Gaetz Taunts McCarthy on Floor of Convention

Florida lawmaker interrupts live TV interview to mock rival's lack of speaking invitation
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 16, 2024 8:44 PM CDT
Gaetz Taunts McCarthy on Floor of Convention
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., arrives during the second day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum, Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in Milwaukee.   (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The bad blood between former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Rep. Matt Gaetz spilled back into public view at the GOP convention on Tuesday night. As McCarthy, who is no longer in Congress, was giving a live TV interview to CNN, Gaetz approached and began taunting him about not getting an invitation to speak, reports USA Today. Watch the moment here. And from the TV viewer's perspective here.

  • "What night are you speaking?" Gaetz asked sarcastically. "Are you speaking tonight?" After being pulled away briefly, he added, "If you took that stage, you would get booed off of it."
  • Afterward, McCarthy told Politico he thought it was someone pestering him for a selfie and didn't realize it was Gaetz. "The poor guy was losing his mind," he said. "That's the fear of going to jail, I think." Gaetz, meanwhile, said he interrupted McCarthy because McCarthy was saying "untrue things about me."

  • The background: Gaetz introduced a successful measure to remove McCarthy from his speakership, and McCarthy has since been campaigning against Gaetz allies in what has been labeled his "revenge tour," per the New York Times.
  • In the TV interview interrupted by Gaetz, McCarthy referenced an ongoing House panel investigation into alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use by the Florida lawmaker. "He's got an ethics complaint about paying, sleeping with a 17-year-old," said McCarthy.
  • In regard to the convention, Gaetz is a scheduled speaker, though it's not clear which night he will take the stage. McCarthy is a "notable" absence, per USA Today.
  • GOP Rep. Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania said he would refrain from saying "anything negative about Gaetz," but he added that Gaetz has a "way of drawing the spotlight to himself when it's not on him," reports the Hill. "And that's not helpful."
(More Matt Gaetz stories.)

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