Matt Gaetz, as you may have heard, is in deep doo-doo. The Florida representative is under investigation by the FBI over possible sex trafficiking involving a minor, and even his attempts to elicit help from old friends isn’t working. His appearance on Tucker Carlson tonight was instantly notorious, and he even enraged the controversial host when he tried to rope him into the scandal. And it looks like he won’t be getting help from another close ally either.
As per The Daily Beast, former president Donald J. Trump is being advised to steer very, very clear of the Gaetz scandal. This is despite Gaetz being one of his biggest and most stubborn cheerleaders, sticking by his side even after a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol in a failed but deadly siege.
“I don’t hope for anybody to be guilty of anything, but it sounds like he’s got a lot of explaining to do,” said Barry Bennet, a longtime GOP operative and lobbyist, who was among those who advised Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign. “For something like this,” he added, “a ten-foot pole is not long enough. The former president should stay as far away from this as possible.”
It’s not just the sex trafficiking investigation. On Thursday it was revealed he’s also being looked at for potential improper use of campaign funds, that he has shown naked pictures of women he says he’s slept with to other lawmakers on the House floor, and that he may be involved in a sex ring with an indicted Florida politician.
But Gaetz isn’t entirely alone. Among those who’ve publicly come to his side are Jim Jordan, with whom he’s been dubbed “Beavis and Butt-head,” and the conspiracy theorist Marjorie Taylor Greene. That’s it. Only two lawmakers are on Gaetz’s side. And, for now at least, he won’t even get that Trump boost.
(Via The Daily Beast)