Former President Donald Trump endorsed Florida Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz’s reelection campaign on his Truth Social platform on Saturday.
“Rep. Matt Gaetz is a relentless Fighter for the incredible people of Florida’s 1st Congressional District!” Trump posted. “Matt is a Champion of our MAGA Agenda, who tirelessly works to Drain the Swamp, Secure the Border, Support our Brave Veterans and Law Enforcement, Defend the Second Amendment, Stand Up to the Woke Mob, and Fight the Never-Ending Witch Hunts from the Radical Left that are destroying our Country!”
Trump added that Gaetz “puts America First” and “has my Complete and Total Endorsement.”
On August 9th, Business Insider reworked a hit piece on Gaetz that included claims from his Republican primary opponent Mark Lombardo that Gaetz, whom he accused of being a “pedophile,” had not been publicly endorsed by Trump or GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“Trump or DeSantis have not endorsed Matt Gaetz. Have they in the past? Yes. Have they now? The answer is no. And the reason for that is that they can’t afford the branding issue. The branding issue of being associated with a pedophile,” Lombardo told Business Insider on Tuesday.
Gaetz, a Fort Walton Beach Republican, posted on Twitter a screenshot of the story, which reported, “Gaetz, an ardent Trump supporter, has not received a formal endorsement from Trump or DeSantis in this election cycle. Trump endorsed him in 2018.”
Gaetz responded by posting a video that he said showed Trump endorsing him at Mar-a-Lago in April 2022.
In the 15-second clip, Trump tells Gaetz, who is standing nearby, “We’re with you all the way.”
“He does an incredible job,” the former president continued. “He’s brave. He’s strong. He’s smart. And people love him, and they get it. They get it.”
“And not that he needs my endorsement, but he has an endorsement from me — 100 percent endorsement.”
After Gaetz called the story “patently false” and demanded a correction, Business Insider apparently updated its article, without noting the correction.
On Tuesday night, it read, “Trump has not sent out a written endorsement of Gaetz, as he typically does for high-profile endorsements through his official communication channels. He however told attendees at a private fundraiser in April for the Florida lawmaker’s reelection that Gaetz had his ‘full endorsement.’ He also recently heaped praise on Gaetz during a keynote address at CPAC, where he told the crowd that Gaetz ‘fights for freedom’ and is a ‘great guy.’ Trump endorsed him in 2018.”
The odd thing about the inaccurate reporting was that Business Insider quoted Lombardo slamming Gaetz as a “pedophile.”
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Setting aside the borderline libel against Gaetz, Lombardo, a former FedEx executive, has hired a Washington, D.C.-based political consultant, Steve Hazelton, who is closely connected with The Lincoln Project.
The Lincoln Project is a left-wing, admitted “Never Republican” group whose founder, John Weaver, fled the group in disgrace after reports surfaced that he had sought to groom nearly two dozen young men to trade sex for potential jobs in politics – including one he started grooming at age 14.
Weaver’s conduct was so egregious that one of his former Lincoln Project associates dubbed him a “predator.”
Gaetz will be facing off against two GOP primary challengers in his bid to continue representing Florida’s 1st Congressional District: retired military officer Greg Merk and former FedEx executive Mark Lombardo.
Gaetz touted his relationship with Trump and Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in a recent campaign ad.
“He’s always working and he does indeed fight for all of us,” Trump says about Gaetz in the campaign ad.
Gaetz, 40, was elected to Congress in 2017 and defeated his Democratic challenger by over 30 points while running for reelection in 2020.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Free Press.
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