May 15, 2016

"I don't think it's an automatic yes, I think you have to think through what does he think the job involves."

Said Newt Gingrich, asked on "Fox News Sunday" if he'd accept an offer to serve as Trump's running mate.
If he can convince Callista and me that it's doable and that it’s serious and we would, in fact, contribute I think we would be very hard pressed not to say yes. 
Chris Wallace nudged him to do it because the Vice President residence "isn't bad."

Speaking of VP prospects on the Sunday shows, there was also Sherrod Brown on "State of the Union." He was hilariously blindsided. Jake Tapper played a clip from an ad he put out in his 2012  campaign for reelection to the Senate:

Sherrod Brown is calling for action against cheating China. [Brown's voice:] They don't play fair, and we have got to fight back.
Tapper laid it on:
Cheating China, fighting back. Later on in the ad, it talks about tariffs, imposing tariffs on China. To be frank, that sounds a lot more like Donald Trump than it does Hillary Clinton. How are you going to be able to convince your voters, your working-class voters in Ohio, to vote for her, when they seem to agree more with you and him on the issue of trade?
Brown's answer was verbose, beginning with "Well, I wouldn't characterize my position as close to Donald Trump's" and shifting to "the real issue" which is that we can trust Hillary Clinton, because she has "depth" and Donald Trump lacks "depth." I had to laugh. I think I said: He thinks he's deep.

Then Tapper asked him about The Wall Street Journal article saying that Bill Clinton had "used his nonprofit Clinton Global Initiative to steer $2 million commitment of private funds to a for-profit green energy company partially owned by friends of the Clintons." Brown's answer was laughably bad:
Well, I don't know the details of the report. I have not read it. I take "The Wall Street Journal" -- I'm married to a journalist, as you know, Jake, and I understand the difference between reporters at "The Wall Street Journal," who are some of the best in the land, and their editors. And I think that you're going to see coming out of "The Wall Street Journal" a crescendo of attacks on Clinton in ways that are generally unfair.  I don't know enough about this report. I do know, though, that "The Wall Street Journal" probably won't be writing much about the good things the Clinton Global Initiative has done to combat international poverty. And I have worked on a lot of those issues. I have not really worked with the Global Initiative, but I have worked with people like Jim Yong Kim at the World Bank and others in combating international tuberculosis and other issues. I welcome the work that the Clinton Global Initiative has done with groups and individuals like Bono and all that's happened around the world. And so I think that, if that's going to be the Republican attack on Hillary, it's not going to work.
How did Bono get into that answer? Ridiculous. I wonder if Brown was sent out onto the show to test his VP style. Because he was awful. The content was awful. He looked awful. (How about some lighting and makeup?!) And his voice was so harsh and raspy, I was imitating him as the tree in "The Wizard of Oz":



What do you think you're doing?

43 comments:

Chuck said...

I think Newt Gingrich is Frank Underwood. Or am I thinking of Donald Trump?

David Begley said...

Newt is out.

He has to ask his wife if he can be VP? A heartbeat away?

I am so sick of Callista.

I nominate the lead singer of Smashing Pumkins to be VP. Billy something. He was big in the 90's.

David Begley said...

And Sherrod Brown. How ridiculous. Might as well pick Sheldon Whitehouse.

If the ticket is Clinton-Brown there will be a run on ear plugs. Two voices like fingernails on blackboards.

MikeR said...

Gingrich isn't a bad match for Trump. He's also out of the box, but he is really smart and has a heck of a lot of experience.

The Godfather said...

Speaking of the Vice President's Residence, I remember fondly back in 2000, before the Supreme Court ended "the long recount" in Florida, the pickets in front of the Massachusetts Ave. entrace to the VP's place, carrying signs saying "Al Gore: Get Out Of Dick Cheney's House!"

traditionalguy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Phil 314 said...

Trump-Gingrich, the Family Values ticket.

traditionalguy said...

Newt is tough, and he has the intellect to match The Donald.

I first met him in College and knew him later when he decided to take on local GOP Politics setting out to run a suicde campaign as an unknown Republican from Pennsylvania educated at liberal Emory against a 5 term popular conservative Democrat Representative from a small town in the 6th District. That District was mostly poor farmers and ran from Carrollton ( Where he was a University History Professor) over to the Airport area South of Atlanta. He came across then as an over educated tough guy. But through many trials and troubles, Newt managed to transform himself into a really nice tough guy.

