Posted on 12/21/2016 12:17:57 PM PST by Pinkbell
Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said in a new interview that Donald Trump has taken a different tone as president-elect and may be leaving behind his campaign promise to “drain the swamp.”
Gingrich told NPR's "Morning Edition" that he was told Trump “now says [the phrase] was cute, but he doesn’t want to use it anymore.”
Gingrich, who has been a close adviser to Trump, said he likes "drain the swamp" because it “vividly illustrates the problem, because all people in this city who are the alligators are going to hate the swamp being drained.”
“But, you know, he is my leader, and if he decides to drop the swamp and the alligator I will drop the swamp and the alligator,” he said.
Gingrich also said he’d noticed Trump’s change in attitude toward his supporters chanting “lock her up” at his post-election rallies, referring to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
“Maybe he feels that, as president, as the next president of the United States, that he should be marginally more dignified than talking about alligators in swamps,” Gingrich said.
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
Hey.... Gingrich says lots of things.
Drainage of any swamp is not done overnight — it is a long-term project. The people should be patient and not expect it to happen immediately.
After all, it took a long time for the swamp to fill up.
This isn’t even news - its a commentary on news. WTF is the hill putting out a commentary on what gingrich said, without the NPR piece to show EXACTLY what he said.
JFC, can’t get a damn bit of honest news from any source.
“I read English his comments not as Trump’s no longer going to drain the swamp with that he is no longer going to use those terms”
Exactly! Even when he first started using the term, he had some misgivings about it. The words may change, but the underlying effort won’t.
“I think he may not use the phrase “Drain the Swamp”....”
Trump has said umpteen times he thought the phrase was hokey. It’s the phrase that’s getting dropped.
“I say it should be called a “Jihad on the Alligators”.”
And in the case of the gutless GOP, “Jihad on Turtles!”
Yes, he does, but you are not going to be successful by telling your enemies your specific game plan. I think the letters to the DOS and EPA are the first shots fired. Don’t be fooled, this is war...Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, and the laws of the jungle apply! “The Hill” (and the ITB crowd) hasn’t had to wage war in a long time. Trump instinctively knows this. It’s going to be a fun 8 years.
I am very suspicious that The Hill might be a Never Trump website? The reporting seems to slant in a “concern” troll mode, at least the headline wording seems biased - the hidden slant implying that we are supposed to feel “concern” that Trump might not keep is campaign promises, which is most likely not the message that Gingrich was sending out.
Trump picked a pretty strong set of Cabinet member posts. I’m sure he’s toning it down a bit in rhetoric, but that’s a war time cabinet both foreign and domestic.
Trump said that a long time ago. This is The Hill trying to create a storm out of drizzle.
I really wish that Gingrich would just shut up! There is a reason he’s not part of a Trump administration ... he is a troublemaker .. his only goal is to sell more books and con more people into donating to his “cause”.
President Trump is a f*cking genius, the most media-savvy tycoon of a generation.
He used #unpresidented as distraction - and sure enough, he had spelled it correctly every other time.
He used the cover to appoint another conservative cabinet member.
Most real genius like to mix it up - so now he's using a brief convo with Gingrich to beard another chess move. It also gives GNewt some face time on cable.
C'mon you all, keep up or you're going to get left behind...we are prosecuting the win and driving up the points.
Well, there’s Newt, and then there’s Newt.
On one end of the spectrum you have McCain ripping you to shreds disagreeing with you.
On the other end you have “your guy” Newt out there inflaming supporters by supposedly agreeing with you.
If Trump said to put the “drain the swamp” talk on the down-low, I don’t think it was for Newt to go out and blab about.
It was meant to take that language off the table. Newt has to go and prove what an insider he is by revealing this.
What a putz.
Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said in a new interview that Donald Trump has taken a different tone as president-elect and may be leaving behind his campaign promise to “drain the swamp.”
Gingrich told NPR’s “Morning Edition” that he was told Trump “now says [the phrase] was cute, but he doesn’t want to use it anymore.”
...
What would a rose be by any other name? Look at Trump’s appointees. Look at the questions being asked of agencies. The swamp will be drained. The corrupt media and crooked politicians are having apoplectic fits.
I don’t know how many Trump rallies I listened to where Trump explained that when he first heard the term ‘Drain the Swamp’ he said he thought it was hokey - and gives the ‘My Way’ Sinatra example - not liking title at first. But Trump said ‘but ok, I like it now, because that’s what we’re going to do’. No ambivalence ever since then about intentions. Even Trump’s victory rallies he speaks consistently about getting rid of the corruption.
I have no problem distinguishing the two.
As far as ‘Lock her up’ - sure, the last few months of the campaign I saw him tone down the frenzy. He was being more diplomatic - plus, I feel, as he always likes to do, he wasn’t playing his hand too early.
I read what Sessions said about Clinton investigation a ‘high value’ item. I believe that is how Sessions/Trump feel about that.
Does “draining the swamp also mean that the alligators will be held accountable for past misdeeds? Else, the alligators will soon return.
And, accountability must not mean a mere slap on the wrist.
“I don’t think he has changed his mind about draining the swamp, I think he just doesn’t want to draw too much attention to his plans as he approaches the angry gators”
Exactly. He is too much the businessman to tell them what he is going to do to them. He will smile, shake hands, and cut them off at the knees then make them thank him for it.
I listened to him talk about this on NPR this morning. My interpretation is that “drain the swamp” was a campaign slogan used as a euphemism.
The euphemism still stands but the slogan has run its course. The campaign is over. We can now refer to the concept in more specific and useful terms.
Again, this was must my inference.
Those that do explain the message say that Trump still wants to drain the swamp, he just doesn't want to use that term anymore. If he still intends to do it (drain the swamp), what benefit is there in not using the phrase?
Truth is, Trump has backed off a lot of the rhetoric he used to get elected.
I'll be happy if it turns out that he wasn't just playing to the crowd ("playing the crowd" is more like it), but I'm not going to hold my breath.
Still much better than Hillary, for the SCOTUS implications alone.
CNN was gleefully reporting this today too. CNN will be in permanent anti-Trump mode for the next 4-8 years. Their ratings have tanked, though.
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