George W. Bush as president - a much bigger fan than most people, I think - but a very big mistake I think he made as president was to remain above the fray and be "presidential" while everyone else in Washington was engaged in its usual nonsense. His heart was in the right place, but his refusal to fight back against every insane Democrat attack gave his opponents the upper hand. Eventually it resulted in a Democrat takeover of both the House and the Senate in 2006, and stuck the nation with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Is history about to repeat itself and inflict the same horror
Newt Gingrich has been through these wars and understands what happens when one side is constantly on the attack, and the other side is afraid to fight back. And he sees a similar dynamic developing now, except that it's not the White House that's afraid to fight. With the Democrats and the media bound and determined to absolutely destroy Donald Trump - and not the least bit concerned about the honesty with which they do it - Trump absolutely needs support from congressional Republicans. And Washington being what it is, it's hard to find anyone who wants to blaze the trail when there's perceived to be political risk involved.