His worst troubles were when the Ruling Boss in the Democrat legislature named Murphy Redistricted Gingrich out of that South of Atlanta District into a Cobb County North of Atlanta District.Nobody thought he would survive that, but he won over the North of Atlanta crowd that was a totally different culture from the South of Atlanta crowd.But then he was more like them anyway.

LYNNDH said...

No to Newt. TOO much baggage. And too old. Trump will "think outside the box" (I hate that phrase) which for him considering the recent attacks, would be a woman.
Hillary will go with someone that is total non entity, so will not compete with her in any way.

Achilles said...

Newt would make heads explode. You remember 2012 and the scorched earth campaign the GOPe ran against him on Romney's behalf?

I supported Newt in 2012. The only dis-qualifier is he is the only option available that is older than Trump. On the other hand Newt is the one person who in the last half a century most responsible for a balanced federal budget.

If you are looking for legislative experience that is not beholden to leviathan he may be the only choice.

Achilles said...

LYNNDH said...
"No to Newt. TOO much baggage."

Adding more "baggage" to a ticket with Trump at the top is a molehill on top of a mountain. People out here aren't playing gender identity games.

mockturtle said...

I think Newt would be a good tactical choice but Kasich would be better strategically.

Humperdink said...

tRump can do better than Newton. He can find someone with the same message w/o the negatives.

Sherrod Brown married to a journalist? She's a hack. Our local paper carries her column. A one-trick feminist pony. Same column every week, with only name changes.

tim in vermont said...

Can't stand looking at Newt's wife.

pm317 said...

I think Trump will pick a woman who is attractive or whose wife is attractive. They have to look good on camera. It is a different kind of pageant.

pm317 said...

**"or a man whose wife is attractive"

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

Please Lord, not Newt. Let the Donks pick a Clinton-era retread. The GOP has better choices.

I'm Full of Soup said...

I like Senator Joni Ernst for VP for Trump. Could help him seal the deal in Midwest states and with chick vote.

traditionalguy said...

Brown's voice is a disaster and his elocution is old fashioned. He sounds older than Hillary, He would make the generational divide among the Dems total. At least Bernie still has an attractive personality.

Sebastian said...

"Ridiculous" Well, yeah. Inane lefty defends party line. So?

"At least Bernie still has an attractive personality." Now that's mean (toward Brown).

Hagar said...

I still can't believe Ohio traded in Mike DeWine for Sherrod Brown. This guy's immediate impression is that of a TV role crooked politician.

Did watch the re-run of Fox News Sunday, and man, did Chris Wallace run a hit-job on The Donald. Kind of amazing for Fox News, no?

AA read the NYT piece and said it looked to her like mostly the atmosphere around beauty pageants and casino acts, iirc. It is remarkable that Wallace would think that more serious than "Maybe you should put some ice on that!"

If WaPo has 20 people working on The Donald's life history that are scheduled to then segue onto an equally thorough examination of Hillary!'s life and times (before the election? Time is getting short!), they might start with the 1980s PBS series "Once Upon a Time in Arkansas" and "Secets of a Special Counsel." I am sure Mr. Woodward will agree that PBS is a reliable source that would never engage in slanted reporting.

Hagar said...

Will the WaPo discuss the clips of Don Tyson's private plane pilot going on PBS and testifying on camera to carrying manila envelopes filled with $100 bills to Bill Clinton in Little Rock?

I do not remember ever reading about this or hearing it mentioned in TV news casts (Other than the PBS cocumentary, of course). No interest at all; not even to question the pilot's veracity. Just crickets.

Phil 314 said...

Trump needs a running mate who:
- has legislative skill to get things done, ram them through if needed
- has a track record of challenging the Republican establishment
- is a man comfortable adjusting his position if it "wins" in the end
- has a fighters attitude.
- isn't afraid to shade the truth if needed

That's why I think Donald Trump would best be served by


Senator Harry Reid.

DanTheMan said...

Newt? Somebody with higher negatives than Trump?

Newt has some good ideas, and should be on the team, but not on the ticket.

Hagar said...

Gingrich and Gates are both 72 years old. The Donald needs a younger person.

Bill Peschel said...

How about State Sen. Mia Love for veep? That announcement would be like spreading fertilizer on the field of identity politics. It'd take flamethrowers to burn that sucker down.

Saint Croix said...

I remember the Doonesbury cartoon for Newt was a bomb. Good fit!

