Eliza Collins

USA TODAY

Newt Gingrich thinks Donald Trump has been “very self-destructive” over the past week, but he has faith the Republican nominee can recover.

Following a series of negative headlines — including insulting the family of a fallen soldier, declining to endorse John McCain and Paul Ryan in their primary campaigns and saying his daughter could just get a new job if sexually harassed — Trump has faced an onslaught of criticism this week. And one of his most prominent surrogates (and former running mate options) joined in Wednesday.

"Let me just say flatly, I am totally for John McCain, who is a great war hero and a terrific human being, who has worked very hard for veterans. And I’m totally for Paul Ryan, who is the heart of the House Republican Party and probably the most problem-solving leader we’ve had in the Congress on the Republican side in the last 20 years," Gingrich said in an interview with Fox Business Network Wednesday. "So I think somewhat what Trump has done is just very self-destructive."

Gingrich said Trump’s behavior needs to shift to that of a general election candidate.

"Trump is still behaving like as though it was the primaries and there were 17 candidates. He has not made the transition to being the potential president of the United States, which is a much tougher league," the former House speaker said.

But Gingrich doesn’t think this week will put the nail in the coffin for Trump. Rather, he likened it to a slump once experienced by legendary NFL quarterback Joe Montana.

Gingrich said Montana had a “stretch during his career where he kept throwing interceptions; and for about half a season, it looked like he wasn’t Joe Montana anymore. And then he figured out what he was doing, and he changed. Trump, Trump is in that kind of a slump.”

"He's thrown a series of interceptions in the last week that really do not bode well for the campaign," Gingrich continued.

Gingrich is not the only Trump ally to take issue with some of the real estate mogul's recent actions.

On Tuesday, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said that the Khan family (who have become tangled in a messy feud with Trump after speaking during the Democratic convention about their son who died in Iraq in 2004) have the "right to say whatever they want."

Meanwhile, former Massachusetts senator Scott Brown told The New York Daily News that Trump could have handled the Khan situation differently.

“The bottom line is anyone who serves and gives their life for their country holds a special place in my heart. I certainly think it could have been handled differently,” Brown said.

Later Wednesday, Gingrich attempted to clarify his comments via Twitter saying they had been "wildly misinterpreted."