Jimmy Kimmel Tells Newt Gingrich to “STFU”

The ABC late-night host wants the former Speaker of the House to zip it.

Former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich — who briefly surged in the polls in the race for the Republican presidential nomination back in January — essentially conceded the long-running contest to his rival Mitt Romney, whom many GOP leaders are starting to call their 2012 standard-bearer.

During an appearance on "Fox News Sunday," Gingrich referred to Romney as "far and away the most likely Republican nominee." He added that he would surely support Romney's presidential bid once the former Massachusetts governor attains the number of delegates required to clinch the GOP nod.

However, Gingrich has no immediate plans to bow out of the nomination battle. The former House Speaker told Fox News that he intends to stay in the race to shape Republican policy platforms — and presumably push Romney, whom Gingrich has repeatedly called a "Massachusetts moderate," to adopt more conservative positions.

On Monday's edition of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" the ABC late-night host poked fun at Gingrich's refusal to back out of the race — and speculated that the politician merely wants to raise more money to compensate for nearly $4.5 million in campaign debt.

"He's got a huge debt, he wants to keep spending—very presidential," Kimmel quipped.

Kimmel asked if Gingrich's fundraising blitz is even feasible.

"How do you continue to make money when you've already admitted you probably won't win?"

Luckily, Kimmel has an answer to that question in the form of a faux-campaign ad for Gingrich's ailing campaign.

The pitch? "This election, there's only one candidate who promises to stop talking for 4.5 million dollars."

The title? "STFU Newt!"

Check out the full clip via ABC.com below:

Contact Us