Newt Gingrich says race for Democratic presidential nomination is 'basically over'
Super Tuesday 2.0 broke Bernie Sanders' campaign when the Vermont senator failed to carry Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri and Idaho, says Fox News contributor Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the House.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is currently in Italy with his wife, told “America’s Newsroom” Thursday that “Italy itself did not do what President Trump’s trying to do” to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
Gingrich, whose wife Callista serves as U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, spoke the morning after Trump announced that he will enact a 30-day ban on all travel to and from Europe, excluding the United Kingdom, in an effort to slow the virus' spread. Trump also urged Americans to listen to directives from their local officials, including bans on mass gatherings and social distancing protocols.
On Thursday Italy reported more than 12,400 cases, a 22.7 percent increase from the day before, according to information obtained by Fox News.
“Italy did not get ahead of this crisis,” Gingrich said on Thursday. “It allowed it to spread in a way that is really frightening.”
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE
On Wednesday, one day after unprecedented travel and social restrictions in Italy took effect, the country’s premier said all stores, except pharmacies and grocery stores, are being closed nationwide in response to the outbreak.
Gas stations were not included in the order mandating which businesses will be forced to close and on Wednesday Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced no new restrictions on using public transportation. People in Italy are allowed to travel for work, medical appointments or to care for family members in need.
“Northern Italy has thousands of cases and, in fact, there are several hospitals that are refusing to treat elderly citizens because they don't have enough intensive care units and they don't have enough ventilators and so they’ve literally begun to triage and said, 'Look, if you’re above a certain age or you have a certain health condition, we’re just not going to treat you,'” Gingrich said on Thursday.
He added that Italy has “a pretty good health system.”
“This is not a bad health system, but they’re just drowning in northern Italy in [terms of] the number of people who have the disease. So everything’s closed down: movie theaters, museums, restaurants, schools, churches, weddings, funerals,” he said.
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE
Gingrich went on to say that “they are really trying to lock the society in place in the hopes that they can stop this virus, but it's a very serious problem.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox