hall meeting at the Magic Kingdom in Disney World in Orlando, Fla.

Obama touted tourism at the visit, calling the theme park “the top tourist destination in the world” and saying “America is open for business.” The president further joked that he looked forward to meeting Mickey Mouse, “It’s always nice to meet a world leader who has bigger ears than me.”

Gingrich wondered why such a venue was selected.

“To close half of the Magic Kingdom for the purpose of a White House invitation town hall meeting on a phony Main Street, on behalf of a phony president, just strikes me as weird,” Gingrich said. “This is one of those things historians will write about in the future.

“So what I was going to say before you all rudely interrupted me with your laughter: I want you to think about the president standing with Mickey Mouse on one side and Goofy on the other. I’ll let you decide which cabinet office he’s likely to offer the two of them while he’s there,” he added.

Gingrich Says He