Newt Gingrich said Thursday that he made a “big boo-boo” when he claimed President-elect Donald Trump doesn’t intend to uphold his campaign promise to “drain the swamp” in Washington, D.C.
In what resembled a hostage video, the former House speaker said he had “mischaracterized” Trump’s attitude when he said the president-elect thought the popular refrain was “cute” but no longer desirable.
“I want to report that I made a big boo-boo,” Gingrich says in the video. “I talked this morning with President-elect Donald Trump and he reminded me, he likes draining the swamp. I mischaracterized it the other day. He intends to drain the swamp.”
“I goofed,” he added. “Draining the swamp is in, the alligators should be worried, and you’ll hear me write more about alligators and the swamp.”
It appears he coordinated with Trump’s team before releasing the video. Just before Gingrich posted it to Twitter, Trump tweeted that he “will always be trying” to get rid of lobbyists and influencers in the nation’s capital.
Trump’s reprimand and Gingrich’s quick reversal on the matter suggest the president-elect and his team are sensitive to charges that they’re selling out their most enthusiastic supporters by dropping some of the campaign’s most popular rhetoric. The episode also suggests Gingrich may not be as close to Trump’s growing inner circle as he was during the campaign.
Gingrich was not the only one to downplay the “drain the swamp” rhetoric, however. Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, who is opening a lobbying shop, said Thursday that the refrain is “probably somewhere down at the bottom” of Trump’s priorities.