Newt has a bombastic personality and three wives. He was an outsider who became speaker of the house. And he was a very successful speaker, maybe the best speaker in my lifetime. Bill Clinton took a lot of the credit for the economic successes of Newt Gingrich.

I voted for Newt in the 2012 primary. So it's interesting to me that he is a big fan of Donald Trump. And he liked the man before he won any primaries.

It would be an interesting pick, since GIngrich doesn't add anything to Trump's campaign, other than his personality and his intelligence. He doesn't bring Ohio or Florida. But I think he could be very helpful in the role of vice president. He would help Donald Trump govern. And it would be a very big help, I think. Newt Gingrich is very smart and very confident, with a healthy ego. I think he could be a very effective vice president, a man with a lot of experience and somebody who could effectively act as a bridge between Congress and Trump. I think he likes Trump, which is obviously critical. He has already been actively campaigning for Trump with party insiders and people in Congress.

I also like that Newt is a big free market guy. I would like somebody at the table making these arguments and putting these ideas out there. Very good fit, I think.

pm317 said...

Newt can be his chief of staff and run the WH and we don't have to look at his wife's hair.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Hagar asked:

"Did watch the re-run of Fox News Sunday, and man, did Chris Wallace run a hit-job on The Donald. Kind of amazing for Fox News, no?"

No surprise to me. It started many months ago so I stopped wahtching all the Sunday morning shows. Which I found was good because now I have more time to do productive things and don't waste it on Beltway asswipes who are scared shitless that an outsider like Trump might get elected.

Gusty Winds said...

Newt is probably more in the running for Trump's Cheif of Staff. He'd be good at that knowing how to work Congress. Probably a role he'd rather play. More influence on the President than VP.

He may be on the VP shortlist but it won't be him.

tim in vermont said...

Well if that tool Gary Trudeau doesn't like him, I guess I will have to reconsider. I appreciate what Newt has done for America. I honestly can't stand to look at his wife. She is supposed to be hot, and maybe was once, IDK, but that makes her seem all the more hideous, she should have let it go while she still had some dignity. If she were plain, or even ugly, that would be fine, and even respectable, like Nixon's cloth Republican coat.

Kansas City said...

I had never seen Brown before. He was bad, but Hillary's VP almost certainly will be a non-factor - unless maybe it is Bernie, but that would be a ridiculous but valuable pick for Hillary. I assume it will not happen.

I thought the idea of Newt as VP also was ridiculous. But I must say when I saw him answering questions today, I thought he was pretty good at explaining Trump and answering questions. He also seemed to have lost some weight.

But, I think he would be a bad choice. Trump's chance is as an outsider. Newt is a relic and an insider. I think Kasich is probably his first and best choice.

walter said...

Embrace the grenade. Embrace it.

walter said...

" I appreciate what Newt has done for America. I honestly can't stand to look at his wife. She is supposed to be hot, and maybe was once, IDK, "

...

Bruce Hayden said...

I don't see Newt as a VP candidate. Too old, too crazy. Think both parties will nominate younger VPs, which is why both Bernie and Fauxhauntis Warren are probably out for Hillary. Slo Joe Biden too. We saw plenty of good younger Republican candidates up on the stage at the early debates. Indeed, the Dems probably will have a harder time here, having a much weaker bench. I have long thought a woman on the Trump ticket would be good, so it is probably too bad that Fiorina burned her bridges with him, and Palin has had her chance in the sun (I think that would have been better than pairing her with McCain). A politician would probably be useful as VP, but w/o too much time in DC, so that they have sold out (Palin again). And, if not a woman, a minority - I am thinking Hispanic over Black (e.g, Cruz, Rubio, JEB's wife), because of immigration. Except that part of the Dems' Black vote may be vulnerable to Trump if Hillary goes for a Hispanic running mate.

I doubt though that we will know Trump's decision until the last minute. He is too much the showman, and seems to enjoy making dynamic decisions. Hillary though will probably decide early on who her running mate will be. We may not know until the convention, but her team will. My guess right now is probably an articulate young Hispanic male (e.g. one of the Castros, Perez) Blacks got their turn with Obama, so it is the Hispanics turn now.

Rick said...

Well, I don't know the details of the report. I have not read it.

Should we tell him Sergeant Schultz wasn't supposed to be a role model?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34ag4nkSh7Q

tim in vermont said...

