All Episodes
Previous Next
Oct. 26, 2023 - Firebrand - Matt Gaetz
28:21
Episode 124 LIVE: New Leadership In Washington – Firebrand with Matt Gaetz
| Copy link to current segment

Time Text
Thank you.
You're not taking Matt Gaetz off the board, okay?
Because Matt Gaetz is an American patriot and Matt Gaetz is an American hero.
We will not continue to allow the Uniparty to run this town without a fight.
I want to thank you, Matt Gaetz, for holding the line.
Matt Gaetz is a courageous man.
If we had hundreds of Matt Gaetz in DC, the country turns around.
It's that simple.
He's so tough, he's so strong, he's smart, and he loves this country.
Matt Gaetz.
It is the honor of my life to fight alongside each and every one of you.
We will save America.
It's choose your fighter time.
Now the attention is drawn to Capitol Hill and the fact that the Republicans are so incapable of governing, they lost a speaker.
And what, you know, hasn't really happened before in this in this way.
Your reaction tonight?
And the most devastating question for Matt Gaetz today, just as it was eight months ago, is, okay, what's the alternative?
And he doesn't seem to be able to give you an alternative.
And the alternatives he offers are people that don't want to have anything to do with it.
I do think that, you know, we have known we were going to have a calamity since the day Speaker McCarthy got elected speaker after 15 rounds.
We knew it was going to eventually come to this.
It was going to come to a government shutdown.
The criticism I would have of Kevin McCarthy is that he hasn't gone on ahead from the beginning and laid the groundwork to make this catastrophe we're seeing today about something.
Say a government shutdown because Democrats refuse to enforce the border or a government shutdown because Democrats refuse to stop inflationary spending, all of which American people would understand.
So it's kind of a marketing thing that I would criticize Kevin McCarthy for.
But honestly, when you look at what happened today, the same Criticism you could level against Matt Gaetz because nobody knows what this is about.
I think that a lot of the underlying issues are important, and I agree with Matt Gaetz about it, but you can't beat something with nothing.
And right now, Matt Gaetz has nothing.
We are live.
Welcome back to Firebrand.
I'm Congressman Matt Gaetz, and I don't have nothing, Charlie Hurt.
I have Mike Johnson as the Speaker of the House, someone who everyone I think has tremendous respect for.
He gave a terrific address as House Speaker yesterday.
Make sure to watch yesterday's episode if you want to learn more about Mike Johnson, the new Speaker of the House, and the devastating question for Matt Gaetz, according to Charlie Kirk, who's the alternative?
Can anyone other than McCarthy lead the House of Representatives?
I think Mike Johnson is going to lead us quite well.
And for the Laura Ingraham argument that we are incapable...
Just see how much we can do under strong leadership and good leadership.
I want to thank everyone for joining us.
The live stream is fired up.
Folks are watching from New Jersey, Arizona, Mississippi, Florida, South Dakota, South Carolina.
Jeff on Facebook says, Hannity and Levin owe Matt Gaetz an apology.
I love Hannity Levin.
Maybe we'll send him the apology form that was on yesterday's program, but I think it's safe to say that the devastating question that Charlie Kirk posed about who could be the alternative presupposes, I think, a real pessimism regarding the talents and skill stacks that exist within the Republican Conference.
We've got great people.
Mike Johnson's one of them.
Jody Arrington's one of them.
As a matter of fact, when we chatted about The real heroism in this contest from Kevin Hearn and Mark Green, we saw people that were willing to lead, but they also understood that part of leadership is working toward a team dynamic that can be prosperous and successful for the House of Representatives and ultimately the country.
The Daily Beast has some thoughts on the speaker contest.
They're not usually my biggest fans, but we get this headline.
Mike Johnson got elected, but Matt Gaetz is the big winner of the GOP's House Speaker battle.
And the piece says, The elevation of MAGA Mike...
was the result of concessions Gates demanded from McCarthy way back in January.
As I observed at that time, here's the thing about confrontational politics.
It Never ends.
Fights are inherently good because every fight results in you gaining turf.
As such, you must always be picking fights.
Unlike normies who just want peace and comity, Gates understands that conflict is necessary to advance his MAGA worldview.
It took 11 months to complete the project, but Gates was finally able to upgrade Republican House leadership.
Think of it this way.
When Trump was first elected, he was forced to work with Republicans who had previously been hostile to him and did not share his worldview.
Then, a second wave included converts, who, though thoroughly co-opted by Trump, had started off in the establishment lane.
We are now entering into third-wave Trumpism, the elevation of true believers, the rise of the first MAGA speaker.
And if we have learned anything, it is that this is just the beginning.
Gates has been rewarded, and his theory regarding how to change the GOP in America has been confirmed.
So, there's a little bit here I want to unpack.
It is totally correct that we are in the third wave of Trumpism and that that is elevating true believers.
I think that is essential to ensure that we take the vision of Trumpism and execute it better than ever before.
And if we do that, we'll have better trade deals, we'll have a secure border, we'll have an economy that lifts people up who are willing to work hard.
And I hope we can layer onto that more fiscal responsibility, single subject spending bills, balanced budgets, and a renewed sense that the way to advance our country is not just to keep printing more money and avoid the tough decisions that we have to make about how it is spent, Because if we do not, these rising interest rates will continue to be the norm.
And buying a home, even buying a car, will be out of reach for far too many Americans.
So we are indeed in that third wave of Trumpism.
And the other thing I think the Daily Beast piece gets right is that I understand that the only way we are going to be able to achieve our goals It's through conflict at times.
I have seen in Washington, D.C. that you don't get anything without a fight.
The establishment does not cede power.
The lobbyists and special interests that donate millions of dollars to congressional campaigns expect something in return for that money.
And what we've all gotten in return is a diminished America.
Decline for the greatest nation on earth.
And so, yes, I love this country enough to fight for her.
And if you're viewing this program, I certainly hope that you do too.
One thing you could do is subscribe.
Make sure you share our messages so that more people get the information.
And make sure you've got notifications turned on on this podcast so that we can continue to give you the clear evidence of Washington's failures and then a plan to make it better.
And we saw a lot of that plan in the calendar put out by House Speaker Mike Johnson to be able to deal with these challenges.
But it's not just the Daily Beast reacting to our new House Speaker.
We seem to have conflicting reactions from the White House and the Biden-Harris campaign.
So I've got the statements up on the screen now, but first let's start with the White House statement.
Just consider the tone here.
Statement from President Biden on the election of Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House.
Jill and I congratulate Speaker Johnson on his election.
As I said when this process began, whoever the Speaker is, I will seek to work with them in good faith on behalf of the American people.
I restated my willingness to continue working across the aisle after Republicans won the majority in the House last year.
We need to move swiftly to address national security needs and avoid a shutdown in 22 days.
Even though we have real disagreements about important issues, there should be a mutual effort to find common ground whenever we can.
How sweet and conciliatory.
But then we get, on the heels of that, a statement from the Biden-Harris campaign.
Biden-Harris 2024 statement on new MAGA speaker.
In the Biden-Harris announcement, Mike Johnson doesn't even get his name.
He's just MAGA speaker.
MAGA Mike Johnson's ascension to the speakership cements the extreme MAGA takeover of the House Republican Conference.
Now Donald Trump has his loyal foot soldier to ban abortion nationwide, lead efforts to deny free and fair election results, gut Social Security and Medicare, and advance the extreme MAGA agenda at the expense of middle-class families.
Well, they seem triggered at the campaign.
They seem eager to work together at the White House.
Who knows who's calling the shots anymore in Biden world?
The one thing I'm certain of, it is not Joe Biden.
He is not the one calling the shots or even approving these statements.
And so when you don't have that center point of vision, because you're just dealing with like the weekend at Bernie's White House right now, This is the manifestation.
This is the fruit of all of that.
While the White House and the Biden campaign are still trying to figure out how they feel about all of this, one person...
Who definitely knows how he feels is Missouri Congressman Jason Smith.
Now, to set this up, Congressman Jason Smith is a Republican, though when you hear what he has to say, he's not going to sound like one at times.
And he has been one of the most loyal lapdogs for former Speaker McCarthy and for the lobbyists and special interests on K Street.
See, Jason Smith has achieved power in Washington in a lot of the way most people do.
You get money from the lobbyists and special interests, you in turn give that money to the party bosses for their political funds, and then they allow you to move up.
And no question Jason Smith has one of the most prime posts in the House of Representatives chairing the Ways and Means Committee, and they determine taxation.
Well, You might say they determine those things, but in reality, Jason Smith moved a bill out of his committee that can never even get the votes and probably won't even make it to the floor.
But he was asked about the remarks I made on War Room, and he was quite disturbed.
Take a listen.
So Gates claims yesterday on Steve Bannon's show that he watched Kevin McCarthy repeatedly try to torpedo the individual candidates, including Scalise and Jim Jordan.
What's your take on that, how that went down?
