Former GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was not so long ago one of President Donald Trump’s top allies.
But after a scandal when the House Ethics Committee accused Matt Gaetz last December of “regularly” paying for sex, including with a 17-year-old girl, and purchasing and using illicit drugs as a member of Congress, it sank his nomination for attorney general.
Now a trove of texts directed at his frustration of Trump have been released after Gaetz was caught texting his mom about the president on a commercial flight.
In a now-viral 72-second video — filmed by a passenger on a recent flight and posted on TikTok by user “tidesofmarch” — Gaetz’s conversation is in full view, thanks to a zoomed-in screen that made the message text larger.
Take a look —
@tidesofmarch Who’s running this country? 🙃 #politicalsatire #pov #lol #news #momsoftiktok #america #repost #learnontiktok #tiktok ♬ Farcry 3 Music – 🦊🎄KingSam🎄🦊
The user captioned the exchange “POV: You’re sitting behind Matt Gaetz and he’s texting his mommy.”
Gaetz’s mom, Vicky Gaetz, warned the ex-Florida congressman, “Don’t be criticizing the president or his actions. He’s trying to keep us safe. That’s his job. MAGA will turn on you. You will lose viewership.”
“Your days in congress are over … let’s not mess up the media gig,” she said of his job as host of “The Matt Gaetz Show” on One America News Network, which he started in January.
“The president has been a very good friend to you. He hates betrayal. Be smart, not stubborn,” his mom admonished.
“I’m trying to guide him, not criticize him,” Gaetz insisted.
“I’ve never been freer to share my views – and I’ll continue to do so. I think about the people who cheered for the Iraq war because they liked Bush. Those people have blood on their hands,” he said.
Vicky advised her son against trying to guide the notoriously independent-minded commander-in-chief, to which Gaetz replied, “Guiding DJT always includes a private and public component … I know how to do it.”
The text conversation then turned into a personal discussion of his finances, with his mother asking, “How many times do you want to hit the wall?”
Gaetz replied saying:
“I’m a happily married man with a son on the way, two penthouse condos, a 1:1 real estate asset to debt ratio … and $500k in my bank account cash.”
The conversation then veered to the topic of Iran, with Gaetz claiming the Islamic Republic has “been 3 months away from a nuke since 1992.”
Despite the gaffe, Gaetz responded on X in a lighthearted fashion.
“Apparently someone sitting behind me on a flight recorded me without my knowledge. They found me texting my mother about news of the day, family finances, and working on my laptop,” he wrote.
“Please let this be a reminder to everyone to CALL YOUR MOTHER! (and maybe get a screen protector).”