All right. Here with more reaction, former speaker of the House, FOX News contributor Newt Gingrich. We've been friends a long time, mister speaker. I was the emcee the night you became speaker of the House in 1994 in that historic election. You've been through a lot of tough elections over the years. They're all tough elections. This is a pretty, pretty divided country at this time. And I just wanted to get your thoughts more than anything else, beyond being a speaker and a great speaker. I believe you were, you were the last speaker to balance the budget, not once, but I think it was two years in a row, maybe three. You're a historian from a historical perspective. We have had assassination and assassination attempts before. That's clearly what happened here tonight. And it looks like this shooter came within a millimeter or two of an assassination tonight. And it's got to be, it's shocking the core of a nation as well, that in an adjacent rooftop that this can happen. What's your overall view and your overall initial thoughts?

Well, first of all, I'm glad that we had a little bit of time. I was very emotional earlier. I'm not sure I could have done television because I've known Trump for about 30 years. So I'm watching a personal friend get shot in front of me. I mean, it was a very intimate moment for millions of Americans. And it was a providential moment. If he had turned to look at that big screen and when he was turned, the bullet would have hit him here. When he turned back, it hit him here. That's how close he came to being killed. And I think we need to understand that, that this was providential and he reacted appropriately. But I also will tell you he has been vilified by Joe Biden and the Democrats and the left wing more than any president since Abraham Lincoln. And this was a political act. It was a deliberate act. And as you know, because we've talked about it off air, I've said for four months that when all the legal baloney fails and when they begin to realize he is going to win, that violence is the next thing because they're that desperate.

And I think we need to understand, people in this country have got to decide to are we going to be Americans and talk with each other as Americans, or are we going to become two bitterly divided factions? And right now, if you read what Joe Biden said last night, he's clearly on the bitterly divided side. If he has to totally split this country in order to try to retain office, at least through last night, he'll say anything, no matter the consequences. This is a very, very dangerous moment. I also have to say, I think that President Trump's courage, and here I echo what his son Eric said, his courage at walking off with the bleeding and putting up his fist and saying fight to remind the crowd that he was going to go on. And as our champion, he wanted us to go on with him. I thought that'll go down in history and that will help define who Donald J. Trump is.

You know, I'm listening. And it just, I've known him 30 years like you have, Mister speaker, and I had a lot of the same emotions that you had at the time. And then when you point out very vividly and very accurately how close he was to being assassinated tonight, it is chilling. And this should transcend all politics.

Yeah. And remember that this is a Biden administration, which, as you pointed out, has refused to protect Robert F. Kennedy Junior. Even when his father and his uncle were assassinated, the Democrats in the House actually introduced a bill to strip Donald Trump of secret service protection. I mean, these people are crazy and they are willing to do virtually anything. And tonight we were winded. This is not a game. This is not just politics. This is history. And the history of the United States will be written in the next few weeks between having a huge victory to bring us together and gradually disintegrating into a country that's at war with itself.

Yeah, you know, it really is funny. And I kind of have an ongoing joke with the president. For whatever reason, I'll say to him, kidding around when we're just talking as friends, and it's not in a professional capacity, I say, you know, God loves Donald Trump, as perfect as you are. It's sort of a joke that we had. But in many ways, you know, this is too eerily close, too scary to something that could have been so tragic for our nation.

And we should include the whole Trump family in our prayers.

Amen. They've been through a lot. Yeah. Very well said, Mister speaker. Appreciate you as always. Thank you, sir, for being with us.

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