Let me just tell you, if Matt Gaetz's lips are moving, it's only lies that's coming out of it.
That gentleman only loves to propel himself and propaganda.
He sounds like a Democrat.
It's exactly what Democrats say.
They accuse Donald Trump of everything that they're doing.
Matt Gaetz is accusing Kevin McCarthy for everything that he's doing.
The blood is on his hands.
For 22 wasted days for him to join with 100% of the Democrat Party to remove the Speaker of the House.
He's all about himself.
He's not about conservatism.
He's not about Republicans.
He's about himself.
Interesting.
I mean, my perception is, why would the House vote as they did to elect Mike Johnson, who's clearly got...
I mean, he's like Jim Jordan, but they wouldn't elect Jim Jordan.
Why?
Because there was several holdouts from the Scalise world that was upset that Scalise didn't have the votes because a lot of the Freedom Caucus held out on Steve Scalise.
So it was all about individuals.
You had the chair of the Appropriations Committee.
Stand up and vote against Jim Jordan.
Because she didn't like how Jim Jordan wanted to cut spending.
And she was a main Scalise ally.
So for Matt Gaetz to say that kind of stuff, it's simply not true.
I know the dynamics of the 20 people that voted for The 25 that voted against Tom Emmer and the 22 that voted against Jim Jordan.
They were not the same people.
They were all different people and it was for different reasons.
So Matt Gaetz is a foolish liar.
A foolish liar.
We are back live.
Jason Smith says if my lips are moving I'm lying.
Well you know what?
If Jason Smith is breathing he is living a lie.
There might not be another member of Congress who lives a lie every day more than Jason Smith.
And Jason Smith knows exactly what I'm talking about.
And by the way, so does almost every member of the House Republican Caucus.
So there's a good deal of projection in Jason Smith calling me a liar when it's Jason Smith who literally has to live a lie.
And I honestly pity him for that because, you know, it wouldn't be something that...
I wouldn't live that way.
I'll just put it that way.
So Jason, I would check yourself before you come at me with any accusations of being dishonest about what I say when you're dishonest about how you live and what you do.
He says the blood is on my hands for 22 days of not, I guess, sending money to Ukraine or whatever else they wanted to do.
If it took 22 days To take the gavel away from Kevin McCarthy and give it to Mike Johnson?
Those are the 22 most productive days that we have had in the 118th Congress.
Because we not only have our man, but we have a plan for how to reduce spending.
And of course, Jason Smith doesn't want to do that.
Because if we cut spending, then the lobbyists who fund his coffers will have less.
And the American people will have more.
And that's not what they want.
And when you point those things out, it doesn't make you sound like a Democrat or even a Republican.
Just somebody with eyes who can observe how the corrupt power centers of this town compromise people like Jason Smith and then flip them to do their bidding.
Not the work that folks sent us here to do.
We take six weeks off every single year.
Just for members to go on vacation mostly.
So 22 days to right the ship with House Speaker?
I don't think that that's chaos.
I think that that's constructive work to get to a better outcome.
Jeremy Carl is a conservative commentator.
He does a lot of work with the Claremont Institute.
Those are some real smart folks that we think highly of here in our congressional office.
And he had a tweet that I don't agree with every single word here.
I think he's a little too harsh on Scalise and Emmer.
But I'm going to read you what Jeremy Carl has put out on Twitter, at JeremyCarl4.
Ignore all of the pundit hyperventilating.
When all is said and done, assuming he lives up to his reputation, the election of at Rep Mike Johnson as Speaker is a major victory for Matt Gaetz and his insurgent allies.
Johnson is much better than McCarthy.
The best you could say for McCarthy, who, remember, elevated Liz Cheney to leadership in only her second term, is that he was an ideologically weak, empty suit who would at least deal transactionally with conservatives.
Jordan would have been great, but he was never a viable choice, too ideological, and had burned too many bridges in the conference.
Scalise would have been more establishment pablum.
Emmer was so awful that Trump nuked him preemptively before conservatives revolted.
Will Johnson disappoint the right at times?
No doubt.
Both on genuine issues of difference in ideology and also on times when he needs to make concessions to moderate establishment types to keep the caucus together.
But that is the job of the speaker.
In Johnson, we have someone who is aligned with the base on key issues, who will reach out beyond the base when he needs to for practical reasons.
That is what we should want in a GOP speaker.
Johnson is clearly not a grandstander, and he seems very well liked within the caucus.
This will be essential in keeping a very fractious group together.
It is not about conservatives getting everything we want.
