Election News

GOP congressman says Matt Gaetz looked like “inflatable sex doll” during RNC speech

The anti-LGBTQ+ Congress member was repeatedly humiliated and called an "as**ole" during his visit to the GOP national convention.
By · Updated on July 19, 2024
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) during his RNC speech
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) during his RNC speech Photo: Video screenshot

Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) said that anti-LGBTQ+ Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) looked like an “AI powered inflatable sex doll” during Gaetz’s speech at the Republican National Convention (RNC) last night.

Earlier in the convention, another attendee told Gaetz to stop being an “as**ole” on camera after he tried interrupting former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s CNN interview. After Gaetz’s interruption, McCarthy implied to CNN that Gaetz was possibly on drugs and may have raped a teenage girl.

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Gaetz’s RNC speech claimed that electing a Democratic president would result in criminals overrunning cities, guns being taken from firearm owners, and police officers and children being murdered. “The woketopians will settle for [President Joe Biden as their nominee] because they will make him an extra in a movie written, produced, and directed by others,” Gaetz said. “It’s a horror film, really.”

During his speech, numerous web commenters noted that Gaetz’s face seemed different from its previous appearances. Some commenters blamed Botox, a toxin used as a cosmetic product to tighten face muscles. Others claimed he had undergone plastic surgery or was experimenting with becoming a drag queen.

As mentioned earlier, Rep. Orden posted a pic of Gaetz during his speech on X and joked that the RNC had debuted the “first AI powered inflatable sex doll to speak at a national convention.”

Gaetz and Van Orden certainly aren’t friends. Last April, Van Orden confronted Gaetz about his successful attempt to remove then-Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from serving as the Republican’s House Speaker — a move that resulted in three weeks of congressional inaction as House Republicans repeatedly tried and failed to elect a new speaker.

During their April confrontation, Gaetz called Van Orden a “shish” (a moderate), and Van Orden called Gaetz “tubby.” Later, Gaetz told reporters that Van Orden “wasn’t very smart.”

Later at the RNC, Gaetz interrupted McCarthy’s interview with CNN, asking him, “What night are you speaking?”

McCarthy ignored him, then Gaetz repeated the question twice — knowing that McCarthy hadn’t been scheduled to speak — and adding, “If you took that stage, you would get booed off of it.”

At this point, another nearby man said, “Shut up, Gaetz. Don’t be an as**ole.” When Gaetz responded, “Dude, I don’t even know who you are,” the man responded, “It doesn’t f**king matter who I am. Don’t be an as**ole. You’re an as**ole.”

Gaetz then walked off without saying another word. Someone posted a video of their interaction online.

Later in his CNN interview, McCarthy said of Gaetz, “He looks very unhinged. I mean, a lot of people have concerns about it. And I’m not sure if he was on something, but I do hope he gets the help that he needs. But more importantly, I hope that young women get the justice they deserve when it comes to him.”

McCarthy may have been referring to a written statement obtained by the House Ethics Committee as part of its ongoing investigation into whether Gaetz used illegal drugs while serving in Congress. The statement claimed he had attended a Florida party during the summer 2017 that had alcohol, cocaine, and MDMA available. The statement claimed the then-35-year-old congressman attended the party with a 17-year-old girl who he was later accused of having sex with. Gaetz has denied the accusations.

Gaetz has consistently gotten a score of “0” on HRC’s Congressional Scorecard, because of his numerous votes and policy stances against LGBTQ+ equality.

He has referred to LGBTQ+ people as “degenerate” at least twice, saying that his school prayer bill will keep LGBTQ+ identities out of schools.  He has attacked the military for allowing transgender people to serve their country. He accused USAID, the federal agency that manages foreign aid and developmental assistance to other countries, of having a “perverse ideology” for supporting LGBTQ+ people. He also got the Air Force to shut down a drag event on a military base after he complained about it.

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