Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) complimented former President Donald Trump during a recent New York Young Republican Club gala, calling him the “greatest president we have ever known.” Gaetz’s comments came at the same event headlined by the former president, who vowed to stake strong action if elected to another term next year.
Gaetz was one of the speakers to introduce the former president during the event. He cited Trump’s accomplishments, including owning “some of the greatest assets in the world.”
He further argued that Trump was being attacked by the state of New York, which he said was “trying to bankrupt and imprison him.”
The Florida Republican also said that Democrats “seethe at the thought of greatness.” He cited a similar tone as Trump, saying to look at how Democrats “treat our great nation: everything is a downgrade from the Senate dress code to the freaking dollar.”
He added that Republicans had a number of founding members as their heroes, as well as Donald Trump. He then compared these figures to those he argued were respected by Democrats, including George Floyd, Dylan Mulvaney and Anthony Fauci.
Gaetz said at the Manhattan event that the 2024 election represented a choice for the country of “greatness or decline.”
He said, “we have no choice but to elect Donald Trump.”
“I know who I want fighting for me and America and all of you, the greatest president we have ever known,” he said.
.@mattgaetz: "Less than a year from now, America has a choice: greatness or decline…we have no choice but to elect Donald Trump…I know who I want fighting for me and America and all of you, the greatest president we have ever known." pic.twitter.com/jLsXWIXltL
— MAGA War Room (@MAGAIncWarRoom) December 10, 2023
Gaetz, like Trump, would compliment former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R), who he called the “greatest mayor who has ever lived.”
During his keynote address, Trump complimented Gaetz and former Ohio congressional candidate J.R. Majewski.
Trump said that concerns by Democrats and some in the media that he could act as a dictator was a “new line” and a “hoax.”
“But no, I’m not a threat. I will save democracy. The threat is Crooked Joe Biden,” Trump said.
Trump also said that Biden and Democrats “created the worst inflation in our country’s history, a fragile economy that may soon end in a depression like 1929.”