ROME — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Tuesday that President Trump’s promising position in the 2020 presidential race is nothing short of a “miracle,” given the beating he has taken in the mainstream media.

“When you’ve had 92 or 93 percent negative press coverage, the very fact that he’s still standing is sort of a miracle, and of course part of that is he has had a remarkable economy,” Mr. Gingrich said on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom,” speaking from Rome.

Along with the booming economy, Gingrich credited job creation and rising wages for Trump’s enduring popularity.

He also said that he has given his conservative backers exactly what he promised. “He has been very good on judges, very good on deregulation, very good on tax cuts,” he said.

Remember, Gingrich continued, “exactly on this date four years ago Donald Trump was at one percent and 67 percent of the Republicans said they would never vote for him.”

“Now, this is a great campaigner. I think that he believes he’s going to win. He believes it’s going to be a fight to the finish,” he said.

“But he also believes that the Democrats are pretty weak and I’m inclined to agree with him. I think the Democrats could stumble into a disaster if they’re not careful,” he said.

If they run a far-left campaign against Trump, Democrats could “stumble into a George McGovern, Walter Mondale-sized disaster,” the former speaker said.

Gingrich underscored the “intense relationship” Mr. Trump has with his base, who were looking for “somebody with guts” who would stand up to the Washington establishment and guarantee border security.

He also said that on the issue of abortion, the Democrats are completely out of touch with the American people. Every Democratic candidate supports taxpayer funding of abortion and repealing the Hyde Amendment, he noted, which Americans do not want.

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