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

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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.”

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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