TEXT JOIN TO 77022

Matt Gaetz Emerges From Faux ‘Scandal’ as Model America First Leader

After months of non-stop haranguing from the tentacles of a vengeful political establishment determined to take him down with false and defamatory accusations, it is now clear that reports of Matt Gaetz’s political demise are greatly exaggerated. 

Veteran prosecutors have recommended that Gaetz face no charges over alleged improprieties involving a 17-year-old girl. These nonpartisan, impartial experts determined that the accusers were not credible and were motivated by ideology, which is something that any honest observer could see from the jump. 

Gaetz’s real “crime” was being a vocal opponent of globalism, which resulted in the political power structure targeting him for destruction. As Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said, these entrenched forces have “six ways from Sunday” to ruin you. In the age of #MeToo and weaponized female grievance, a promulgated sex scandal is a convenient weapon. 

The Gaetz non-scandal began with the deep state conflating the illicit behavior of a Gaetz acquaintance and connecting it to the Congressman without a shred of evidence. The media followed that with a nonstop propaganda campaign circulating the claims as if they were canon. Their intent was clear: to shame and disgrace Gaetz. They threw a bizarre and sinister extortion plot of his family into the mix for good measure. 

All of these actions were intimately connected. They did not happen by coincidence or happenstance any more than the dozens of investigations which sprang up against President Donald J. Trump as soon as he began his 2016 presidential campaign and became a threat to the status quo. The regime exerted its full power to clear Gaetz out of Congress, and they failed miserably. 

While Gaetz was fortunately able to navigate out of the trap set for him, other pro-MAGA elected officials and hopefuls have not been so lucky. This blueprint has worked like a charm in recent elections. Former Missouri Governor Eric Greitens was smeared mercilessly in spite of the facts, and Republican voters bought the lies during the U.S. Senate primary election. Trump’s pick for Nebraska governor, farmer Charles Herbster, was torpedoed after the state’s RINO elite led a vicious Kavanaughing of him. Congressman Madison Cawthorn was bombarded with attacks and flushed from office after exposing the perverted hypocrisy of the GOP elite. 

Gaetz’s survival—even after getting hit harder than any of these recent casualties of war—demonstrates a political aptitude that separates him from the rest. Not many political figures have the cojones to stand strong against the regime, take their lumps, never lose their swagger, and emerge on the other end with a stronger leadership profile. Gaetz is one of those chosen few, and the battle scars have only hardened him in a way that is necessary for the tough road ahead. 

Throughout the non-scandal, Gaetz never backed down from any of his most controversial opinions. He continued advocating for justice for January 6 defendants who are undergoing Soviet-style treatment in Gulag-like Washington D.C. prisons. He never refrained in putting military officials on blast for placing far-Left “woke” objectives ahead of national security. Gaetz took the pushback as a sign that he was on the right path, and it only strengthened his resolve. 

Other lawmakers would have buckled and perhaps toned down their efforts in the interim, hoping that doing so would cause the pressure to die down. Gaetz did the opposite. He started his “Firebrand” podcast and went on the offensive. He showed that he is completely inoculated against the regime’s pressure machine. Unlike many of his Republican comrades, Gaetz is unwilling to dance to the beat of the liberal media’s drums. 

Gaetz has rejected the pervasive Washington, D.C. mentality. Members of the political class have romanticized the system in which the news media was the vaunted Fifth Estate of a democracy that worked for the people. They demand the praise and worship of the enforcers of this system. Becoming a pariah within the confines of this regime is a fate worse than death. This is how compliance is so easily enforced. 

Politicians, who are natural egotists and narcissists, hire teams of consultants, public relations gurus, and attorneys to ensure that they are never on the wrong side of any media cycle. The thought of a journalist not returning their calls strikes trepidation into the heart of the average politician. Faced with a fraction of the pressure that Gaetz was under, most would have resigned in a flash and hoped to grovel their way back into a lobbying job at some point after slinking out of the public eye. 

Not Matt Gaetz. He is part of a new breed of lawmaker who thrives on iconoclastic rebellion. Gaetz is cut from the same cloth as President Donald J. Trump. His closest peer in Congress is Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), and the two are in high demand among the populist base that is fueled by righteous indignation. Conservatives nationwide wonder why their lawmakers aren’t like Gaetz or Greene and why they must settle for something less. Fortunately, patriots around the country won’t have to settle for much longer as nascent America First forces gain experience, organizational ability, and the ability to project power nationwide. 

Last year, I penned an editorial arguing that if Gaetz could survive his faux-scandal, he “could become unstoppable and prove to be the heir to Trump that the MAGA movement desperately needs to prevent the GOP’s orchestrated backslide.” After taking the best hits that the establishment could throw at him, Gaetz is in the perfect spot to do just that. He is tried and true. The people now understand that Gaetz will never waver, even under the worst circumstances. This is the resume of an authentic America First champion who is destined to lead.

Get the news corporate media won't tell you.

Get caught up on today's must read stores!

By submitting your information, you agree to receive exclusive AG+ content, including special promotions, and agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms. By providing your phone number and checking the box to opt in, you are consenting to receive recurring SMS/MMS messages, including automated texts, to that number from my short code. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to end. SMS opt-in will not be sold, rented, or shared.

About Gavin Wax

Gavin Wax is the 76th President of the New York Young Republican Club, Chairman of the New York Republican Liberty Caucus, an Ambassador for Turning Point USA, and an Associate Fellow at the London Center for Policy Research. You can follow him on Twitter at @GavinWax.

Photo: Megan Varner/Getty Images