One would think Democrats like Sen. Chuck Schumer would be cheering for President Donald Trump's decision to fire FBI Director James Comey, not booing it, but the president "did the right thing," former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Wednesday.
"If Trump came out at lunchtime and said the American flag is red, white and blue, Chuck Schumer would say it is fuchsia," Gingrich told Fox News' "Fox and Friends" program. "They are in knee jerk; 'President Trump is for it, it has to be wrong. Let me scream so my donors and partisans will be happy.'"
Comey was fired, Gingrich said, based on the recommendation of Deputy Attorney Rod Rosenstein, a 30-year career professional whose nomination was approved in the Senate by a 94-6 vote.
"If you're Donald J. Trump, sitting there as president, looking at a letter from this person who is totally non-partisan, who you could argue was acceptable to Barack Obama," said Gingrich. "This guy writes you will never rebuild FBI as long as Comey is there, given Trump is an entrepreneur, Trump understands the term, 'you're fired.' What is he supposed to do?"
Rosenstein's letter was "devastating," and anyone who has doubts on Trump's decision would "have no doubt at the end of it President Trump did the right thing."
The FBI has a strong tradition of being the best law enforcement division in the world, Gingrich continued, but Comey "has been embarrassing the last couple weeks...publicly saying things, as Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general says, no FBI should be saying."
In addition, said Gingrich, when Comey announced last July that he had made the decision not to prosecute Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton for her email practices, "he took on himself powers from the attorney general that were totally wrong. I think that, in that sense, really began to politicize the FBI in a way that's very, very dangerous."
In his letter to Comey, Trump mentioned that there were three occasions in which Comey said he was not under investigation. Gingrich said Wednesday he thinks that was included because Trump expected that there would be headlines linking the ongoing investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election to his decision to fire the FBI director.
"Had they asked my advice, I would have said don't include it," said Gingrich. "He didn't react in response to the Russia investigation at all. He reacted to a letter from the deputy attorney general, a non-partisan profession. That is the person who said you ought to fire him. I think all Trump has to do today is be quiet and allow Rosenstein to defend himself."
The timing also was not Trump's choice, said Gingrich.
"How long should he wait after he has a letter like that from the deputy attorney general?" said Gingrich. "The timing is not Trump's choice. The timing was the deputy attorney general's choice. Brand new guy, walks in, looks around, as career professional, this is crazy."
Gingrich said he expects Trump will delegate Rosenstein to come up with a list of three names to replace Comey, and those people be expected to be non-partisan, and "impeccably committed to the rule of law."
Schumer called Democrats to meet in the Senate at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, noted Gingrich, and he expects Democrats to demand a special investigator.