Newt Gingrich and Fox News Channel have parted ways amid heightened speculation that the former Speaker of the House could be tapped as presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s running mate. The two parties mutually agreed to suspend Gingrich’s contributor contract “effective immediately,” according to Fox.
“Due to the intense media speculation about Gingrich’s potential selection as Donald Trump’s vice presidential candidate, we felt it best to halt his contributor role on the network to avoid all conflicts of interest that may arise,” Jay Wallace, executive vice president for news, said in a statement. Gingrich, who has been on Fox’s payroll since October, has campaign with Trump multiple times and is thought to be near the top of his shortlist. Read more at CNN MONEY.
From the Washington Post:
Here’s Wallace’s statement:
Fox News Channel has mutually agreed to suspend its contributor agreement with former speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, effective immediately. Due to the intense media speculation about Gingrich’s potential selection as Donald Trump’s vice presidential candidate, we felt it best to halt his contributor role on the network to avoid all conflicts of interest that may arise
The move makes sense – but also doesn’t. On one hand, Gingrich is clearly a Trump advocate, which colors his analysis. On the other, cable news channels often employ commentators who openly favor one candidate over the rest. CNN recently hired Trump’s former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, who remains a pro-Trump delegate to the Republican National Convention. Plus, it isn’t exactly a new development that Gingrich is under consideration to be Trump’s No. 2.
It seems unlikely that Gingrich or the Trump campaign would tip off Fox executives to the pick – and then greenlight a public announcement about the suspension of the contract. It’s not like Gingrich has his own show; with less than a week remaining before the convention, Fox could have quietly made Gingrich invisible for a few days.
It feels like something might have changed to prompt such visible action by Fox. What we don’t yet know is what that something might have been.
{CB Frommer-Matzav.com Newscenter}
