Newt Gingrich: Democrats opposing McConnell's proposal are trying to “blackmail” Trump
On Fox & Friends, Gingrich tells Republicans not to “give in” to Democrats
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From the March 23, 2020, edition of Fox News’ Fox & Friends
AINSLEY EARHARDT (CO-HOST): Newt, it was frustrating over the weekend when you're watching the Senate and the House and the white House try to negotiate this deal, all weekend long. Our people need help, they need relief. You have workers that are worried about losing their jobs. You have some that are furloughed. You have restaurant owners that have to pay their staff, and keep their doors open for deliveries, but yet they don't have the money to pay for overhead. And some reason, our lawmakers in Washington can't get together on a bipartisan deal. Nancy Pelosi says the House wants their own deal, and then Mitch McConnell said everything was fine, bipartisan, we were in agreement until Nancy Pelosi came back.
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NEWT GINGRICH (FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR): Well, look, this is classic.
In 1990, the Democrats blackmailed President George H.W. Bush into breaking his word on taxes — where they said they wouldn't agree to a budget agreement.
In 2007 and '8, when Pelosi was first speaker, she basically passed terrible legislation, which President George W. Bush felt he had to sign — things which crippled the economy. They continued that for the first two years of Obama, and by 2010 we won the House with John Boehner and the slogan, “Where are the jobs?”
So, what you have now is a power struggle where Pelosi and Schumer believe they can blackmail the president into accepting really dumb ideas. Again, I think there are some things you negotiate, there are some things you can work out. But I personally do not want to see a Trump-McConnell-McCarthy team that are blackmailed by Pelosi and Schumer, and give in.
I think the American people need to understand we can get something done immediately this week, the House has to come back to do it. But they ought to put a lot of pressure on Pelosi and Schumer to put America ahead of partisanship, and to try to help solve an American crisis — not just pay off their allies and their interest groups. And I think this is — I'm not at all surprised. I thought McConnell did a great job. He had these five working groups — individual senators in the Democratic Party are very reasonable when you get them in those kind of working groups. But their leaders understand this is their moment to blackmail the president, and if they can get away with it, they will.