In the wake of Newt Gingrich’s announcement that he will be running for president, The Nation’s Ari Melber calls him the most serious joke in the presidential race. Gingrich is not positioned to be a presidential candidate based on historical precedent; he resigned from the House of Representatives and has never won statewide office, held a cabinet position or served in the military. Every president elected in the 20th Century has had these credentials, Melber says on MSNBC’s The Last Word.

—Sara Jerving