Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the House and former professor of history, showed a lack of leadership and a dated knowledge of current American realities in his now-viral exchange with Megyn Kelly.
Interviewed Tuesday night on “The Kelly File,” Gingrich accused the Fox anchor of having a personal agenda when she refused to agree with his declaration that the media are devoting too much time to stories about the growing number of allegations of sexual assault by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, whom Gingrich supports strongly. “You are fascinated by sex and you don’t care about public policy,” he charged, beginning a heated exchange between the two that many observers labeled “bizarre.”
Yet this live TV argument was in many ways completely predictable. Gingrich’s performance was in keeping with what we’ve already seen from Trump and his political allies. Not only was Gingrich stunningly unoriginal in his tactics, but he also fell short of his objective: to unnerve, bully and take Kelly down. Gingrich tried and failed to undermine Kelly as a journalist and above all as a powerful woman who speaks her mind and often puts gender concerns above party loyalty.
Here’s what went wrong for Gingrich. First, he’s not reading the mood of the country, including Republican women, when he dismisses Kelly’s concerns about “protection for women” as irrelevant. Women across the country have made it clear they feel insulted by Trump’s denials of documented abuses, and plenty of men agree with them. Gingrich need only read the polls on this issue.
Gingrich’s comments to the contrary exposed him as hopelessly out of touch and downright sexist in saying that the rights of women to work and live without fear of harassment does not enter into the realm of “public policy.”
Second, Gingrich’s personalization of a political debate — by accusing a female host of being “fascinated by sex” — showed he apparently can’t see past the gender of his interlocutor and also shares Trump’s insecurity about female professionalism. Trying to reduce Kelly to her libido echoes Trump’s description of Kelly having “blood coming out from her wherever,” when he too felt challenged by her during an early presidential debate. Remember that? Women voters sure do.
Third, Gingrich apparently did not do his homework about what a turnoff his aggressive overtalking, mansplaining and sarcastic asides are. Polls show that Trump looked bad to both women and men for such behaviors in the presidential debates. Gingrich even engaged — futilely — in the ultimate power play: trying to make the woman submit, on air, on her own show. “I want to hear you use the words Bill Clinton sexual predator. I dare you. Say Bill Clinton sexual predator.” Yuck. Did he really think that Kelly, the host of her own show, would acquiesce? Beyond the tiredness of the trick of trying to discredit Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton because her husband had an affair, such behavior suggests a man not in full control of his emotions. No wonder Kelly told him to go and work on his “anger issues” at the end of the interview.
Gingrich’s on-air behavior would make anyone look bad, but Gingrich in particular is hardly one to bring up affairs: Infidelity (his) reportedly ended his first two marriages and his lover became his next wife (he’s now on No. 3). His overt lack of sensitivity to women — he’s now claiming that Trump accuser Jessica Leeds merely had a “bad airplane flight” — is one thing he has in common with Trump. His unorthodox view of professional morals is another. Younger readers may not recall that Gingrich was the first speaker of the House to be disciplined for an ethics violation, having to do with irregularities with his taxes. He proved to be an ineffectual party leader and resigned from the speakership in 1998 after the GOP had the worst electoral showing in 64 years, losing five House seats.
Does Gingrich hope for a political revival if Trump wins the election? If so, he’ll need to do some better research on the mood of the country. Whether the Trump camp likes it or not, America is changing. The Republicans can try and turn back the clock on everything from trade deals or same-sex marriages, but they can’t stop the ongoing social shift toward valuing women’s personal and professional autonomy and integrity.
Bullying women, on the air or at work, is no longer OK with much of America: The dissolution of Trump’s standing shows as much. Before he speaks for the Republican side again, professor Gingrich needs a refresher course.