Fox News prime-time anchor Laura Ingraham questioned if President Trump needs to replace acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney.
While interviewing former House Speaker Newt Gingrich on her show Monday night, Ingraham brought up Mulvaney’s backtrack after admitting to a quid pro quo agreement between the United States and Ukraine and also referenced his appearance on Fox News Sunday, during which he said that the president still considers himself to be “in the hospitality business.”
Ingraham suggested Mulvaney used “imprecise language on the issue of why President Trump had that phone call.” She later added that “he again kind of stepped on it” during the subsequent interview.
“Exactly what we don’t want to hear,” Ingraham added.
Gingrich responded, “First of all, you never go on a show like that unless you’ve practiced, you know what you’re going to say, you don’t deviate from what you’re going to say. You don’t get in a running fight with somebody who’s as smart as Chris Wallace. It never works.”
He then suggested that Mulvaney watch Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s Sunday interview on ABC’s This Week With George Stephanopoulos because “he had figured out his boundaries; he stayed right inside them.”
Ingraham brought up Mulvaney’s “ill-fated” comments again later on in the show.
She stated, “In this environment you cannot be surprised by the reaction to something like that or the pushback, and you certainly can’t say the president is in the hospitality business because he’s not.
“Does the president need a different structure given these missteps by Mulvaney? I’m sure he’s a nice person, but these were two pretty big blunders and unforced errors,” she added, directing her remark to the guests on her show.
