Trump furious at ally Matt Gaetz for 'unwise' attempt to stand up to him

Rep. Matt Gaetz — the Florida Republican who has endeared himself to Donald Trump by defending all of Trump’s policies and behaviors — is in trouble with the White House after he voted to rein in Trump’s war powers in the wake of the Iranian conflict.

Unnamed White House officials told the Washington Post that Gaetz’s support of the House’s war powers resolution was “super uncool” and “quite unwise,” and that Gaetz should not expect to have his phone calls returned.

The rift between Gaetz and Trump is notable, given that Gaetz led the charge to defend Trump against the multitude of scandals he’s faced. During the impeachment inquiry, Gaetz organized the GOP stunt to storm a secure area of the Capitol where impeachment depositions were taking place. And Gaetz has even said that defending Trump is his top priority as a member of Congress.

Gaetz was also one of the handful of top congressional lackeys Trump brought with him to the World Series to thank those GOP lawmakers for defending him during the impeachment inquiry.

Gaetz, for his part, tried to paint his support for the war powers resolution as an attempt to get Congress’ constitutional authority to declare war back, saying it was not an intentional effort to attack Trump.

“This resolution offers no criticism of the president, no critique,” Gaetz said on the House floor for why he was supporting the resolution. “It doesn’t criticize the president’s attack on [Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem] Soleimani. I take a back seat to no member of this body when it comes to defending the president.”

However, Trump didn’t appear to see Gaetz’s vote for the war power resolution that way, with the Washington Post reporting that Trump “fiercely complained” about Gaetz’s actions.

“The Trump administration was disappointed in the congressman’s vote and is hopeful that as the president’s foreign policy continues to unfold, he will reconsider his points of view,” White House legislative director Eric Ueland told the Washington Post.

A senior official also told the Post the White House would not be returning Gaetz’s calls or texts, or acknowledging his “smoke signals or his kneelings in the snow.”

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.