Newt Gingrich said Donald Trump "proved that he had the discipline to remain as a decent guy even when she was disgusting.” | AP Photo Newt Gingrich: Trump ‘a gentleman’ for not bringing up Bill Clinton’s affairs

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Donald Trump was “a gentleman” for holding back a verbal onslaught on former President Bill Clinton’s extramarital affairs during the first prime-time showdown between Trump and Hillary Clinton.

“I’m very proud that at the very end when she attacked and went off on this whole rant about women — and you could see his face — in the Republican primary, he would have just smashed her,” Gingrich told Sean Hannity on Thursday on the Fox News commentator’s radio program, which was first reported by BuzzFeed .


Hillary Clinton’s allies have said that if Trump decides to dredge up the 1990s indiscretions, it will backfire on the New York businessman.

Gingrich knows firsthand how to fight back against personal attacks. When confronted by fresh allegations from his ex-wife at the opening of a Republican primary debate in 2012, Gingrich went after the debate moderator, CNN’s John King, and the rest of the media. The explosive moment was met with a roar of approval from the South Carolina crowd.

Soon after Monday’s debate, Trump said he regretted not going after Clinton regarding her husband’s affairs.

“He thought about it, and I’m sure he said to himself, ‘a president of the United States shouldn’t attack somebody personally when their daughter is sitting in the audience,’” Gingrich said. “And he bit his tongue, and he was a gentleman, and I thought in many ways that was the most important moment of the whole evening. He proved that he had the discipline to remain as a decent guy even when she was disgusting.”