After 10 days of relentless developments in the Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) saga of scandals, the Florida Republican resurfaced Friday night to largely ignore the most recent and damning reports and offer MAGA defenses and round of applause rules.
“I’m built for battle, and I’m not going anywhere,” Gaetz told attendees at the Save America Summit at Trump Doral in Miami, Florida.
While Gaetz brushes aside reports that he is under investigation for paying women for sex – including possibly a minor minor – Gaetz didn’t seem to see any irony in addressing an event hosted by “Women for America First.” Instead, he claimed the reports were ‘defamation’ and ‘wild conspiracy theories’ promoted by ‘lying media’.
When the sun went down on one of Trump’s golf clubs, Gaetz was celebrated as a hero and a “fearless leader
The congressman kicked things off by repeating the lie that former President Donald Trump’s “ 2020 election was stolen ” because of “ rule changes. ” Then he switched to the familiar ‘America First’ boosterism before saying that the past week had been ‘full of encouragement’.
But beyond the warm confines of another Trump property, the list of Gaetz scandals is getting bigger and more intense. Just hours before Gaetz spoke on Friday, the House Ethics Committee announced it would also open an investigation into the “public allegations” against him – and the usually laconic press release offered a laundry list of complaints.
The committee is aware of public allegations that Representative Matt Gaetz may have been guilty of sexual misconduct and / or illegal drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the floor of the House, misused state identification, converted campaign funds for personal use and / or accepted bribes / inappropriate tips, or an unauthorized gift in violation of house rules, ”the committee wrote in a letter.
And yet no one attending the “Dinner and Drinks with Rep. Matt Gaetz” event would have known he might be fighting for his political future and, more importantly, his freedom. He made a speech that could have been largely recited at any Trump rally for the past four years.
As much as Gaetz continues to associate himself with the Trump brand, Trump himself appears to be keeping his distance.
As The Daily Beast reported late last week, advisers to ex-President Trump pleaded not to defend Gaetz publicly, at least until more was known about the veracity of the allegations of a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and the federal government. probe. For the most part, Trump personally agrees with that advice, and several Trumpworld celebrities, members of the Trump family, and top Republicans and conservative media stars have kept fucking quiet about the Gaetz scandal.
Some are already preparing to wash their hands off the loyal MAGA soldier, despite Gaetz fighting vigorously for Trump for years in almost every scandal or major controversy.
None of the 16 former senior Trump administration officials, ex-campaign readers, longtime GOP agents, and sources close to the ex-president The Daily Beast contacted was willing to officially defend Gaetz. No one would even do that anonymously.
Then former president Trump finally did Making a statement on Gaetz on Wednesday, it was a brief, largely selfish statement that offered a half-hearted defense at best.
“Congressman Matt Gaetz never asked me for a pardon,” Trump said in a statement, after reports that Gaetz was seeking a general pardon for himself and other Trump cheerleaders. “It should also be remembered that he has completely denied the charges against him.”
But for Gaetz it is all he needs.
“The best is yet to come,” said Gaetz at the event on Friday night.
It’s a sentiment lifted from the 2020 Republican National Convention speech by Kimberly Guilfoyle, a prominent Trump ally and the girlfriend of Donald Trump Jr.
In the intervening time between when Guilfoyle first roared those words and when Gaetz said them Friday, Joe Biden defeated Trump in the presidential election, the Capitol was overtaken by insurgents, Trump became the first US president to be impeached twice, and it was exposed. that Gaetz is the subject of a Justice Department investigation into alleged sex trafficking and prostitution.