GOP congressman who faked border visit is Trump's go-to on foreign policy

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has effectively devoted his entire political life to defending and promoting Trump. Perhaps in exchange for his devotion, Gaetz has become Trump’s go-to adviser on foreign policy issues of global importance, according to the Daily Beast.

“Whenever the president weighs a potential new foreign intervention or military adventure, one of the first Capitol Hill allies whom Trump asks his assistant to get on the phone for him is the 36-year-old Republican congressman,” the Daily Beast reported on Tuesday.

Two sources confirmed the congressman — who has acted more like a very vocal superfan of Trump’s than a serious international relations expert for America — holds an influential role.

Gaetz has openly admitted that he sees his role in Congress more as a Trump protector, rather than as a representative of his congressional district (FL-01)

While other members of Congress, of either party, typically tell the press they spend their days working for constituents, Gaetz said he wakes up “every day” to “do what I can to expose what I believe is an intractable bias among the people who are investigating the president.”

In service of that goal, Gaetz has involved himself in stunts like publicly threatening former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen before his congressional testimony. He even pushed for then-Speaker Paul Ryan to be ousted for insufficient loyalty to Trump.

In an insult to his constituents, Gaetz has publicly floated the idea of moving to a different state, Alabama, and running for the Senate seat there so he can further impress Trump.

Gaetz is so devoted to Trump and his agenda that he staged a photo-op during which he falsely claimed he was at the site of construction for Trump’s “wall.” The “wall” turned out to be a demonstration of wall-building capabilities at a private construction site over 100 miles away from the border.

He even abused his role as a member of Congress to introduce legislation with a childhood insult aimed at attacking Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), whose job it is to point out Trump’s corrupt actions.

Gaetz whispering in Trump’s ear is even more concerning when Trump’s ignorance of serious policy matters is taken into consideration. Trump has more often taken his cues from the bigoted talking heads on Fox News, rather than the diplomatic and intelligence agencies that report to the presidency.

Trump has seen fit to have America go without a permanent secretary of defense for over 5 months, the longest such gap in American history. But turns to the likes of Gaetz for advice on some of the most important issues.

Gaetz’s newly revealed role as Trump’s adviser shows that sucking up to Trump is the most important qualification in the White House/

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.