Matt Gaetz Hammers Joy Behar Over 'Death of the Political Left' in His First Seconds on 'The View'
Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida wasted no time Thursday morning on “The View,” ruffling feathers from the moment cameras began rolling on his appearance with four of ABC’s most prominent hosts.
A staunch supporter of President Donald Trump and something of an antagonist himself, Gaetz immediately took aim at Joy Behar, asking if her dark wardrobe signified a time of mourning for the Democratic Party in light of the previous night’s contentious 2020 presidential primary debate.
“I was just wondering if you were wearing black as a consequence of, like, the death of the political left in the debate last night,” the Florida congressman asked, adding with a grin, “It was quite something to observe.”
“You know, don’t count the dead yet,” Behar responded. “Let’s give it a little time before we count them.”
Rep. Matt Gaetz went on ABC’s The View and absolutely torched Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg.
WATCH: pic.twitter.com/h0edQczErk
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) February 20, 2020
Gaetz, however, had little intention of waiting to see what the true impact of the debate would be in terms of voter turnout and primary day results in Nevada and South Carolina.
Instead, Gaetz suggested, former Vice President Joe Biden was all but finished following a lackluster performance in the first two contests of the race and his seemingly dog-tired demeanor throughout the course of Wednesday’s debate.
From there, the remainder of the primary Gaetz diagnosed as a difficult crisis of identity for the Democratic Party at large — one that would be unable to produce a candidate that could defeat Trump.
“Well, Joe Biden at least,” the congressman said, despite disagreement from Behar. “I mean, I was hoping that maybe Whoopi [Goldberg]’s bell could wake up the Biden campaign if you hit it.
“What state is [Biden] going to win? The fundamental premise of the Biden campaign is that he’s electable — and he can’t seem to win elections. So, now you have socialist Bernie Sanders against billionaire Michael Bloomberg.”
“It’s fascinating that right now the Democratic Party is likely not going to nominate a Democrat,” he added.
“Trump has a unique ability to get people who don’t necessarily agree with him to vote for him,” @RepMattGaetz says when asked about conservative women questioning Pres. Trump’s character. https://t.co/JOjiyURkev pic.twitter.com/ovMTwYhkeQ
— The View (@TheView) February 20, 2020
Gaetz would go on to challenge the women of “The View” regarding the Trump administration’s economic record, going to bat for the president in particular with anti-Trump conservative Meghan McCain.
The daughter of U.S. veteran and lifelong statesman John McCain, the host has long been public about her opposition to the current administration, taking issue primarily with Trump’s often merciless public rebuking of political opponents.
McCain’s father was the subject of president’s ire numerous times prior to his 2018 death to brain cancer, particularly in July 2015, when then-candidate Trump seemed to suggest the veteran was less of a hero due to his being captured and held prisoner during the Vietnam War.
Also at issue for McCain were Trump’s past vulgar remarks about women.
Regardless, Gaetz suggested in stumping for Trump on the talk show that a roaring U.S. economy, alongside other accomplishments, would give the Trump administration a solid opportunity to build an even more diverse coalition of new voters in 2020, from the hard-line conservative to the discontented Democrat, the minority voter to the suburban woman.
“Donald Trump has a unique ability to get people who don’t necessarily agree with him to vote for him,” Gaetz said. “And so I think for women, we’re going to have to make the argument particularly that 72 percent of the new jobs created in this economy have been filled by women.”
“With 7 million new jobs being created, people coming off of welfare, America is in a sense of great renewal,” he added. “We’ve got a comeback president running against the throwback left and the Venezuela wing of the Democratic Party.”
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