Newt Gingrich spent Monday in New York City, visiting with real estate mogul Donald Trump. Speaking to reporters after their meeting, Gingrich defended Trump against attacks from Ron Paul, who says that Trump moderating a debate would create a “circus atmosphere.” Gingrich is one of two Republican presidential hopefuls who have agreed to participate in Trump’s debate later this month. Gingrich said, “I’m actually very surprised that one of my friends would have said that … this is a country of enormously wide-open talent. You know, Donald Trump is a great showman. He’s also a great businessman. “
In addition to meeting with Trump, Gingrich said he made the trip because he likes being in New York around Christmas. Ron Paul’s campaign responded to the Gingrich-Trump visit with a scathing statement, saying in part … “While those of us in the Paul camp might disagree with Newt Gingrich about whether Donald Trump is the right man to host a serious political debate, we do agree New York is a wonderful place to go at Christmas. We are sure two average Americans like Speaker Gingrich and Donald Trump will have a wonderful time picking out gifts for their wives. We suggest a place called Tiffany’s, we hear it is quite nice this time of year and given their celebrity status they can probably get special deals and $500,000 lines of credit.”
Michele Norris is a Senior Contributing Editor for MS NOW.