Newt Gingrich scoffs at Steve Bannon's 'baloney' excuse for on-record interview
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) isn't buying chief strategist Stephen Bannon's excuse for the interview he gave Tuesday, in which he dished on his beef with colleagues, contradicted President Trump's stance on North Korea, and claimed that Trump officials are so nervous about changing trade policy they're "wetting themselves." The media-savvy former Breitbart editor has claimed that he thought the interview with progressive publication, The American Prospect, was off the record.
"Oh, baloney. Steve Bannon is a professional," Gingrich said in a Thursday appearance on Fox & Friends, struggling to figure out what Bannon was trying to accomplish with this interview. "Maybe, if you're senior White House adviser, it's useful not to screw it up. ... If you're senior White House adviser, you make your argument in the Oval Office, you make your argument in the chief of staff's office," Gingrich said.
In a final zinger, Gingrich brought up former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, who went rogue in an interview with The New Yorker by offering some lewd remarks about Bannon. “This reminds me of Scaramucci," Gingrich said of Bannon's inteview. "You don't go off and do this stuff."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Bannon's interviewer at The American Prospect, Robert Kuttner, said that Bannon never asked for their conversation to be off the record. Watch Gingrich's commentary below, starting around the 6:12 mark, and read Bannon's "accidentally" on the record interview at The American Prospect. Becca Stanek
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'A direct, protracted war with Israel is not something Iran is equipped to fight'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 17, 2024
Cartoons Wednesday's cartoons - political anxiety, jury sorting hat, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Arid Gulf states hit with year's worth of rain
Speed Read The historic flooding in Dubai is tied to climate change
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published