This is Newt Gingrich in April of 1988, being asked whether he thought then-Vice President/POTUS candidate George H.W. Bush should attempt to run on Reagan’s record. Newt Gingrich responded that if Bush did that, “he will lose.”
Newt’s answer leaves a lot to be desired for sure, but in his defense he is clearly talking about political strategy here – not repudiating Reagan’s actual record. Still, I’m puzzled as to why he’d think it would be bad political strategy for Bush to point to Reagan’s accomplishments and portray his candidacy – at least in part – as a continuation of those successes.
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