Newt Gingrich Tells 'Fox and Friends' Hosts That They 'Invented' Donald Trump

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) accused the hosts of Fox News' "Fox & Friends" of creating the successful candidacy of Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump during an interview Monday morning.

Image source: Fox News

"Donald Trump gets up in the morning, tweets to the entire planet at no cost, picks up the phone, calls you, has a great conversation for about eight minutes, which would have cost him a ton in commercial money, and meanwhile his opponents are all out there trying to raise the money to run an ad," Gingrich said.

Prior to announcing his candidacy last summer, Trump was a regular on the "Fox & Friends" lineup. He used to appear every Monday morning on the Fox News show for a segment titled "Mondays With Trump."

Gingrich's comments came after show hosts Brian Kilmeade and Steve Doocy marveled at the fact that the billionaire businessman has spent very little money on his campaign.

"Well, that's because of you guys," Gingrich insisted.

Kilmeade pushed back against the former speaker's comments, arguing that the reason Trump has received so much airtime is because he has made himself available for press, unlike former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R), who ended his 2016 presidential bid Saturday, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee.

But Gingrich stood firm.

"Look, you could say that Trump is the candidate 'Fox & Friends' invented," Gingrich said. "He was on your show I think more than any other show."

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