It is about getting everything that is feasible to get.
In a few months, nobody will care about dumb process fights within the GOP caucus, but the effect of having a party leader who is actually aligned with party voters will pay dividends for years.
It will help in terms of the primary candidates we select, McCarthy torpedoed a number of good conservatives in primaries in 2022, and the issues that we focus on as a party.
It is trading a short-term loss for a few weeks of infighting into a major long-term win.
Matt Gaetz understands, in a way that 90% plus of Republicans do not, that you get political capital to spend it And he spent all that he had to move to ultimately achieve what could be a monumental victory for conservatives for many years to come.
I would observe that what Jeremy Carl says about political capital is absolutely my view of it.
I don't believe that we build approval ratings and political capital to set them on the shelf and admire them.
That doesn't help anyone but the politician.
The reason to try to build political capital is to draw down on that political capital so that the people who are actually our bosses get to live better lives as a consequence.
And I know our lives will be better with Speaker Mike Johnson than they ever would have been with Kevin McCarthy.
I want to chat about some foreign policy issues as well that are going on in the world that we focus on.
Let's start with this latest announcement, quite unfortunate, from the Biden administration on Ukraine.
Biden administration announces additional security assistance for Ukraine.
They list out the drawdown, including Stinger anti-aircraft missiles.
Great, that's what we gave the Mujahideen that ultimately resulted in the Taliban.
Javelin anti-armor, sisters.
Nice vision devices.
I've got real concerns about the night vision devices.
I don't know where those end up.
When we actually look at end-use monitoring of the equipment that we send into Ukraine, I have some of the highest concerns that it's the night vision stuff that we may end up seeing in the hands of Hamas or the drug cartels on our own border.
Very concerned about that.
Demolition munitions for clearing obstacles.
So we're going to pay for the demolition, and then I guarantee you for the next 10 to 15 years, there's going to be money in the budget for some U.S. defense contractor to go and demine the munitions that we're paying for.
And the last bullet point here, man, this really gets me.
We're sending spare parts, maintenance, and other equipment to Ukraine right now in America.
The F-35s that cost you, the American taxpayer, about $180 million a copy, 40% of those, we can't even fly today.
Because we don't have the parts for some of our own stuff.
And so, while I know we're not sending F-35s to Ukraine, there is a certain focus on the supply chain and the defense industrial base that we need to have in order to ensure that our own equipment is usable.
I get worked up about this because when I go to our bases in Northwest Florida and talk to our service members, it is...
It is infuriating to see our hangars and our buildings rotted out, moldy, full of asbestos, not enough military housing for our service members, not enough spare parts so that our stuff works for training and for important readiness development.
But here we go, another $150 million for Ukraine.
It is so, America lasts, and I indeed hope it comes to an end.
But it's not just Ukraine where America is now extended abroad.
Senator Rand Paul is pointing to the fact that we're still doing stuff in Niger that is not really effective.
Rand Paul wants U.S. troops out of Niger as the piece from The Intercept.
Nick Terse wrote that piece.
He's been really great covering the failures of the Biden administration's policies in Africa.
And this tweet we've put on the screen from Nick Terse says, While the wars in Ukraine and Gaza dominate the news, the U.S. forever war in Niger grinds on.
Since the U.S. began counterterrorism efforts in the region, terrorist violence has jumped 30,000%.
Not a typo.
This summer, U.S.-trained officers overthrew the government.
So on an anti-terrorism mission, we've seen terrorist instances increase by 30,000%.
And the very people we trained overthrew the government.
I am certainly with Rand Paul on this.
We need to be out of Niger and...
We at least need the Biden administration to tell us what their foreign policy goals are in Africa at this time.
So the House of Representatives right now is debating the energy and water legislation on government funding.
That is one of the single-subject spending bills.
It does not cut spending as much as it should.
In an upcoming program, we'll talk about the appropriations process more, what's good, what's bad.
But the principal thing that we are doing from a policy perspective in this bill that we'll be voting on shortly...
Getting rid of the Obama-Biden waters of the United States rule.
This is the rule that has the EPA hassling people that have like a 10-acre lake on their property to water cattle or even just like a small watering pond.
They are exercising jurisdiction in a way that is killing private property rights, killing agriculture.
The farmers in my district talked to me all about the negative consequences of this Waters of the United States rule.
I cannot wait to vote for our appropriations bill that will abolish that rule.
So thanks for staying engaged and informed.
Thanks for having my back.
We'll be broadcasting on Firebrand again soon.
Roll the credits.
▲
Export Selection