Giuliani ‘better’ than Romney for US secretary of state: Gingrich

Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani will be a better choice for the US secretary of state in the Donald Trump administration than 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, according to Newt Gingrich, an American writer, historian, and politician.

“I think there are huge advantages to Rudy Giuliani frankly,” the former Republican lawmaker and presidential candidate told reporters on Monday at Trump Tower in New York City.

“I think that, if you want someone who is going to go out and be a very tough negotiator for America and represent American interest in the way that Trump campaigned, I think that probably Rudy is the better pick and has the right temperament,” he stated, “Because we’re going to need somebody who is a fighter.”

“We’re going to need somebody – the world is not going to change just because we show up and say please. If that was going to work, Secretary [of State John] Kerry would be successful,” added Gingrich, former House speaker.

According to reports, President-elect Donald Trump is actively considering Romney, one of his fiercest critics, as secretary of state.

In the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, Romney had described the real estate tycoon as “a phony, (and) a fraud."

However, the two long-time foes met privately in the clubhouse at Trump's golf course in Bedminster Township, New Jersey, on Saturday.

A day after the meeting, Trump’s vice president-elect, Mike Pence, said Romney was under "active consideration" to serve as the secretary of state.

However, Gingrich said on Monday that Romney and Trump may differ too much philosophically for the Massachusetts governor to become America’s top diplomat.

“I think they’ve got to talk it through. I think that entirely is a question of the president-elect and deciding whether in fact Romney would be willing to be his secretary of State or in fact Romney would work to make Trump Romney’s version of the presidency. I am for whoever the president-elect picks.”

Romney said in June if Trump would be elected president, he could legitimize racism and bigotry and change the moral fabric of American society.

In response, Trump, who endorsed Romney in 2012, denounced him as an "ungrateful" person, adding that Romney begged for his endorsement and "would've dropped to his knees" for it.

Trump had propelled himself as the president-elect by framing himself as an anti-establishment outsider.

Trump’s campaign had been hit with many controversies since its inception in early 2015. But the real estate tycoon still managed to stun the world by defeating the heavily-favored Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton, in the November 8 election. Trump will take office as the 45th US president in January.

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