Florida’s Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz seems to act as though any attention is good attention, even if he makes himself look like an incompetent shill for nonsense in the process. During a peaceful protest in St. Louis on Sunday, a couple named Mark and Patricia McCloskey stormed outside of their house to point guns at the demonstrators who were walking by outside. The protesters were in the rich neighborhood in the first place to advocate for the resignation of St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson. On Monday, Gaetz posted a pompous, self-righteous defense of the McCloskeys, trying to cast their outrageous, self-obsessed rush to threats of violence as perfectly reasonable.
Alongside a photo of the couple brandishing their weapons — and looking like a couple of Fox News-ridden maniacs in the process — Gaetz wrote:
‘In Joe Biden’s America your job is illegal, you are locked in your home, borders don’t exist, MS-13 lives next door and the police aren’t coming when the mob arrives. This is all of us.’
In Joe Biden’s America your job is illegal, you are locked in your home, borders don’t exist, MS-13 lives next door and the police aren’t coming when the mob arrives.
This is all of us. pic.twitter.com/qS5ZeZQyU8
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) June 29, 2020
What on earth is the Congressman even talking about? The McCloskeys are reportedly lawyers — it’s not like their jobs would be made “illegal” if Biden was in the White House. Meanwhile, among other issues, Gaetz seems to be referring to efforts to stem the spread of the Coronavirus with his maniacal declaration that Biden in the White House would leave people “locked in” their homes. Describing stay-at-home orders in those terms is absolutely ridiculous and completely unreflective of reality, but there’s likely no death toll that could get Gaetz and Republicans like him to see basic public health measures as anything other than some kind of nefarious deep state conspiracy. The so-called “stay-at-home” orders don’t even leave people “locked in” in the first place — across the U.S., there have been plenty of exceptions implemented as needed.
Donald Trump this morning proudly retweeted the video of “Ken and Karen” pointing their guns at black people in St. Louis. Trump never misses an opportunity to fan the flames of white resentment and racial unrest. pic.twitter.com/zdSi7GReAX
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) June 29, 2020
Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was killed in the February 2018 shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, offered a poignant response to Gaetz. Guttenberg shared on Twitter:
‘No @mattgaetz , this is not all of us. In your America, it is ok for kids like mine to become victims of gun violence. In my America, I want kids to grow up. In your America, it is ok that my daughter was shot and killed at the age of 14. In my America, you will be defeated.’
No @mattgaetz, this is not all of us. In your America, it is ok for kids like mine to become victims of gun violence. In my America, I want kids to grow up. In your America, it is ok that my daughter was shot and killed at the age of 14. In my America, you will be defeated. https://t.co/Nae0EPqoGV
— Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) June 29, 2020
Check out more Twitter responses below: