Newt Gingrich slammed Paul Ryan's abandonment of Donald Trump without explicitly mentioning him. | AP Photo Newt Gingrich puts House leadership on notice: You are either with us or against us

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich never mentioned by name the man who now holds the speaker's gavel.

But in a Facebook Live video on Monday, Gingrich made it clear that he believes Republicans who flee from their presidential nominee or outright revoke their endorsements will be judged harshly by history.


"My only advice to Republican leaders is simple: In the end, you either help defeat Hillary Clinton or you help elect Hillary Clinton," Gingrich told an online audience that approached 5,000 people. "If she gets elected, she will be a nightmare, this will be the most corrupt and dishonest administration in American history, and you will find her even harder to work with work with than [President Barack] Obama, because she will simply smother you."

Gingrich, who at one time was under consideration to be Donald Trump's running mate, chastised those in his own party who find Trump does not represent their values. Many Republicans have abandoned Trump after the publication of a 2005 video in which the nominee described sexually aggressive advances toward women. Gingrich said he found the video “disgusting,” but he said that pales in comparison with what Clinton has done.

“I think to sit on your hands, to find some pretense because Donald Trump is not pure enough, so you're willing to have Hillary Clinton get elected, is an enormous disservice to the future of the country and to the future of our children and grandchildren," Gingrich said.

Speaker Paul Ryan told House Republicans during a conference call Monday that he will no longer defend Trump and will focus on maintaining his party’s House majority, sources told POLITICO.

