One of the finalists to be Donald Trump's running mate is now calling the GOP nominee for president "unacceptable".

Former House speaker Newt Gingrich cast the general election as a contest between two insupportable candidates Wednesday, telling the Washington Post that Trump is giving Hillary Clinton a leg up by "proving he is more unacceptable than she is." The Post reports:

"The current race is which of these two is the more unacceptable, because right now neither of them is acceptable," Gingrich said in a Wednesday morning telephone interview. "Trump is helping her to win by proving he is more unacceptable than she is." Gingrich said Trump has only a matter of weeks to reverse course. "Anybody who is horrified by Hillary should hope that Trump will take a deep breath and learn some new skills," he said. "He cannot win the presidency operating the way he is now. She can't be bad enough to elect him if he's determined to make this many mistakes."

Gingrich has been one of Trump's most prominent apologists, even being let go from his contract at Fox News amid speculation he would be named to the Trump ticket. His frequent appearances in support of the Republican candidate on the network's Hannity program generated much media attention in the lead-up to Trump's eventual announcement of Indiana governor Mike Pence as his number two.

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