Gingrich said it was "amazing that Trump is as close as he is right now." | AP Photo Gingrich: Without media 'assault,' Trump would be up 15 points

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich on Sunday blamed Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's poor position in the polls on media bias, arguing the real estate mogul would otherwise be far ahead of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

"I think that without the unending one-sided assault of the news media, Trump would be beating Hillary by 15 points," Gingrich told ABC's "This Week."


Gingrich, a prominent Trump surrogate, said it was "amazing that Trump is as close as he is right now."

He also dismissed as "nonsense" accusations by Clinton's campaign that WikLeaks and the Russian government were attempting to influence the election through the release of unflattering Democratic emails.

"So the news media’s one-sidedness is the worst I’ve seen in my lifetime, and I’m old enough that’s a fairly long statement," said Gingrich, who turned 73 in June.

Gingrich also said he thinks voters should monitor polling stations, to keep the election from being stolen.