Newt Gingrich Downplays Donald Trump VP Talk, Says Republican Candidate ‘Not Trying Yet’
Newt Gingrich might have lost his own bid for president four years ago, but rumors are running rampant he might be positioned for a spot in the White House as Donald Trump’s vice-presidential candidate. If those rumors are true, the man who is said to be Trump’s right-hand man come this summer isn’t allowing those rumors to fester.
Newt Gingrich said the speculation he could be tapped by Trump was merely “wild speculation.” Of course, the former Speaker of the House didn’t say he wouldn’t be interested if the position was offered to him. Gingrich was speaking to the Aspen Ideas Festival in Aspen, Colorado, and he certainly had some complimentary things to say about his potential running mate.
During his speech, Gingrich said he believed Trump was much closer to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher than he is to former Republican President Ronald Reagan. The reason Trump is closer to Thatcher, Gingrich said, is because the candidate is more of a revolutionary. “She knew she was a revolutionary, and she was determined to break socialism,” he told the crowd, according to ABC News.
Donald Trump's trade plan would hurt the people he promises to help ?? @citizencohn https://t.co/8IFKI6yk1Z pic.twitter.com/MchAxiFbwI
— HuffPost (@HuffPost) July 3, 2016
Going back to talk about being the vice president, Gingrich dismissed the talk as wild speculation that no one should listen to. He added that if the talk came to fruition, he and his wife would have to have a very long talk.
“And then, depending on that talk, of course then I’d have to sit down with Donald and have another long talk.”
Newt Gingrich added he would need to feel as though the job Donald Trump was tasking him with was meaningful. The former Speaker added if the job of vice president would be largely ceremonial, such as “attending funerals,” he’s not interested. Gingrich didn’t just talk about his potential future employment — he also gave his two cents on what has been called the Trumpian phenomenon.
“When you look at great populist leaders — and I always tell people to understand Trump, assume that he is one-part Andrew Jackson as a disruptor, one part Theodore Roosevelt with manic energy, and one part P.T. Barnum with constant selling. That blend of those three explains the Trumpian phenomenon.”
At the same time, the former Speaker has said before he doesn’t really think Trump has been trying yet. That shouldn’t be taken as an insult as judged by his comments on Saturday. New Gingrich believes that at this point, Hillary Clinton is just wasting gobs of money while Donald Trump tries to figure out how he wants to run his campaign.
Why Newt Gingrich is reportedly the frontrunner to be Donald Trump's running mate https://t.co/F3nvcT5dnn
— Vox (@voxdotcom) July 1, 2016
NBC News reports when his comments turned to the contest between the presumptive Democratic and presumptive Republican nominees, Trump was biding his time. Gingrich said everything the Clinton campaign is doing to suppress Trump would work to suppress him. He added Clinton will have to start worrying if Trump is still alive on October 1.
Gingrich meant that the former first lady should be able to build a sizable lead in the polls before that date. If the New York businessman is still within shouting distance, it could mean big trouble for the Democrats. It’s a safe bet Gingrich would love to be part of the problem for Clinton and the rest of the Democrats if Trump’s campaign is still going strong this fall.
One of the reasons Gingrich feels as though Clinton might be in trouble is because attack ads aren’t going to work on Trump. He went on to say paid ads don’t define this year’s candidate the way President Obama was able to do against Mitt Romney. Now we’ll just have to wait and see whether we can define Newt Gingrich as Donald Trump’s vice presidential candidate once the GOP convention kicks off later this month.
[Photo by Richard Shiro/AP Images]
