Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich on Wednesday suspended his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination and threw his support behind Mitt Romney, saying, “today I am suspending the campaign, but suspending the campaign does not mean suspending citizenship.”
Gingrich deemed the campaign “a truly wild ride” during an appearance in Arlington, Virginia, saying, “I could never have predicted either the low points or the high points.”

Quoting an observer who suggested that his best days may be ahead, Gingrich vowed to focus on balancing the budget, advocating for “religious liberty” and social security savings accounts and working for American energy independence. He also said he would work to “reemphasize the work ethic” in America, advocate for his national security positions and press for increased brain research.

Gingrich also stood behind his campaign push for a moon colony, though he acknowledged that it was “probably not my most clever comment in this campaign.” He said that despite having providing fodder for “Saturday Night Live” by pushing for the moon colony, he believed that the proposal was sound, arguing that Americans should seek to “go out and pursue great adventure.”

Despite at one point predicting that he was the likely GOP presidential nominee, Gingrich ultimately won just two primary contests – in South Carolina and his home state of Georgia. Throughout the campaign, he complained bitterly that Mitt Romney and the super PAC backing Romney were using their massive fundraising advantage to essentially buy the election.

It was one of many harsh criticisms Gingrich made of his former rival during the campaign. Gingrich called Romney a liar adept only at “managing the decay” who “looted companies” during his business career, “leaving behind broken families and broken neighborhoods.”

Gingrich, who said during the campaign that Romney was not a true conservative, said that Romney should be considered conservative in comparison to President Obama.

“This is not a choice between Mitt Romney and Ronald Reagan, this is a choice between Mitt Romney and the most radical leftist president in American history,” he said. Gingrich pointed to the judges that would be appointed by each candidate in arguing — relatively tepidly — for his former bitter rival.

READ MORE: CBS NEWS