I have no reason to believe he did. Of course, several people who were close to Ronald Reagan say he hardly knew Newt Gingrich. And Newt doesn’t figure into his memoirs.
But all I really want to remind people is that Nancy Reagan did NOT say that the torch was passed to Newt alone, but to the entire republican congress. Each time it is brought up, it reminds people that Newt claimed as a personal thing something that was in fact given to his colleagues as well.
“several people who were close to Ronald Reagan say he hardly knew Newt Gingrich.”
That’s NONSENSE
Ed Rollins, who was Reagan’s national campaignes organizer, said that’s bulls..t, coming right from Romney’s headquarters:
“I’m going to straighten it out once and for all: Gingrich was a very important congressional ally. Congressmen aren’t in the White House all day long, and they’re not basically giving advice. But he and Jack Kemp and Trent Lott and others were among 10 or 12 most important players and most loyal to Ronald Reagan. At the same time, Mitt Romney was an independent and he was not on the political scene at all. It’s stupid argument. They ought to be talk about this future, not the past.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjOMMweAJ_s