Al Sharpton got an unlikely surprise birthday greeting Monday from Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich.
“I figured I would be the least likely phone call you’ll get tonight,” Gingrich said on the phone during Sharpton’s MSNBC show “Politics Nation.”
“Well, you got that right,” Sharpton responded. “So am I to believe that Newt Gingrich, who is the polar opposite of me in politics, called to wish me a happy birthday?”
The former Speaker of the House praised Sharpton for the work they did together on a tour around the country promoting education.
“While we may disagree about 99 things, on that one thing we were so much on the same team that it really was remarkable,” Gingrich said.
Gingrich said he thought Sharpton did a “great deal of good for children” on the tour.
“You and I didn’t even agree what day of the week it was, but we did raise the issue of education,” Sharpton said. “I think it was the right thing to do then and I think it’s the right thing to do now. I appreciate you calling me on my birthday.”
Sharpton wouldn’t let Gingrich go without one political question. He requested that Gingrich ask fellow GOP presidential contender Rick Perry about the name of his hunting grounds in Texas.
The Washington Post reported Sunday that the Texas governor — and his parents before him — had leased a Texas hunting ranch that at one point was known by the name “N-----head.” The slur was painted on a rock on the property, which Perry said was later painted over at his request.
Gingrich deflected the question, saying “Herman Cain did a pretty good job on that without my having to get in the middle of it yesterday.” He shifted the conversation back to Sharpton and his leadership during the education tour.
