July 15, 2019

Matt as Hell: A Roundup of Matt Gaetz’s Most Outrageous Remarks

Some of them have landed him in trouble.

Mother Jones illustration; Jeff Malet/Newscom/ZUMA

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

Some members of Congress make a name for themselves with signature legislation or federal funds for their districts. Matt Gaetz has chosen a more Trump-like route, defending the president at all costs and hurling insults at anyone who dares to cross either of them. Here are some of his most outrageous comments:

In 2013, taking to Twitter to mock a participant in Florida’s public assistance program

 

Responding to a 2015 bill he didn’t like by appearing to question the literacy of two black Florida state senators

 
Defending Trump’s description of Haiti as a “shithole” country in January 2018

“The conditions in Haiti are deplorable, they are disgusting. I mean, everywhere you look in Haiti, it’s sheet metal and garbage.”

 

Joining 17 Republican colleagues to nominate Trump for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize

“Since taking office, President Trump has worked tirelessly to apply maximum pressure on North Korea to end its illicit weapons programs and bring peace to the region.”

 

Hasan Jamali / AP

 

Tweeting after Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was assassinated by Saudi agents in Turkey in October 2018

“The media is painting Khashoggi as a ‘journalist’ rather than a political participant. Don’t get me wrong, I’m 100% opposed to killing people for their politics, but IDK that this is journalism.”

Imagining what might happen if a federal transgender rights bill were passed

“Consider this possibility: If President Trump were to say, ‘I am now the first female president,’ who would celebrate that?”

 
Menacing tweet directed at Trump’s former lawyer before he testified before Congress

“Hey @MichaelCohen212 – Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if she’ll remain faithful when you’re in prison. She’s about to learn a lot…”

 

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

 

Responding to the House Ethics Committee’s announcement in June that it was investigating Gaetz’s alleged threat against Cohen

“If members of Congress want to spend their time psychoanalyzing my tweets, it’s certainly their prerogative.”

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate