Newt: Would Romney Represent Trump – or Himself – at State?

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich says he would support Mitt Romney as Secretary of State if President-elect Donald Trump chooses him – but he believes there are almost two dozen better choices.

Gingrich, a Trump adviser, said Tuesday on Fox News Channel's "Tucker Carlson Tonight" that many of Trump's supporters would have a problem with Romney, given the 2012 nominee's vociferous denunciation of Trump during the primary process as an unacceptable candidate.

And Romney represents a very different viewpoint on global relations, Gingrich added.

"I'm not sure whose secretary of state he would be," he said.

"Romney wanted to be in President-elect Trump's job," Gingrich noted. "To what degree would Romney, once he became secretary of state, represent himself around the world, sort of in the John Kerry tradition of let's go from five-star hotel to five-star hotel, having dinners with foreign ministers, and to what extent would he actually represent the kind of tough-minded America-first policies that Trump has campaigned on?"

That's not to say the ideological gulf between the two is too wide, Gingrich said.

"Look, they apparently had a very good meeting on Saturday. It lasted several hours," he said. "I told the president-elect that if he picks Romney, I'm going to support him."

But, he added, "I can think of 20 other people who would be more naturally compatible with the Trump vision of foreign policy."

• Newt: I Want to Be Trump's 'Senior Planner'
  
• Gingrich: Giuliani Is a Tough Negotiator, Better Pick For Sec. of State