Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told Fox News' "Hannity" Wednesday that President Trump's first foreign trip as chief executive would be remembered as a "historic turning point" in the struggle against Islamic terrorism.

Gingrich reserved special praise for Trump's speech to Muslim leaders in Saudi Arabia, during which the president called for a "coalition of nations" to "stamp out extremism" and "drive out the terrorists from your places of worship."

"The speech was so powerful," Gingrich told host Sean Hannity. "I think people will look back on this and say, 'What a historic turning point.' ... He’s talking to the leadership of the Sunni world and they’re taking it. They’re applauding it."

Gingrich told host Sean Hannity that he was "very surprised at how intensely serious [Trump] is" about brokering a peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians.

"Things [are] happening that are practical, that are real," the former Speaker said. "Very much Donald Trump-like."

Gingrich also confirmed that his wife, Callista, had been nominated by the president to be U.S. ambassador to the Vatican.

"As a girl who grew up in the church and who sings in the Basilica [of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington], she’s amazingly excited by it," he said.