Trump turns to Hannity and Gingrich ahead of midterms
The president met with the Fox News anchor and the architect of the 1994 GOP takeover of Congress as he looks to head off a blue wave.
By ANNIE KARNI and ELIANA JOHNSON 10/05/2018 04:01 PM EDT
President Donald Trump huddled Wednesday with Fox News host Sean Hannity and former Speaker Newt Gingrich, according to two people familiar with the plans, a meeting that was originally set to discuss midterm strategy.
The meeting took place at the White House as Trump prepares a four week push to help Republicans keep control of Congress. Gingrich, who led the 1994 Republican takeover of Congress, penned an expansive memo for the president detailing how to hold onto majorities in the Senate and the House, one of the people familiar with the plans said.
The former speaker is best known as the architect of the “Contract with America,” the government-shrinking rubric that was a key part of the GOP’s successful midterm strategy that year, when the Republicans picked up 54 House seats and eight seats in the Senate during President Bill Clinton’s first term. One of the pillars of that approach was having candidates unite behind a national message rather than focus on individual races. Reached for comment on the meeting, Gingrich hung up the phone.
Hannity is a friend and informal adviser to Trump who has defended the president amid controversy, and though he frequently offers on-air advice to the White House, he is rarely spotted on the White House campus. He remained in Washington on Wednesday to broadcast his primetime show live from Fox's D.C. studios.
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https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/05/trump-hannity-gingrich-midterms-876184
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