Mom Speaks Up for Newt, Whispers About Hillary

NEW YORK — The mother of incoming House Speaker Newt Gingrich says in a television interview that her son thinks First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton is “a bitch.”

The comment by Kathleen Gingrich came in an interview to be shown Thursday on CBS-TV’s “Eye To Eye With Connie Chung.”

Chung asks Kathleen Gingrich what her son told her about President Clinton. She answered: “The only thing he ever told me is that he’s smart. That he’s an intelligent man. That he’s not very practical, but he’s intelligent.” Then she added: “I can’t tell you what he said about Hillary.”

According to a transcript released by CBS, Chung then said, “You can’t?” and Kathleen Gingrich replied: “I can’t.”

But Chung persisted and said: “Why don’t you just whisper it to me, just between you and me.”

Gingrich’s mother replied: “ ‘She’s a bitch.’ About the only thing he ever said about her. I think they had some meeting, you know, and she takes over.”

Kathleen Gingrich, 68, went on to say that her son could become President “if he wants it.”

Asked to describe who her son is, she said: “My boy Newty, that’s who Newt Gingrich is; reliable, dedicated, works hard. He’s just lovable. TV was made for Newty.”

Candace Gingrich, Newt’s stepsister who is gay, was less than adoring about him, saying she wasn’t sure she could vote for him.

Asked if her being a lesbian was a source of friction between her and her staunchly conservative stepbrother, she said: “We’ve never actually spoken with each other about it. . . . He’s probably more embarrassed that I’m a Democrat, if anything.”