If you've ever been suspended from a job or from an educational institution, it's probably because you did something that went against the better wishes of everyone in an official position around you, you cad. But Newt Gingrich got slapped (very lightly, and with some joviality) with a suspension from Fox News not for mischievousness, but because he may very well soon be announced as the vice presidential running mate of Republican candidate Donald Trump.
So there won't be a spot of bad blood in the split between Fox News and contributor Newt Gingrich, regardless of whether it's a temporary one or something more permanent. I'm sure the network would make the most of its relationship with the former Speaker of the House if he indeed became Veep for the next four years. Well, I guess that would be stepping into conflict of interest territory, which is why Fox News cut ties in the first place. (Something similar happened before the last election, too.) Still, you know he'd throw the network some love.
As Deadline points out, Donald Trump will be making his choice for his running mate in the very near future, and that could make Newt Gingrich a regular fixture on many more networks beyond just Fox News in the months leading up to the election. He's got the experience, even without his years at Fox News appearing on shows such as Hannity, Fox and Friends and The O'Reilly Factor, among others. He's made tons of appearances on shows like Crossfire, Meet the Press and Face the Nation.
And who can forget his appearance on Parks and Recreation? He could be retroactively the second V.P. to have made a cameo on the comedy, which also had Leslie Knope favorite Joe Biden on.
Fox News is probably going to do okay without Newt Gingrich showing up as a talking head, if we're being honest. The network is going through its best ratings in its two decades of existence, and it hasn't suffered badly after saying goodbye to political contributors in the past.
And any headlines that are of a positive nature are good for Fox News at this point. The channel is currently caught up in the middle of an ugly situation following the firing of reporter Gretchen Carlson, who responded with a sexual harassment lawsuit against network CEO Roger Ailes. People have come out on both sides of the argument, both within Fox News and outside of it, and there's no clear ending in sight. Not that it hurt the ratings, either.
We'll probably know quite soon whether or not Newt Gingrich will return to Fox News as a contributor or a candidate. Stay tuned.
