Matt Lewis & The News

Amid news that Newt Gingrich’s ex-wife Marianne’s interview with ABC will air tonight, a political veteran who has had past ties to Gingrich reminds me that the former Mrs. Newt Gingrich has long opposed his running for president.

“I think it matters that she’s been saying this shit for years — and has been doing things to tweak him for years,” said this source.

This is actually true.

As the New York Post reminds us today:

In 1995, when Vanity Fair magazine asked Marianne what would happen if Newt ran for president, she boasted she could derail the bid with a single TV interview.

“He can’t do it without me,” she said.

“I told him if I’m not in agreement, fine, it’s easy.

“I just go on the air the next day, and I undermine everything . . . I don’t want him to be president, and I don’t think he should be.”

“There’s always been a real — almost like a jealousy issue with her,” my source adds. “She likes attentiion. And she’s very bitter. And this is behavior of someone who likes attention and is very bitter.”