Still stinging from an embarrassing vote failure among House Republicans, Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida is now being made fun of online for trying to make a controversy out of the Pledge of Allegiance.
During a February 4 meeting of the House Judiciary Committee, Gaetz proposed each meeting of the committee begin with a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.
Gaetz would later share the clip of Committee Chair Democrat Jerry Nadler of New York telling him no. Gaetz conveniently failed to mention Nadler's reasoning in his tweet.
The committee chair responded to Gaetz by saying:
"It's unnecessary. The House begins every day with the Pledge of Allegiance, we're covered by that...I appreciate the gentleman's suggestion but we are covered by the House. We all say the Pledge of Allegiance every day."
I proposed that we begin each meeting of the House Judiciary Committee by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Democ… https://t.co/ftXD8739Ew— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@Rep. Matt Gaetz) 1612472098.0
@RepMattGaetz @RepJerryNadler Nadler also said, in this clip, that the entire House already recites the pledge at t… https://t.co/YHJMScjS8E— Pietro 🇺🇸🇮🇹 (@Pietro 🇺🇸🇮🇹) 1612488454.0
@RepMattGaetz @RepJerryNadler I heard more than “no”. Did you tune out? If you say the Pledge once a day that would… https://t.co/uFMyKVLisP— floridamanJAX (@floridamanJAX) 1612472510.0
Many called out Gaetz for his transparent attempt to manipulate voters.
Gaetz would later go on live television and blatantly lie about Nadler's words, claiming his suggestion was shot down because Democrats thought the pledge was a "symbol of White supremacy."
Democrats in the Judiciary Committee today objected to saying the Pledge of Allegiance...one of the reasons they ga… https://t.co/LsekJahmiB— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@Rep. Matt Gaetz) 1612492120.0
@mattgaetz Reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to “prove” you respect the nation all while you actively try to disman… https://t.co/ynrXWGriCO— Ang McC Huff (@Ang McC Huff) 1612488744.0
Twitter turned Gaetz's manufactured drama into a meme, demanding everything now begin with the Pledge of Allegiance.
@ehananoki If Matt Gaetz really loved America, he'd begin every Pledge of Allegiance by saying the Pledge of Allegiance— David (@David) 1612491551.0
Will Sean Hannity, Matt Gaetz, and Jim Jordan start their segment tonight with the Pledge of Allegiance? 🤔— Eric Hananoki (@Eric Hananoki) 1612490587.0
Why doesn't Matt Gaetz start every day on Twitter by tweeting out the Pledge of Allegiance? Hmm???— Eric Hananoki (@Eric Hananoki) 1612490648.0
@partjos @RepMattGaetz @RepJerryNadler Why didn't you start this tweet with the pledge of allegiance? All tweets sh… https://t.co/1A6VS7N9l8— Chris Pine (@Chris Pine) 1612499238.0
While Gaetz tried to imply his Democratic colleagues weren't upholding American values because they didn't say the Pledge of Allegiance repeatedly each day, many on Twitter pointed out he already failed to respect the most important American value—democracy.
@seanhannity @Jim_Jordan @RepMattGaetz How about we all just pledge no more insurrections when we lose elections? 🤔— Nicole Hodges (@Nicole Hodges) 1612490957.0
Many online couldn't help but roll their eyes at Gaetz's tweet before responding with sarcasm.
@RepMattGaetz @RepJerryNadler Devastating. Democrats will never recover from this. This is worse than inciting an… https://t.co/l4WIUGcGhL— Santiago Mayer (@Santiago Mayer) 1612474762.0
@RepMattGaetz @RepJerryNadler wow dude i don't see how democrats recover from this. this is devastating.— Brian Tyler Cohen (@Brian Tyler Cohen) 1612474510.0
@RepMattGaetz @RepJerryNadler Because it is unnecessary. You wanna know the last time I said the pledge of allegian… https://t.co/yYCDesSixG— Lori (@Lori) 1612491154.0
It seems Matt Gaetz is doing everything he can to distract Americans from his role in the January 6insurrection, but this particular attempt didn't seem to make much of a difference to Gaetz's damaged reputation.