Newt Grigrich offered up some debate advice for Trump, as though he ever intends to actually debate Harris. Just as the news broke that Trump is already looking like he'd like to weasel out of the ABC debate scheduled for September 10th, Gingrich made an appearance on Fox "news" and whined to host Laura Ingraham about how terribly meanie Kamala Harris is going to treat Trump if and when they ever do debate.
After attacking Harris for remarks she made following her visit with Netanyahu, and accusing her of using the White House to campaign, Gingrich lashed out, making sure to use the word "radical" as many times as possible.
GINGRICH: So you just got a taste of what a President Kamala Harris would be like. The problem she has, of course, is, as you point out, that she is a San Francisco radical, that her record is impossible to hide, no matter how hard the media tries to hide it, dump it in a memory hole or get rid of it.
The objective fact is, in the end, she will be a San Francisco radical. But, I mean, in all fairness, parties get to compete by using the tools that they've got. One of the tools they've got right now is the White House.
So you can't blame her for trying. Patrice don't think it does her much good, because in the end, I think no matter what happens in the next six weeks, no matter all the effort of the news media, no matter who she picks as vice president, in the end, she will be a San Francisco radical.
She will not be able to get away from that. And it will, in the end, crush her just as it crushed Dukakis and it crushed McGovern.
Says the guy who was drummed out of the House Speaker's job in disgrace, has a long history of cheating on his multiple wives, and who did nothing but spew racist dog whistles the entire time President Obama was running and in office, and who wrote the book on demonizing and dehumanizing your political opponents, but the other side are "radicals." Sure thing, Newt.
Ingraham then asked if he had any advice for Trump if he does debate Harris, and the amount of pure projection here is something to behold.
GINGRICH: Well, first of all, I would say to Vice President Harris, if you look at the last decade, and anyone who thinks it's easy to debate Donald Trump is really foolish. He will be ready, partly because he lives it.
I mean, he's done all the things that she wants to pretend to do. But I would say that there's a difference here. The left is going to pick nasty, mean, personal fights, because they can't win any other than possibly with abortion on some terms.
And even there they lose if you push them to ninth month, which is where I think Kamala really is. That's an extremist position, and that loses too. So there's no policy issue where they're going to win.
So they're going to get into nasty, mean, personal things. I think she would go in trying to bait Trump. And my advice is really simple. We win if we are slower, if we keep a distance, it's like a boxing match. We want to punch from a distance. She wants to clinch. We want it to be slower so you can see the facts. She wants it to be really fast so that, in fact, it all stays cluttered. The more cluttered it is, the better her chance.
The more open and clear it is, the worse her chance. And my view is we should work very hard side step all the mean nasty things and stay on the basic things. That would be my advice.
Open, clear and factual are not exactly the first words that come to mind when thinking about Trump's last debates. Gish gallop, speed liar, mean, nasty, bullying and talking over everyone is Trump's debating style.
They know Harris will bring up sexual assault, fraud, his failed businesses, his stance on abortion (which is actually the "radical" one, not hers), and a host of other issues Trump really doesn't want to talk about if there is a debate. Of course, Trump won't actually respond to any of it. He'll just attack and name call.
Gingrich is already working the refs anticipating Trump might go down in flames, and pretending Harris will taking unfair cheap shots at him if it happens.
