Gingrich: Charlotte Protests an 'American Tragedy,' Hillary Is 'Anti-Police'

By Jason Devaney / NEWSMAX

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich reacted to the violent protests in Charlotte Wednesday by calling the entire situation an "American tragedy," adding that Hillary Clinton naturally takes the "anti-police" side of things.

"I think this is an American tragedy. Fifty-three years a after martin Luther king's speech I have a dream," Gingrich told Megyn Kelly on Fox News. "Two consecutive African-American attorney generals. Race relations are decaying in this country.

"I don't know what will happen in the next 50 or so days. One is the country at large will not tolerate this kind of random violence. People will not tolerate looting. They won't tolerate closing I-85. They won't tolerate burning things.

"On the other hand, most Americans, I think, desperately would love to fix the challenge of the inner city and they know it's not working."

Later, when Kelly asked Gingrich a politically themed question related to the protests, he pointed to Clinton's history of anti-police statements and stances.

"When she was at Yale as a law student she was a coeditor of an anti-police, left-wing alternative newspaper that described police as pigs," Gingrich said. "Her natural instincts is to take the side of the people who are against the police. Her first comments about this were anti-police."

The Charlotte protests are in response to a police shooting of an African-American man Tuesday. Police officials say the man had a gun and refused orders to drop it.

Gingrich said he believes Republican Donald Trump might fare well in the inner cities of America come November.

"That's why Donald Trump, I think, may do surprisingly well in the inner city because he is at least offering a chance to dramatically change things," Gingrich said.