The name of Donald John Trump is more powerful than all others in the political realm.
The mere mention of the former president and 2024 presidential candidate is enough to send leftists into rage-crying fits on TikTok or on cable news shows.
Perhaps that fact played into Rep. Matt Gaetz’s decision to vote for Trump as Speaker of the House in two rounds of the seemingly endless voting.
As the ballotting dragged on into its third day Thursday, the Florida Republican broke with others in the party to vote for Trump in the seventh and eighth round, The New York Post reported.
“@RepMattGaetz votes for former President Donald Trump for Speaker of the House. #118thCongress,” C-SPAN captioned the clip (and you thought nothing interesting ever happened on C-SPAN).
.@RepMattGaetz votes for former President Donald Trump for Speaker of the House. #118thCongress pic.twitter.com/VCQgi0bgLA
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 5, 2023
Gaetz gave up on the joke in the ninth round of fruitless voting, but it nevertheless made for an amusing clip from the proceedings when Gaetz stood up and proudly declared his vote for “Donald John Trump.”
There was minor commotion after he said it, and the smirking Gaetz sat back down next to the equally amused Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Should former President Donald Trump be the next Speaker of the House?
Yes: 86% (77 Votes)
No: 14% (13 Votes)
Both are staunch supporters of Trump and have benefitted from that alliance — if not in substance, at least in status.
But while Greene agrees with the former president that California Rep. Kevin McCarthy should be the next Republican to wield the gavel, Gaetz has been outspoken and unwavering in his opposition.
Gaetz even broke with etiquette and admonished Trump for his mainstream Republican pick.
“Supporting McCarthy is the worst Human Resources decision President Trump has ever made,” Gaetz tweeted Wednesday.
“Sad!” he added, emulating pre-Twitter-ban Trump’s style of punctuating posts.
Supporting McCarthy is the worst Human Resources decision President Trump has ever made.
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) January 4, 2023
Because of lawmakers like Gaetz, McCarthy has been unable to muster the necessary 218 votes to clinch the leadership position.
Florida Rep. Byron Donalds has earned as many as 20 votes as the GOP’s alternative to McCarthy, but Gaetz broke with the others to throw in for Trump in a move that has the potential to be an epic troll — or at least a fun break from the tediousness of the whole situation.
Invoking the name that is sure to trigger leftists is always a great move in and of itself, and is certainly worth a throwaway vote.
There’s also a chance Gaetz was trying to smooth things over with Trump after needling him about his confidence in McCarthy.
Whatever his reasoning for picking Trump, the truth is that anyone besides former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi holding the gavel will be a vast improvement — but the potential for more leftist meltdowns is a bonus just the same.
