Though President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of now-former Rep. Matt Gaetz to serve as U.S. attorney general collapsed relatively soon after it was announced, it was not immediately clear what the ex-congressman planned to do next.
After resigning his seat in the House and withdrawing his name from AG consideration, Gaetz has shocked everyone from everyday voters to legislative colleagues alike with his bold — and arguably unorthodox — video-based career move, as the New York Post reports.
Gaetz moves on
It was just last week that Gaetz took his name out of the running to become attorney general in the new Trump administration, doing so amid what appeared to be insurmountable resistance from a handful of senators who were key to his confirmation prospects.
Buckling under the weight of a series of lingering sexual misconduct allegations and the potential release of a House Ethics Committee probe report, Gaetz had already resigned his seat in the 118th Congress, subsequently declaring that he had no plans to take the spot in the 119th Congress that to which he had just won re-election.
Explaining his position to conservative pundit and activist Charlie Kirk that while he did not intend to disappear from the political realm altogether, he would remain engaged with the Trump agenda “from a new perch,” as NBC News noted.
“I’m 42 now, and I’ve got other goals in life that I’m eager to pursue – my wife and my family – and so I’m going to be fighting for President Trump. I’m going to be doing whatever he asks of me, as I always have. But I think that eight years is probably enough time in the United States Congress,” Gaetz declared.
Taking his talents to Cameo
In what can only be described as an unexpected career detour, Gaetz announced the launch of an account on Cameo, an online platform through which users purchase personalized video greetings from celebrities, including ex-Congressman George Santos, who was notoriously expelled from the House last year.
Gaetz’s introductory blurb on the site reads, as Newsweek notes, “I served in Congress. Trump nominated me to the US Attorney General (that didn’t work out). Once I fired the House Speaker,” a reference to his controversial battle with former Rep. Kevin McCarthy.
As the Post reports, as of Sunday afternoon, Gaetz was fully engaged in his new endeavor, commanding at least $525 for his services on the site and already garnering a five-star rating from his first several customers.
In one of the first messages Gaetz created for a customer, he joked that he was unable to “order predator strikes” on enemies now that the AG nomination fell through but humorously added that he could “order you to have as much fun as possible. So be well. Your buddy Dave wanted you to have this message.”
Varied reactions roll in
Not surprisingly, Gaetz’s new income generation plan has prompted a deluge of public response running the gamut from amused approval to outright mockery, as the Daily Mail reports.
One online commentator made a snarky reference to Gaetz’s sexual misconduct scandal in which claims of involvement with a minor loomed large, writing, “Someone ask him what he thinks the age of consent should be!”
Another netizen sarcastically mused, “God bless capitalism,” while another labeled the entire venture “mega cringe.”
The former congressman did, however, find vocal support from another Cameo star, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who observed, “Connecting with people all around the globe with edifying, illuminating shout-outs?! Couldn’t be better distraction from negativity in today’s toxic world,” saying of Gaetz’s foes, “I’ll never understand criticizing opportunity to encourage & advise others who may just need a good word today and have fun touching many lives.”
The post Matt Gaetz takes surprising career turn by joining Cameo online platform appeared first on Conservative Institute.
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Author: Sarah May
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