1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:04,360 Speaker 1: Newt Gingrich was a history professor in Georgia in the 2 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:07,400 Speaker 1: seventies and he got interested in politics and decided to 3 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:09,680 Speaker 1: run and he ended up being a member of the 4 00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:14,080 Speaker 1: House of Representatives representing his state of Georgia. UM and 5 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:16,200 Speaker 1: worked his way up until he was the Speaker of 6 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:21,200 Speaker 1: the House. Then, after forty plus years of Democrats controlling 7 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:25,560 Speaker 1: the House of Representative, in some belief that demographically Democrats 8 00:00:25,560 --> 00:00:29,520 Speaker 1: would control the House forever, Newt put together the Contract 9 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:33,200 Speaker 1: with America and was able to lead a Republican revolution. 10 00:00:33,479 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 1: He called it in four for Republicans take take the 11 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:41,240 Speaker 1: House back after forty plus years, and he did a 12 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:43,640 Speaker 1: battle with Bill Clinton. If you were following politics at 13 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:46,600 Speaker 1: the time, it is very, very exciting time to be alive. Um. 14 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:49,479 Speaker 1: Since then, he's continued as an historian, to write a 15 00:00:49,479 --> 00:00:51,800 Speaker 1: lot of books and stay active in politics. Ran for 16 00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:54,080 Speaker 1: president and uh did pretty well back there in two 17 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:57,000 Speaker 1: thousand twelve. But now he's out with a brand new 18 00:00:57,040 --> 00:01:00,800 Speaker 1: book called Trump and the American Future, solving the great 19 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:03,360 Speaker 1: problems of our time. New Gingrich, Welcome to the Armstrong 20 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:07,280 Speaker 1: and Getty Show. Appreciate the time this morning. Well listen, 21 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:08,520 Speaker 1: it's great to be with you and they have a 22 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:11,800 Speaker 1: chance to chat. Be very excited by the new book 23 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:14,760 Speaker 1: because I think as you go into this particular election, 24 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:18,120 Speaker 1: I think having an ability to effects and figures and 25 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:20,920 Speaker 1: to be able to talk with your friends and neighbors 26 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:23,480 Speaker 1: can be very very important. Yeah. Yeah, and it's it's 27 00:01:23,520 --> 00:01:25,960 Speaker 1: it's more difficult than ever. So before we get into that, 28 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:28,120 Speaker 1: You're you're in a historian. You've been around a long time. 29 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:31,119 Speaker 1: You know. I found this kind of interesting. You've been 30 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:34,399 Speaker 1: around the entire time I've been following politics. You're still 31 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:40,679 Speaker 1: on younger than Joe Biden, which is which I find astounding. Um. Uh, 32 00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:44,479 Speaker 1: it is, it's an astounding fact. Um. But you're an historian. 33 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:48,480 Speaker 1: Where does the current time we're living in rank I mean, 34 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:52,160 Speaker 1: with the pandemic, with the economy, with the racial tensions 35 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:54,200 Speaker 1: and everything like that, it seems to me it's about 36 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:59,000 Speaker 1: as crazy as anything we've had in our nation's history. Well, 37 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:01,440 Speaker 1: I mean, certainly not be as bad as the Civil War, 38 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:07,000 Speaker 1: But I think if you take that off, the equation, Uh, 39 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:10,080 Speaker 1: it's it's in the same league with with FDR going 40 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:13,000 Speaker 1: through the depression in World War Two. Uh, it's it's 41 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:17,079 Speaker 1: the combination of having a pandemic which the Chinese lied 42 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:21,480 Speaker 1: about consistently and made it much worse, having the public 43 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:24,200 Speaker 1: health people say closed everything down. So the government for 44 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:27,840 Speaker 1: the first time I don't ever remember ever before government's 45 00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:30,760 Speaker 1: deliberately creating a depression, which is what they did. And 46 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:33,040 Speaker 1: then for a people who are used to being very free, 47 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:35,160 Speaker 1: telling us all to shut up and stay at home 48 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:38,280 Speaker 1: and do exactly what your local official tells you. And 49 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:41,400 Speaker 1: then finally, with with weeks and weeks of of of 50 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:46,280 Speaker 1: unhappiness and tention building up, you had the tragedy of 51 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:49,480 Speaker 1: George Floyd getting killed and the way he got killed 52 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:51,400 Speaker 1: give an eight and a half in a tape of 53 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:54,160 Speaker 1: people saying you're killing him and then you watch him dying. 