Is Newt Gingrich the Key to Ending #NeverTrump?
Conservative blogger and radio host Erick Erickson was one of the earliest signees to the #NeverTrump cause, voicing extreme displeasure with Donald Trump’s candidacy long before there was any organized effort to swear off the New York reality TV star’s presidential campaign.
I recall last August when Erickson pulled Trump’s invitation to the influential RedState gathering over the candidate’s “blood from her wherever” comments on Fox News personality Megyn Kelly after the first Republican debate. At the time, Erickson said he liked Trump personally but didn’t think what the Donald said was appropriate for the national discourse.
I think most of us agreed Trump went way over the top in dealing with Kelly. Longtime adviser Roger Stone even left the campaign shortly after the incident. Trump’s said a lot of things he shouldn’t have and hasn’t exactly been contrite in taking the utterances back. But reality also says Trump’s the voters’ choice and going to be the official figurehead of the Republican Party in two months.
Erickson certainly hasn’t changed his mind on Trump, but he did see fit to comment on the rumors of Newt Gingrich potentially becoming the presumptive nominee’s running mate. Writing in The Resurgent, Erickson said, “Gingrich is the one guy Trump could pick who would ameliorate a lot of the concerns of the establishment, the donors, and the grassroots. …
“Though Newt has had a rocky relationship of late with some of the GOP Establishment, the man who got the GOP out of the wilderness in 1994 is someone to whom they would not turn up their nose.
“Gingrich would be a smart pick for Trump.”
It almost sounds like Erickson is coming around to the possibility of joining the winning side, though he did double down on his opposition to Trump just the other day. If Erickson’s so adamant against Trump, why is he weighing in on Gingrich as a possible VP choice? Why would he care?
The post was positive sounding too.
I wonder if Trump made one of his famous overtures to Erickson if the latter would at least consider chiseling out of his #NeverTrump prison cell. Something to consider, I guess.
Or perhaps Erickson is sending a signal that Gingrich would be the key to unification with a portion of the #NeverTrump folks. Trump might not be able to talk them back into the fold, but Gingrich likely could. We’ll have to keep an eye on this one to see how it develops.
