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WSJ Opinion: Free Expression

Newt Gingrich on Donald Trump’s Not-So-Conservative Triumph

WSJ Opinion: Free Expression

Gerard Baker, Editor at Large, The Wall Street Journal

Society & Culture, News

4.6591 Ratings

🗓️ 30 May 2025

⏱️ 32 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Improbable as it would have once seemed, Donald Trump is the dominant political figure of the first quarter of the 21st century, creating a populist movement not seen in recent American history. But is he really a conservative, and what are the defining characteristics of the way he has bent the Republican party to his will? On this episode of Free Expression, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich talks to Gerry Baker about his new book, “Trump’s Triumph: America’s Greatest Comeback,” why the lack of coverage of Joe Biden’s cognitive decline is one of history’s greatest scandals, and why the courts should not have the power and authority over Donald Trump’s executive power. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

From the opinion pages of the Wall Street Journal, this is Free Expression with Jerry Baker.

0:08.7

Hello and welcome to Free Expression from the Wall Street Journal opinion page. I'm Jerry Baker,

0:12.8

editor at large of the journal. Thanks again for joining us. Just a reminder to please subscribe

0:17.8

if you're not already at Apple, Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else.

0:21.4

Do leave us a nice review. It helps with improving the flow of traffic and circulation,

0:25.6

and it's always a nice thing to receive too. This week, I'm going to be interviewing Newt Gingrich,

0:30.2

very familiar to all of you, speak with the House of Representatives, of course,

0:33.2

back in the 1990s, author of the contract with America, a radical new Republican Party conservative

0:40.9

agenda that he very much pioneered and led. And those famous 1994 midterm elections, of course,

0:46.5

first midterm elections of Bill Clinton's presidency led the Republicans to sweeping victory. And in

0:50.9

many ways changed, I think, the trajectory of the Republican Party

0:54.8

over the next quarter century or so.

0:57.2

Of course, we have a somewhat different Republican Party now from that very, should we say,

1:01.8

orthodox conservative approach.

1:04.2

The Republican Party is, of course, is led by Donald Trump and we have a more populist

1:08.6

MAGA approach to conservatism and indeed to the Republican Party.

1:12.3

But New Gingrich is a big supporter of Donald Trump's, of course, big fan.

1:16.2

In many ways, I think probably sees him as a continuation of the Republican Revolution

1:20.6

that he set in train in the 1990s.

1:23.5

And he is out with a new book, which I'm very interested to talk to him about. The book is called

1:29.9

Trump's Triumph, America's Greatest Comeback. And he looks at the circumstances of the 2024 election,

1:36.4

how Donald Trump became the first American to be re-elected to the White House to a non-consecutive

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