Trump has to find a way to improve his own image without being obvious about it.I hope he picks Newt as VP but ship his wife to another planet until it´s all over. - Comment from a conservative site.

It's not just me.

Brando said...

I can't really picture anyone who has reservations about Trump being more likely to vote for him because Newt was his VP pick. Who would this help him with?

If anything, picking someone like Nikki Haley would help, and not just because she's a non-white woman and reasonably popular governor. The main thing it would signal is that he can make his case to someone not already disposed towards him (if anything, her endorsement at this time seems lukewarm) so if she got on board it would make his more "wobbly" supporters (particularly conservatives) figure he must have something there if he can win over someone like her. As a two-term governor, she's been largely vetted through the electoral process, and fits the "government experience" requirement he claimed he was looking for in a VP pick.

damikesc said...

If anything, picking someone like Nikki Haley would help, and not just because she's a non-white woman and reasonably popular governor. The main thing it would signal is that he can make his case to someone not already disposed towards him (if anything, her endorsement at this time seems lukewarm) so if she got on board it would make his more "wobbly" supporters (particularly conservatives) figure he must have something there if he can win over someone like her. As a two-term governor, she's been largely vetted through the electoral process, and fits the "government experience" requirement he claimed he was looking for in a VP pick.

I'd be moderately surprised if she took that offer, but she is about to be term limited out here, so it's not impossible. And it's sad that she first made her name by proposing that names get attached to votes in state legislation here. That we didn't require that as late as 2008 is absurd. She's been a solid governor but I doubt she will win a House or Senate seat as we don't tend to go anti-incumbent very often.

Known Unknown said...

I've always thought Susana Martinez would be an interesting choice. Female Hispanic Governor of a blue border state.

Of course, the media and left would refer to her a 'token' pick. Can she see Mexico from her house?


JAORE said...

"Think both parties will nominate younger VPs, which is why both Bernie and Fauxhauntis Warren are probably out for Hillary."

I agree Warren is not young. But she APPEARS quite young, especially next to Hillary, and that might be enough. And she might help shore up the far(ther) left flank from desertion by disgruntled Bernie Bros

Sammy Finkelman said...

I don't think this penetrated but I found the story about the envelopes of cash. It's not clear maybe what they meant.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/counsel/smaltz/henrickson.html

He tells a whole story about how apilot was fired, and he complained and later he himself was fired maybe for that and he filed a lawsuit. And then he gets called by a special prosecutor - the one onvestigting Espy - he got interviewed because they were talking to anyone who had filed alawsuit against Tyson Foods he later learned - and he gets asked all sorts of question about whether he flew Espy anywhere or firneds of Espy and he had nothing to say. He knew nothing.

Was Mr. Smaltz asking you questions?

Yeah, Mr. Smaltz was there, and he was asking me questions. Like I said, it was a dry hole at that point, I didn't have anything to tell them.

What changed it?

Well they asked me if I ever seen anything else that was illegal or strange, And the only thing that I said was the times that I had taken envelopes of money to be delivered to the Governor. And I mean Smaltz - I remember because he was sitting across from me turned away - he turned around. It was like his jaw almost fell open....

Envelopes of money. Did you have a sense that as you told him that, that you were giving something explosive?

No, I really didn't because the time when this happened, I didn't think about it. Like I told you Don was like the commandant of the marines; I was one of his lieutenants. I was just doing my job.

You mean at the time it happened?

Yes.... Sure, I mean we thought it was funny. We would take them and hold them up into the direct light, and you could just see money through the paper.

We don't need to go way down that path, but I would like just to make sure that I have a clear understanding of what actually occurred. It was over a period of time. It wasn't just one incident.

It was several incidents over several years.

Do you remember the very first one?

Yes, I probably remember the first one the best, to tell you the truth.... As a matter of fact, I wasn't even flying the trip; two other pilots were. I don't know who actually delivered it, but I remember staying out by the airplane waiting for them to go, and they [were] all looking it. It was a big joke. It was obviously a lot of money in the envelope.

How did you all know that it was for Governor Clinton?

Well, someone had been told. I don't think I was told at that point, but the pilots who were taking it down had been told.








Sammy Finkelman said...

The pilot had gotten threatened with other people claiming he had flown drugs around.

He said the company was too big. He said he went to TIME Magazine to protect himself.

The leads were not pursued because the Depatment of Justice (Janet Reno) told the special prosecutor all that was outside his jurisdiction.