Matt Gaetz tried to pull his tough guy act at the RNC and was instantly made to look a fool

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla) is currently attending the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. 

GOP Presidential nominee Donald Trump, following last Saturday’s assassination attempt, has called for “unity”. However, Gaetz apparently missed the memo. He grabbed an opportunity yesterday to try and humiliate his nemesis: former speaker Kevin McCarthy. 

As McCarthy gave an interview to CNN, Gaetz happened to be nearby. Spotting McCarthy, Gaetz taunted him by asking, “What night are you speaking? Are you speaking tonight?” 

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McCarthy is not due to address the convention, as Gaetz presumably knows. 

Gaetz then went on to yell at McCarthy that if he were to give a speech, he would be “booed off” stage. 

At this point, a bystander calmly tells Gaetz, “Shut up, Gaetz. Get out of here … don’t be an a**hole. You’re an a**hole”

Gaetz, lacking a quick comeback, says he doesn’t know who the guy is and slopes away. 

Watch below. 

I’m no fan of Kevin McCarthy but Matt Gaetz is absolutely disaster.

What a sad display from a sad man at the RNC Convention.

pic.twitter.com/q03OP9MZ8X— Art Candee (@ArtCandee) July 16, 2024

Another angle of the Matt Gaetz and Kevin McCarthy drama.

Matt Gaetz tried to crash Kevin’s interview with Kaitlan Collins at CNN as Kevin was talking about Gaetz “paying and sleeping with a 17 year-old.” pic.twitter.com/NEd3wpRxK3— Art Candee (@ArtCandee) July 16, 2024

And here Gaetz is put in his place.

“Shut up, Gaetz”

Look how quickly Matt Gaetz backed down after getting confronted for being the grandstanding dork he is!

Listen to how quickly the bass left his voice and he started looking like a cornered animal.

Chef’s kiss. That just made my day. pic.twitter.com/W0HAab2EzB— Free (@KaladinFree) July 16, 2024

Many expressed amusement at Gaetz’s retreat when confronted.

“Don’t be an asshole” is the golden rule. Gaetz always backs down as soon as he gets pushback. He relies on friendly confines to keep going. Call them out and they always back down.— Captain Minnesota (@XyPhinz) July 17, 2024

In honor of this beautiful video can we spread this video and get “Shut up, Gaetz” trending?

Come on people. Your nation needs you to troll @mattgaetz.— Free (@KaladinFree) July 16, 2024

Gaetz was scared of the dude. He got out of there fast.— Dr. G (@GinnyMcDonald8) July 16, 2024

Simmering feud

The beef between Gaetz and McCarthy goes back some time. It was Gaetz’s motion to vacate that forced a vote that led to McCarthy’s ousting as House Speaker last year. His 270-day tenure in the role is the third shortest in the history of the House of Representatives. 

Gaetz continues to undergo a prolonged, long-running investigation by the Ethics Committee. It’s looking at allegations he engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use.

Gaetz vehemently denies the allegations and calls them a smear against him. He is believed to be unhappy with McCarthy for not acting to end the Ethics Committee investigation.

“This is Soviet. Kevin McCarthy showed them the man, and they are now trying to find the crime,” Gaetz wrote on X last month. “I work for Northwest Floridians who won’t be swayed by this nonsense and McCarthy and his goons know it.”

This is despite the fact the Ethics Committee probe was launched in April 2021, long before McCarthy became speaker. 

Gaetz the Grandstander

Gaetz has often tried to act tough to people in positions of authority. He usually comes off looking worse. A couple of years ago, during a committee hearing, he attempted to attack military chiefs for allowing the armed forces to become “woke”. 

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, was having none of it. 

Strong reaction from Joint Chiefs Chairman Milley on the issue of critical race theory before House Armed Services.

"I personally find it offensive that we are accusing the United States military, our general officers, our noncommisioned officers of being quote 'woke'" pic.twitter.com/otWBw3YdPK— Dave Brown (@dave_brown24) June 23, 2021

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