Unofficial advisor to Trump who associates with anti-Muslim groups and has made anti-Muslim statements
Former speaker of the house Newt Gingrich has proposed controversial, if not downright bigoted policies directed toward American Muslims, and has been a featured speaker at anti-Muslim events. Gingrich confirmed he will not be an official member of Donald Trump’s cabinet. Instead, he told Foreign Policy magazine he hopes to serve in an informal way as Trump’s “chief planner,” which would entail being a liaison between the White House and the broader Republican party.
- After the attack in Nice, France, in 2016, Gingrich claimed “Sharia [law] is incompatible with western civilization” and proposed a “test” for American Muslims, calling to deport anyone who adheres to the Islamic doctrine. “We should frankly test every person here who is of a Muslim background, and if they believe in Sharia, they should be deported,” Gingrich said.
- Gingrich spoke at the anti-Muslim David Horowitz Freedom Center’s “Restoration Weekend” in 2012, and has previously spoken at the David Horowitz Freedom Center Wednesday Morning Club.
- In 2015, Gingrich claimed the U.S. is at “war with radical Islamists.”
- He has been a guest on anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist Frank Gaffney’s Secure Freedom Radio.
- Gingrich spoke at the anti-Muslim Center for Security Policy’s “Defeat Jihad Summit” in 2015, during which he lauded Frank Gaffney and his organization’s publications.
- When asked in 2012 if he would support a Muslim candidate for president, Gingrich responded by saying it depended on if it meant “a modern person who happens to worship Allah” or “a person who belonged to any kind of belief in shariah, any kind of effort to impose that on the rest of us?”
Updated: 12/21/16