In an unexpected move Saturday night, former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain, who dropped out of the contest for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination amid accusations of sexual harassment in the 1990s, put his support behind former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.
In a statement at the Palm Beach County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner, where Gingrich was also in attendance, Cain explained why his former competitor was the right choice.
“Three very quick comments,” Cain said. “The founding fathers got it right when they said, ‘We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union’ — but the union is in trouble. The state of the union is not good despite what you heard the other night. That is point number one. It is not good, even though our president has convinced 45-to-50 percent of the people that is. You and I know that it is not. Point number two, we have become a nation of crises. And it is not going to get any better until we solve point number three, which is a crisis of leadership in the White House. That is our other biggest crisis and that is why I am happy to be here tonight because I hereby officially and enthusiastically endorse Newt Gingrich for president of the United States.”
This announcement was different from Cain’s prior “unconventional endorsement,” which he gave to “the American people” earlier in January.