The Most Unpopular Man at Milwaukee Is …
‘Look, everybody has different people in their party. Unfortunately, Matt happens to be here. I think at the end of the day, he probably shouldn’t be on the streets,’ Speaker McCarthy says.
At the Republican National Convention, Congressman Matt Gaetz’s colleagues — and former colleagues — are singling out the congressman for ridicule for his bombast, rude behavior on the floor, and his heavy makeup during his speech Wednesday night.
The RNC drama started in an exchange between Mr. Gaetz and the former speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, when Mr. Gaetz interrupted an interview Mr. McCarthy was giving.
“What you’re seeing here is a more united Republican Party,” Mr. McCarthy told CNN in the interview before Mr. Gaetz butted in, saying “What night are you speaking? Are you speaking tonight?”
Mr. McCarthy then continued his pushback against Mr. Gaetz, saying that the “person who raised the issue, he’s got an ethics complaint about paying, sleeping with a 17-year-old. That’s the way they would go, so that’s the biggest challenge we have.”
Mr. Gaetz heckled Mr. McCarthy again, saying “If you took that stage you would get booed off of it.” During the exchange, an RNC delegate said to Mr. Gaetz, “Don’t be an ass****.”
Mr. Gaetz is seen shaking his head when the man repeats “Don’t be an ass****.” After the exchange Mr. McCarthy told HuffPost that “He’s got a lot of things to worry about,” adding, “I just hope he stays out of jail.”
Mr. Gaetz and Mr. McCarthy’s tense relationship goes back to when Mr. Gaetz led the movement to oust Mr. McCarthy from the speakership.
When asked by NBC News about the incident, Mr.McCarthy said “I think it shows exactly who Matt Gaetz is.”
“Well, it’s all about, he had an ethics complaint four years ago that he paid an underage girl,” Mr. McCarthy said. ““And he came to me to try to leverage me to stop the ethics investigation. That’s illegal, I’m not doing that.”
Mr. McCarthy concluded that “Look, everybody has different people in their party. Unfortunately, Matt happens to be here. I think at the end of the day, he probably shouldn’t be on the streets.”
Congressman Derrick Van Orden said in a tweet featuring a picture of Mr. Gaetz from his speech at the convention “RNC debuts first AI powered inflatable sex doll to speak at a national convention.”
Mr. Gaetz has denied the allegations that he paid a convicted sex trafficker and associate of his in exchange for sex with a minor. A Justice Department probe into the issue ended with no charges being brought, though the House Ethics investigation continues.