54 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:56,560 Speaker 1: And that led to and you know, that was a 55 00:02:56,600 --> 00:02:59,400 Speaker 1: spark which I think will be seen as historic and 56 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:01,720 Speaker 1: which led to a lot of different activities, some of 57 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:05,000 Speaker 1: them totally legitimate and some of them are barbaric and 58 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:09,079 Speaker 1: totally illegitimate. So when you swirl all that together and 59 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:11,880 Speaker 1: you combine that with a very left wing news media 60 00:03:11,919 --> 00:03:16,160 Speaker 1: that just hates Trump, um, you really have an interesting 61 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:20,680 Speaker 1: As a historian, you have a really interesting time. How 62 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:23,280 Speaker 1: do you feel about this move of journalism. You saw 63 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:25,320 Speaker 1: what happened with the New York Times, the revolt they 64 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:28,919 Speaker 1: had in their you know, their editorial section there um 65 00:03:28,919 --> 00:03:31,240 Speaker 1: and they pulled it up, ed from a sitting US 66 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:35,200 Speaker 1: senator with a reasonable argument he's making. You mentioned the 67 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:38,800 Speaker 1: left wing media, um that understates it. How does that 68 00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:41,680 Speaker 1: fit in that we don't even have we don't have 69 00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:44,680 Speaker 1: any common news sources we can go to to even 70 00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:48,280 Speaker 1: find out what the stories of the day are. All Right, Well, 71 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:49,880 Speaker 1: I think you have to start with the idea these 72 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:54,400 Speaker 1: are not news media. These are propaganda systems for the left. 73 00:03:55,680 --> 00:04:00,960 Speaker 1: They have no relationship to news media. Uh, And I 74 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:05,120 Speaker 1: think you really have to start from that perspective. And 75 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:08,440 Speaker 1: then I think you've got to decide that you know, 76 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:11,040 Speaker 1: you're gonna find ways to learn things on your own, 77 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:14,240 Speaker 1: but you do you canna expect them to always be 78 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:17,440 Speaker 1: anti Trump, you know. So, so Trump goes to West 79 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:18,800 Speaker 1: Point and gave what I thought was one of the 80 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:23,960 Speaker 1: better speeches of his presidency. The young cadets I think 81 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:26,880 Speaker 1: paid really careful attention. I think it was a very 82 00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:31,080 Speaker 1: positive day. And immediately the media starts to focus on 83 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:34,920 Speaker 1: whether or not he walked down this long ramp too 84 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:37,600 Speaker 1: carefully and was that a sign of age? Now, if 85 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:41,039 Speaker 1: you watch Donald Trump and you watch Joe Biden, the 86 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:43,640 Speaker 1: idea that the person you'd worry about being too old 87 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:46,880 Speaker 1: as Trump is crazy and Trump has the energy of 88 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 1: a thirty year old. But and he made a very 89 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:52,640 Speaker 1: clear point. He said, look, there was no handrail. It 90 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:55,560 Speaker 1: was a slippery surface, and I was wearing leather shoes, 91 00:04:55,920 --> 00:05:00,480 Speaker 1: and I knew if I fell that the eight media 92 00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 1: would go crazy. So yeah, I walked down very carefully. 93 00:05:03,640 --> 00:05:05,080 Speaker 1: And if you're watching, when he gets to the bottom, 94 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:08,960 Speaker 1: he sort of trots off and he's fine. But they 95 00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:12,320 Speaker 1: were looking for what is it we can use to 96 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:15,880 Speaker 1: clutter this speech because the speech is too good. And 97 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:18,320 Speaker 1: if we let the American people see the speech, they 98 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:22,040 Speaker 1: might get a positive view of Trump. We're talking with 99 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:24,760 Speaker 1: former speak We're talking with former Speaker of the House 100 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:26,760 Speaker 1: and a historian and author of many many books. New 101 00:05:26,839 --> 00:05:30,040 Speaker 1: Gingrich ran for president himself. Um, the book is Trump 102 00:05:30,040 --> 00:05:32,919 Speaker 1: in the American Future, Solving the Great Problems of our Time. 103 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:34,880 Speaker 1: You have Trump in the title, but it seems to 104 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:37,440 Speaker 1: me the problems of our time, you know, are are 105 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:39,880 Speaker 1: going to be there. Whether whether Trump is president or not. 106 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:45,240 Speaker 1: What do you lay out as the problems of our time. Well, 107 00:05:45,279 --> 00:05:46,560 Speaker 1: I think, first of all, you've got to get the 108 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:51,040 Speaker 1: economy growing again. Nothing else works if we can't get 109 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:54,359 Speaker 1: the economy growing again. The second, I think that you 110 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:58,560 Speaker 1: have to continue to learn how to cope with the virus, 111 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:03,480 Speaker 1: partly by getting things that are better therapies, partly by 112 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:08,880 Speaker 