After it was revealed that an attendee of CPAC—the Conservative Political Action Conference—several prominent Republican politicians placed themselves in self-quarantine as a precautionary measure.
Among those politicians is Representative Matt Gaetz, a GOP congressman from Florida who only days prior wore a gas mask in Congress to mock the pandemic—just days before one of his constituents died from COVID-19.
Hopefully Gaetz is no longer laughing.
On his way home to Florida for self-quarantine, karma seemed to leave Gaetz's accommodations somewhat lacking.
Gaetz told the Pensacola News Journal about his efforts to remain quarantined as he returned to his home in Florida, saying:
"I couldn't stay in a hotel. I slept in a Walmart parking lot somewhere off [Interstate] 85."
Now Gaetz is likely a lot more comfortable back in his home in Okaloosa County, but he's not the only GOP lawmaker who's had to put themselves into self-quarantine.
Doug Collins, Mark Meadows and Ted Cruz have all cut themselves off from their colleagues after encountering the coronavirus patient at CPAC.
Since returning to Florida, Gaetz tweeted that he tested negative for COVID-19, but is keeping himself in quarantine for a few more days just in case.
Gaetz's story holds a lesson for us all: don't make fun of a virus if there's still a chance you may get it.
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