ABC's Brian Ross appeared on "The View" Thursday to discuss his exclusive interview with Newt Gingrich's ex-wife.
A clip of the interview, which is airing in full on Thursday's "Nightline," has already been released. In it, Marianne Gingrich tells Ross that her ex-husband asked her to have an open marriage with him so he could carry on his relationship with his eventual third wife, Callista. The clip hit the airwaves just as one of Gingrich's rivals, Rick Perry, dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed him in an attempt to unite conservatives and evangelicals against Mitt Romney. It is also sure to come up in Thursday night's debate on CNN.
While some have characterized the interview as an explosive bombshell, Ross was more cautious when he spoke to the "View" hosts. "I don't really think it's as much of a bombshell as some think it's going to be," he said, adding that Marianne Gingrich had spoken in "measured tones."
Joy Behar said that she could not understand how Gingrich "attracts these women, one after the other." Ross chose not to answer that particular question. He said the impact of the interview was "for the voters to decide," and noted that Gingrich has spoken out forcefully about family values and against same-sex marriage during the campaign.
"These are troubling questions but they are questions of character," he said.
Sherri Shepherd wondered whether ABC should be airing the interview so close to the South Carolina primary, which takes place on Saturday.
"I believe we should air it tonight," Ross said. I did the interview on Friday. We wanted to give Gingrich time to respond. We didn't want to put it on the day before the primary."