Newt Gingrich apologizes to Paul Ryan
Newt Gingrich apologized on Tuesday to Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) for calling his Medicare plan "radical" and "right-wing engineering."
Gingrich, who announced his presidential candidacy just last week, has come under fire in recent days for a series of missteps that some top Republicans believe have crippled his campaign right out of the gate.
Chief among the former House Speaker's recent gaffes is a series of comments he made on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, in which he argued that Ryan's 2012 budget proposal - and, namely, its plan for Medicare - was "radical change" and that we "need a national conversation to get to a better Medicare solution for seniors."
"I don't think right-wing social engineering is any more desirable than left-wing social engineering... I don't think imposing radical change from the right or the left is a very good way for a free society to operate," Gingrich said during his appearance on the show.
In light of the criticism he has received as a result of his comments, however, Gingrich is now asking for Ryan's forgiveness.
"Newt apologized," Rick Tyler, his press secretary, told Politico. "The call went very well."
Appearing on Fox News' "On the Record" with Greta van Susteren Tuesday night, Gingrich had a warning for any of his political opponents who may try to use his words against him.
"Any ad which quotes what I said on Sunday is a falsehood, because I have said publicly those words were inaccurate and unfortunate," he said. "When I make a mistake, and I'm going to on occasion, I'm want to stand up and share with the American people that was a mistake because that way we can have an honest conversation."
Gingrich also held a series of conference calls in an effort to explain his comments. Nevertheless, Tyler conceded to Politico, "We've tried to correct the record and admit it could have been done better."
According to the Associated Press, Ryan accepted Gingrich's apology.
Whether or not the rest of the GOP will be as quick to forgive the candidate, however, has yet to be determined.
