Newt Gingrich continues to voice his opinions on national matters long after his time in Congress has come to an end.
As COVID-19 began to spread in the United States, the former Speaker of the House was among the many conservative pundits who downplayed the threat to protect the President from any political fallout.
Now, however, after President Trump has declared a national emergency and large portions of the country are shut down to attempt to slow the spread of the disease, Gingrich is singing a different song.
Who is to blame now?
The "liberal" news outlets who got the news right but failed to earn Gingrich's trust.
A reporter asked me today why conservatives were initially so skeptical of the threat of the coronavirus. I tried t… https://t.co/cLKPY7nJ1R— Newt Gingrich (@Newt Gingrich)1584380344.0
Twitter was more than happy to point out to Gingrich how he himself had actually been a cause of conservatives' disbelief.
@newtgingrich Newt Gingrich, Feb 27: "The city of San Francisco, in its usual irresponsible way, has already declar… https://t.co/o3YCmTruXc— Matt Novak (@Matt Novak)1584381884.0
Jan 20: First #COVID19 case reported in US Feb 27: Newt Gingrich calls San Francisco’s state of emergency “irrespon… https://t.co/7e5BRKCsX3— Tokyo #VoteByMail (@Tokyo #VoteByMail)1584423716.0
@HuffPostPol This guy is evil.— Tom Maxwell (@Tom Maxwell)1584442631.0
In fact, denying consensuses among scientists has long been a tentpole of the Gingrich political philosophy.
@HuffPostPol https://t.co/cTRa47pwPh— Hy-postrophe’ (@Hy-postrophe’)1584444115.0
Conservatives are skeptical of the threat of #coronavirus for the same reasons they’re skeptical of the threat of c… https://t.co/UtQKRmDBAF— Caroline Orr (@Caroline Orr)1584420516.0
@newtgingrich Dude just apologize for politicizing a public health crisis because you knew it would be bad for the… https://t.co/nxcJ64cxNr— feminist next door (@feminist next door)1584424099.0
If Gingrich wasn't aware how many people took note of his misinformation spreading, he is now.
@newtgingrich Read your followers’ replies to this tweet. You’ve led many of them to their deaths. It will be the c… https://t.co/NjUXnEGhiP— Jonathan Myerson Katz (@Jonathan Myerson Katz)1584381574.0
@newtgingrich The @GOP and their Right wing media outlets have been undermining science for a decade. It's not surp… https://t.co/3z6uFmaFq2— J. Lang Wood (@J. Lang Wood)1584382857.0
And Gingrich isn't alone in his double talk when it comes to COVID-19.
@DevinCow @cryborg @newtgingrich And just for reminders. Here is some of what they said. https://t.co/VREVdrZtPU— (IMPEACHED) Anybody But Trump Again (ABTA) (@(IMPEACHED) Anybody But Trump Again (ABTA))1584388751.0
@newtgingrich Always someone else to blame. https://t.co/mHIChLoMrH— Morten Øverbye (@Morten Øverbye)1584381875.0
It almost seems like Newt Gingrich will say anything to place blame on Democrats.
But then, that was his trademark move in Congress too.
@newtgingrich Translation: Liberals are at fault when conservatives are wrong. You were always ready with double-speak.— northierthanthou.com (@northierthanthou.com)1584385756.0
@newtgingrich This is the most blatant and implausible attempt at blame-shifting by anybody in the Trump Gang that… https://t.co/EySTztRRxH— Monty 🇺🇸Flatten The Curve🇺🇸 Boa (@Monty 🇺🇸Flatten The Curve🇺🇸 Boa)1584386479.0
@newtgingrich Um, no, they were telling the truth. The people who were skeptical were Fox watchers who were being t… https://t.co/whUUG4DEIZ— Tink53 (@Tink53)1584381644.0
The federal government wasted valuable weeks doing nothing to prepare as the Novel Coronavirus spread while people like Newt Gingrich pointed fingers at the left for creating a "hoax."
Now he wants people to think of him as the good guy.
Newt, this is an awful take. The GOP President was calling it a "democratic hoax" as people were trying to raise ea… https://t.co/cvwoQ6bHZH— Amanda Carpenter (@Amanda Carpenter)1584383017.0
People won't forget what you said at this moment in history, Newt. You may have thought you were simply making the best political moves, but ignorance about this deadly virus may have very well put real lives in danger.
The book Burning Down the House: Newt Gingrich, the Fall of a Speaker, and the Rise of the New Republican Party is available for pre-order here.
"The story of how Newt Gingrich and his allies tainted American politics, launching an enduring era of brutal partisan warfare."