Matt Gaetz Falls On His Sword

I said on air last week that this might be a 4D chess move on behalf of POTUS-Elect, and I wasn’t being sarcastic.

Think about it: if Trump and his inner circle believe that Gaetz is problematic and a drag on swiftly enacting his agenda, Gaetz has to go, but without the appearance of Trump ghosting a guy viewed as publicly loyal. Nominate him for a position he has no hopes in getting, let the process run its course while the public does its thing, he’s out and Trump loses nothing. It’s a brilliant strategy.

Regarding all of the speculation, I tend to think the above. Look, I know nothing about the contents of the House Ethics Report and neither does anyone else except for a tiny circle of people. However, it’s important to remember that what the DOJ actually said when they declined to press charges. They didn’t say nothing happened, they said they couldn’t prove that Gaetz didn’t know that the woman in question (of having reportedly flown her across state lines) was underage. Big difference. Whether or not Gaetz tries to “unresign” his seat (the law is clear until it isn’t) for next Congress seems predicated upon avoiding the release of the ethics report, if that is the ultimate goal. He resigned it, “effective immediately,” two days before the report’s release.