Gingrich: No Chance I'll Run in 2020

In last hours of candidacy, Newt explains he's getting too old
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted May 2, 2012 7:48 AM CDT
Gingrich: No Chance I'll Run in 2020
Newt Gingrich speaks at a campaign stop at the University of West Georgia February 28, 2012 in Carrollton, Georgia.   (Getty Images)

One more stop on the Newt Gingrich 2012 Exit Tour: an interview last night with USA Today. In it, Gingrich revealed that he does plan to officially endorse Romney, just not for a few weeks (the two have a joint appearance planned). Other revelations:

  • His big regret: "Not being smarter about how to run." If he could do it all over again, he would have ditched all the consultants and gone "more outside the mainstream" by pushing ideas like brain research.

  • The moment that surprised: How his lunar colony idea was received. He calls the reaction of "the elites" to his proposals "irresponsible and cynical."
  • Why it's Romney: Quite simply, he "met the first criteria of being a good candidate: He won."
  • Will he be back? Not if Romney wins. "I'm already 68 years old. I believe Mitt Romney will become president. I believe he will do well enough to be re-elected, and I do not think in 2020 I'll be a plausible candidate."
Click to read about what made Newt tear up during the interview. (More Newt Gingrich stories.)

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