Rep. Matt Gaetz (right) on Fox News, protesting a bit too much.
Unless you have been in a cave with no media whatsoever, you are no doubt aware that U.S. Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida is in a heap of potential trouble. The U.S. Justice Department, beginning with the Trump administration last year, reportedly has been investigating Gaetz over allegations that he engaged in a sexual relationship with one or more 17 year-old girls (which, for Gaetz, would be a felony in Florida) and that he engaged in illegal interstate sex trafficking of these girls. Much of this news has been received this week via Twitter, for example, from sources such as the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.
BREAKING: The New York Times reports that Republican Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz is under investigation by the Justice Department over claims of a "sexual relationship with a 17-year-old." pic.twitter.com/feiWNkwhHC
— The Beat with Ari Melber 📺 (@TheBeatWithAri) March 30, 2021
Rep. Matt Gaetz Under Investigation for Alleged Sexual Relationship With Underage Girl – The Wall Street Journal https://t.co/yju3DR7EX5
— LVaddict618 🐿 (@LVaddict618) March 31, 2021
Yesterday, a video of Gaetz quickly spread on Twitter in which he talks about casting the sole “No” vote in the entire U.S. Congress on the 2017 Combating Human Trafficking in Commercial Vehicles Act:
Why was Matt Gaetz the ONLY member of Congress to vote against a major anti-sex trafficking bill? pic.twitter.com/1dMTgXiH0b
— Grant Stern (@grantstern) March 31, 2021
Twitter is also the place where readers have been reminded that Gaetz has a boy, “Nestor,” living with him, whom Gaetz claims is his “son,” although there is no legal status that declares Nestor to be Gaetz’s son.
https://twitter.com/richardhine/status/1377070860473864195
Perhaps not coincidentally, it has also been reported this week, and widely distributed on Twitter, that Gaetz is thinking of resigning from Congress, or at least not running for reelection, to go work for right wing media outlet Newsmax.
https://twitter.com/darinself/status/1377016224987676677
While these charges against Rep. Gaetz are very serious and sad, many Twitter users have also been able to create some of the most brutal and often hilarious mockery against him. Check out some of the best examples after the jump:
📌Matt Gaetz just became the front-runner for the Republican nomination in 2024.
— D. Earl Stephens (@EarlOfEnough) March 31, 2021
I always wear a wire.
Mostly in case I ever bump into Matt Gaetz. It just seems like a reasonable precaution.
— David Priess (@DavidPriess) March 31, 2021
Not being the sharpest tool in the toolshed, Matt Gaetz introduces something new on live TV—that some are saying there are pics of him with child prostitutes.
— W Smith Ω 🧢 (@WesSmith123) March 31, 2021
https://twitter.com/labyrinthweaver/status/1377040555826245640
Matt Gaetz best defense on Tucker, "there are no pictures of me with underage prostitutes. "
— Agolf Twitler Slayer (@slayer_agolf) March 31, 2021
https://twitter.com/JRehling/status/1377023886236131328
All things considered, G. Gordon Liddy is having a substantially better day than Matt Gaetz
— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) March 31, 2021
And now, with the latest news of Republicans (including Fox “News”) downplaying or ignoring these serious allegations against Rep. Gaetz, the Twitter hits just keep on coming:
Republicans came down harder on Joe Biden for having a minor Major problem than they did on Matt Gaetz for having a major minor problem.
— Andrea Junker (@Strandjunker) March 31, 2021
Photo by Steam Pipe Trunk Distribution Venue, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/L7RyMa
