Long before former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich found himself in the final running for Donald Trump’s VP pick, he spoke about the presumptive nominee in a rather interesting way. And by “interesting,” I mean “not entirely positive,” as the recently suspended Fox News contributor‘s private remarks this past February reveal. What’s more, according to what Gingrich told the Republican State Leadership Committee during their meeting in Washington, D.C., it seems he was praising and insulting the New York real-estate mogul. So much for that running-mate gig, Newt.
Per Pro Publica, it all started when Gingrich broached whether Trump’s successful campaigning would ever translate to governing. At the time, the press was all over studies dissecting the businessman’s penchant for speaking at a sixth-grade level. Hence why, when the topic of Trump’s ability (or lack thereof) to dialogue with the public came up, Gingrich wasn’t sure if it’d translate to actual politics:
“How we make the transition from, you know, language for fourth-graders to real policy, I don’t know.”
Yes, Gingrich equated Trump’s speeches to the “language of fourth graders” — a full two grades lower than the science cited by the Washington Post and other outlets. Yet his description of the popular Republican candidate’s words wasn’t meant as a full-blown insult, per se. Turns out Gingrich was actually lauding Trump for his simple word choices, and even gave some off-the-cuff analysis to support its use:
“This is not a guy who’s shallow or simple, but he is a guy who knows an immense amount about marketing, which is why he talks at a fourth-grade level. He talks at the lowest level of any candidate in either party, not because he’s stupid. He does it because he knows if you talk at a fourth-grade level everybody can understand you.”
Combined with his recent comments about race relations in the United States and past criticism of Trump’s questionable attacks against a federal judge, maybe “fourth-grade level-gate” will help Gingrich’s VP chances. Then again, considering the increasingly strong likelihood that Indiana Gov. Mike Pence has the job, it probably doesn’t matter anymore.
(Via Pro Publica)