Chaos In Cleveland As Newt Gingrich Attacks the Bush Family for Refusing to Back Trump

Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 07:12 pm

Newt Gingrich, the architect of the failed “Contract with America” who drove the Clinton impeachment bus over the cliff giving the Democrats a midterm win, accused the Bush family of behaving “childishly” simply because they had the prescience to avoid the Trump clownshow, aka the Republican National Convention.

Speaking to George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America at the convention in Cleveland, Gingrich said, “The reason people nominated Donald Trump is because they weren’t happy, and frankly, I think the Bushes are behaving childishly. Jeb lost. Get over it.”

Gingrich is awfully chipper for Trump for someone who just lost the Veepstakes, but Gingrich also has no career left in politics. He’s been a has-been for a long time, after leaving the House amidst an ethics scandal disgrace. Gingrich is also remembered for his budget showdowns and government shutdowns. I know, right?

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People might not like the Bush brand, but obviously the Bushes (Former Presidents George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Former Governor Jeb Bush) have standards and they know to stand with Donald Trump is to stand on the very wrong side of history. No thanks, they said en mass in May. They also refused to endorse Donald Trump, but they did it with the diplomacy one expects of people who have actually been in politics instead of the mob like thuggery of the Trump campaign.

George W Bush also appeared with President Barack Obama to give remarks at a memorial for the slain police officers in Dallas. The two leaders were clearly working together to send a signal of unity to the country, in defiance of Trump’s ugly rhetoric.

Of all of the things W did, one of the best was his insistence that we not demonize Muslims after 9/11. On September 17, 2001, on the heels of the attacks Bush said, “The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That’s not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don’t represent peace. They represent evil and war. When we think of Islam we think of a faith that brings comfort to a billion people around the world. Billions of people find comfort and solace and peace. And that’s made brothers and sisters out of every race — out of every race.”

Contrast what Bush said with how Trump talks about Muslims. It is clear that the Bush family find Trump’s behavior repugnant.

Newt Gingrich is not someone whose judgment screams “Follow me to win!” So when he says the Bush family is behaving childishly, it’s simply an indication of why he was on Trump’s shortlist. Newt Gingrich also has no low too low.

What we are seeing is the old, establishment Republicans — with whose policies we might vehemently disagree — take a stand against the national disgrace that is Donald Trump.

They didn’t win, but they’re not going to stand next to Trump and give him legitimacy.

Image: ABC’s Good Morning America

Sarah Jones

Listen to Sarah on the PoliticusUSA Pod on The Daily newsletter podcast here.

Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.

Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.

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