1: getting ultimately some kind of vaccine, and by learning how 113 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:11,560 Speaker 1: to focus on hotspots and surround them and stop them 114 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:14,920 Speaker 1: before they get before they infect very many people. I 115 00:06:14,920 --> 00:06:18,680 Speaker 1: think third, we have to have a basic argument about 116 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:21,800 Speaker 1: whether or not this country is not a function. I mean, 117 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:26,000 Speaker 1: you know, when you when you look at how bad 118 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:28,640 Speaker 1: the schools are and some of our cities. In the Baltimore, 119 00:06:28,640 --> 00:06:31,400 Speaker 1: which is the fourth most expensive city in the country 120 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:34,880 Speaker 1: for education, there are entire buildings that do not have 121 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:40,080 Speaker 1: a single student passing the state exam, not one. So 122 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:43,240 Speaker 1: they're clearly not schools in any traditional sense. And this 123 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:45,960 Speaker 1: is a crisis because it leaves these kids with no 124 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:50,960 Speaker 1: usable skills, no ability to survive, they no wonder, they 125 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:55,320 Speaker 1: feel cheated and frustrated, etcetera. So you know, I think, um, 126 00:06:57,120 --> 00:07:01,240 Speaker 1: it's just it's amazing that we have not been willing 127 00:07:01,240 --> 00:07:03,560 Speaker 1: to come to grips with some of these things. You know, 128 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:06,240 Speaker 1: I think again we need to come to groups with 129 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:09,440 Speaker 1: with with a better policing. But that's what I actually believe. 130 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:12,600 Speaker 1: That probably means more police paid better and with with 131 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:15,680 Speaker 1: with stricter rules, and probably with every one of them 132 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:20,120 Speaker 1: having a body camera. Uh. That requires changing the union contracts, 133 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:22,320 Speaker 1: which is the same problem we have with the big 134 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:24,480 Speaker 1: city school system. As long as long as you have 135 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:29,640 Speaker 1: union contracts which protect the incompetent, you're gonna have systems 136 00:07:29,640 --> 00:07:33,600 Speaker 1: that decay. You were Speaker of the House, New Gingrich, 137 00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:36,200 Speaker 1: and um, it was a contentious time, and you and 138 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:38,280 Speaker 1: Bill Clinton and the battles and that sort of thing. 139 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:41,800 Speaker 1: But man, it's it seems like everybody loved everybody. To 140 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:44,480 Speaker 1: compare to today, when you you know, the President will 141 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:47,720 Speaker 1: call Nancy Pelosi crazy and should call him morbidly obese 142 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:49,920 Speaker 1: and back and forth. Do you see us ever returning 143 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:55,280 Speaker 1: to anything even closer to uh, to cooperation and bipartisanship 144 00:07:55,560 --> 00:08:01,720 Speaker 1: anytime soon? Well, when one side wins, and the reason 145 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:05,280 Speaker 1: is so intense right now is that both sides see 146 00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:10,520 Speaker 1: themselves almost winning and almost being annihilated, and that maximizes 147 00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:14,040 Speaker 1: the pressure and maximizes the emotions that are at stake, 148 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:17,960 Speaker 1: and so until that gets solved, until one side clearly 149 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:21,240 Speaker 1: is dominant, it's going to remain that that intense and 150 00:08:21,280 --> 00:08:25,080 Speaker 1: that better. That is fascinating. I'm glad we had you 151 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:27,400 Speaker 1: on just for that question and answer right there. The 152 00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:30,360 Speaker 1: book is Trump and the American Future, Solving the great 153 00:08:30,360 --> 00:08:34,160 Speaker 1: problems of our time. Smart guy, lots of perspective and 154 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:38,319 Speaker 1: obviously experienced new gring. Thanks for your time today. Thank 155 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:42,000 Speaker 1: you enjoyed it. That was interesting. Honestly, that was worth 156 00:08:42,040 --> 00:08:45,079 Speaker 1: the interview for that, and uh reminded me. I've heard 157 00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:49,440 Speaker 1: George will say that too. This will stay as as 158 00:08:49,480 --> 00:08:53,920 Speaker 1: bitter as it is until one side wins, clearly wins. 159 00:08:54,559 --> 00:08:56,280 Speaker 1: And you know, it doesn't have to be a pcent 160 00:08:56,400 --> 00:08:59,840 Speaker 1: to nothing. It probably just needs to get to somewhere 161 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:06,400 Speaker 1: sixty forty, maybe seventy thirty. But then you've got a 162 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:10,559 Speaker 1: clear you know, leading um uh well side that that's 163 00:09:10,679 --> 00:09:13,200 Speaker 1: that's leading the way on the other side trying to 164 00:09:13,400 --> 00:09:16,880 Speaker 1: uh group back together. But when it's this tight and 165 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:19,319 Speaker 1: every battle is so close, we're either going to win 166 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:22,319 Speaker 1: or be annihilated. That's how you end up with, you know, this, 167 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:25,120 Speaker 1: this knife fight that we're in on every single issue, 168 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:27,080 Speaker 1: every single day. That's really interesting.