Gingrich: Obama Cancer Victim Ad 'A Vicious Lie'

A campaign ad linking GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney to a woman’s death from cancer is a vicious lie designed to divert attention from Obama’s handling of the struggling economy, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich claims.

The ad from a super PAC supporting President Obama claims Ranae Soptic, a one-time rolling skating champion, died after her husband lost his health insurance when his steel mill was closed down by Romney and his investment firm Bain Capital.

But Soptic reportedly did have health insurance for two years after her husband lost his job, and she died four years after Romney left Bain.

Watch our exclusive interview. Story continues below.


In an exclusive interview with Newsmax.TV, Gingrich was asked if the ad marked a new low for the Obama campaign and its supporters.

“All I can tell you is that every single analyst who’s looked at this ad says the Obama team is lying and that it’s simply flat untrue and that it’s vicious,” Gingrich said.

“To accuse somebody of being responsible of the death of someone by cancer is a really extraordinary step to take. And then to do it when it’s factually false, it’s a sad commentary.

“But Obama is faced with a reality that at 8.3 percent unemployment he’s going to have a very hard time getting re-elected if the topic is the economy. And I think they’re doing virtually anything to get some other topic on page one and try to get people to forget the economy.”

Obama campaign officials deny knowledge of the facts in the cancer story despite published reports that the widower revealed the actual facts during an Obama campaign conference call back in May.

Gingrich commented: “I think the simple, sad fact is that they’re lying. I wrote an electronic book called ‘No Taxation by Misrepresentation,’ in which I walk through how methodically they had lied about the Obamacare tax system. I wrote that book just to make the case to people that you’re dealing with a president of the United States and his team who will routinely and methodically lie in order to try to get what they want.

“It’s really a sad commentary on the Obama team and maybe a sad commentary on Chicago-style politics.”

Asked if this is a sign of desperation on the part of the Obama campaign, Gingrich responded: “Absolutely.”