Matt Gaetz Calls For Republicans To Stop Blaming Pelosi For 1/6 — Only Because It Might Mean More Defense Next Time
Some prominent Republicans made the effort to spend the January 6th anniversary of the attack on Congress carefully redirecting their constituents to blame House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the events of the day. Now Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is warning against that — because it might mean the next attack faces more force.
Instead of acknowledging that Donald Trump, then the President of the United States, invited his angriest fans to mass at the Capitol and let legislators know just how angry they were and Congress for doing its sworn duty and confirming the electoral vote, Republicans have pulled a redirection, in which they encourage supporters to blame Speaker Pelosi for not making sure the Capitol Building was secure enough when Trump’s angry supporters rushed the building.
However, in this clip, Matt Gaetz says that’s the wrong focus — because blaming Pelosi for not having enough security to stop Trump’s fans might encourage beefing up security before the next time.
.@RepMattGaetz: "Republican leadership tells our members – we should spend January 6 talking about Pelosi's failures. […] It seems to justify that enhanced utilization of the national security infrastructure against our people." (Video: "Firebrand" podcast) pic.twitter.com/R1RvuppE4Q
— The Hill (@thehill) January 9, 2022
“Part of the Republican response to all this concerns me, Darren. Republican leadership tells our members we should spend Jan 6 talking about Pelosi’s failures in not marshaling sufficient defenses. ‘Why weren’t there more National Guard on call,’ and ‘why didn’t we protect the Capitol more.’ What I worry about that is, it seems to justify that enhanced utilization of the National Security Iinfrasturctie against our people.”
He goes on to encourage, instead, a focus on the conspiracy theory that the FBI used a former military member to trick MAGA into attacking.
Other than the revelation that Republican leadership is encouraging Members to blame Pelosi, another key piece of information Gaetz seems to drop here is the phrase “our people” — a term that doesn’t seem like it would be the right one, if he genuinely believes the attack that day was really carried out not by Trump supporters, but by secret FBI operatives.
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