When he finally passes from the political scene and is no longer a viable candidate, someone will have to try and take over the so-called MAGA movement disgraced former Donald Trump has built with conspiracy theories, lies, and outright hatred.
But who could possibly replace the twice-impeached ex-president? Would it be his son, Donald Trump Jr.? Or could Ivanka Trump become leader of MAGA world.
Based on a report from Politico, it seems the most likely new MAGA king is none other than controversial Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
According to reporter Sam Stein, Gaetz is seen as many pro-Trumpers as “not so much as a surrogate for the campaign but as an heir to the Trump movement.”
He has begun, to a degree, to physically resemble a Trump, with slicked back hair in the style of Trump’s actual sons. But most people who have flocked to his events say it is his political approach that reminds them of the former president. It’s precisely because he gets heckled that they love him.
“It’s a little bit of crazy but the right kind of crazy,” said Bill Mitchell, 54, of Troy, New Hampshire. “He does what he said he was going to do. And Trump did what he said he was going to do.”
“I love him,” said Peter Salvitti, of Sonopeake, New Hampshire. “He’s got chutzpah!”
Interestingly, just like Trump, Gaetz is also a morally bankrupt grifter who is suspected of having had sex with underage girls whom he allegedly paid off to remain silent. Those allegations spawned a derogatory nickname that has stuck to the Florida Republican: Venmo Matt.
He’s a chaos agent, whose political convictions revolve around, largely, the promotion of Matt Gaetz. His role in ousting Speaker Kevin McCarthy — a feat treated by Trump fans as akin to Roger Bannister breaking the four-minute mile — weakened the party and left them in a state of disorder from which they have not recovered. His alleged ethical transgressions aren’t signs that he has the right enemies; if true, they’re illustrations of serious moral lapses. They’d be more than fine if he just went away.
For his part, Gaetz seems unfazed by the barbs that are thrown his way, as if refuses to accept ownership for his moral failings, much like his political idol, Donald Trump.
Hours after being confronted by a heckler in Manchester, Gaetz found himself once more targeted in Keene. This time, a man wearing a MAGA hat and a backpack approached him for a photo before declaring that he had brought with him a “bag of underage girls.” He then pulled out a blow-up doll from his bag.
As the heckler was escorted out, blow-up doll in hand, Gaetz kept taking pictures as if nothing had ever happened.
Many in the MAGA movement aren’t the least bit taken aback by the whispers about Gaetz’s perversions, with Bill Mitchell of Troy, New Hampshire, remarking, “It’s a little bit of crazy but the right kind of crazy. He does what he said he was going to do. And Trump did what he said he was going to do.”
Morality is irrelevant to the MAGA masses. All they care about is anger and retribution. In many ways, they’re the American version of the political movement begun by an obscure former convict loser in 1930s Germany.
