Newt Gingrich just had the most uncomfortable 30 seconds ever on Fox News
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich got called out on live TV for spreading a conspiracy theory about billionaire philanthropist and activist George Soros, leading to several awkward breaks in the conversation.
Speaking on “Outnumbered” on Fox News, Gingrich blamed violence in some cities on “George Soros-elected, left-wing, anti-police, pro-criminal district attorneys who refuse to keep people locked up.” He evoked Soros’ name again moments later when he slammed Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris for supporting progressive district attorneys:
“Progressive district attorneys are anti-police, pro-criminal and overwhelmingly elected with George Soros’ money and they’re a major cause of the violence we’re seeing because they keep putting the violent criminals back on the street.”
Several other members of the “Outnumbered” panel interjected to say Soros’ name doesn’t need the be part of the conversation, which lead to this awkward exchange:
Newt Gingrich: "The number one problem in almost all the cities is George Soros-elected, left-wing, antipolice pro-criminal district attorneys..."
Fox hos: "I’m not sure we need to bring George Soros into this."
Newt: "Okay... So, it’s verboten?"
Long awkward silence. pic.twitter.com/tl4CgGcrzI— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) September 16, 2020
Soros conspiracies are often shared on Fox News, especially during the evening shows hosted by Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson. In some cases, his name has been used to evoke anti-Semitic tropes.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.