Ex-GOP rep underscores 'most consequential similarity' between Donald Trump and Matt Gaetz

As Donald Trump faced his first criminal trial in New York over the last couple of months, one Republican lawmaker evoked the former president's language, signaling unwavering support of the MAGA hopeful.

"Standing back, and standing by, Mr. President," US Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) wrote via social media alongside a photo of himself standing behind Trump, and next to other GOP House members outside of the Manhattan courtroom.

In a recent op-ed published by MSNBC, political contributor and former US Rep. David Jolly — who represented Florida as a Republican congressman, like Gaetz — asserts, "In the MAGA era of Donald Trump, Gaetz is the genuine article, a young politician who has successfully fashioned himself in Trump’s image."

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Jolly writes, "Both came to Washington to break the system, not to fix it. Trump eventually tried to disrupt and subvert the peaceful transfer of presidential power. Gaetz successfully toppled a speaker of the House. And in the gravest of terms, they each face allegations of sexual misconduct, with Trump having already been found civilly liable for sexual abuse."

Sharing "an instinct for performance and a never-blink blend of showmanship and confidence," the former GOP lawmaker emphasizes: "The most consequential of similarity between Trump and Gaetz: their proven ability to offend norms, shatter convention and defy political gravity. Trump is literally a convicted criminal, and yet he is also a contender to again control the White House. Gaetz flexed his political might during the speaker debacle, and may now be eyeing a run for the Florida governorship in 2026."

Jolly suggests Gaetz must be stopped.

Noting that the Florida congressman is 36 years younger than his MAGA leader, Jolly adds, "The GOP is truly in trouble if it allows a full transfer of power and momentum between this old and new guard."

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The MSNBC political contributor also points out, "The drip, drip, drip of allegations against Matt Gaetz can feel so omnipresent they risk fading into the background of a relentless news cycle. But they should not be ignored...The allegations bring ill repute upon the people’s House and raise clear questions about the congressman’s fitness to serve, to be trusted with the levers of government and to have jurisdiction over matters of justice and national security."

Jolly's full op-ed is available at this link.