New York’s delegation at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland heard from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at their breakfast meeting Monday. Gingrich offered them a game plan for winning in New York state in November.
Former House Speaker, professor and now author of dystopic thrillers, Newt Gingrich spoke as an official Donald Trump surrogate. He offered the delegates what he called a game plan to win typically Democratic New York state away from Hillary Clinton in the presidential race. He says the political landscape is rapidly shifting, and New York City is key.
“Do not assume anyone is happy with where we are,” Gingrich said. “If you break the city, you own the state.”
Gingrich says Republicans should reach out to ethnic business owners who are dissatisfied with taxes and overregulation, and he told the largely white, older crowd to get savvy with social media, and learn how to use Facebook live. He says Trumps power lies in his “embodiment” of the public’s discontent.
Onondaga County Chair Tom Dadey, an early Trump supporter, says he thinks Gingrich’s plan is realistic. He says Trump does not have to win a borough like Manhattan outright to succeed in the state overall. He estimates that just 30 percent of the vote there could be adequate.
“That would be enough for him to make competitive and to win New York,” Dadey said.
Buffalo businessman and 2010 GOP candidate for Governor Carl Paladino, who will run Trump’s campaign in New York, says Gingrich was inspiring with his deep knowledge of history and how it relates to current times.
“Having him on the Trump campaign is just awesome,” Paladino said.
Gingrich also offered a take-down of Hillary Clinton, calling her dishonest and a liar. And he criticized President Barack Obama’s foreign policy, saying he and Clinton are acting like “sheep” when the terrorists are intent on killing Americans and other westerners, like the victims of the recent truck attack in Nice.
“And they watch the wolves come in,” said Gingrich.
Gingrich says he identifies as more of a “guard dog,” and believes the wolves need to be killed, to applause from the audience. He says by supporting immigration from places like Syria, the Democrats want to just let the wolves in.
