DailyMail.com readers have rejected Donald Trump’s Attorney General pick Matt Gaetz as unqualified, ‘creepy’, and tainted by scandal.
Just 36 percent of almost 10,000 poll respondents thought Gaetz should be the country’s next top lawman, with just 54 per cent hating the pick and 10 per cent voting that they were ‘unsure’.
Gaetz, 42, is under an ethics investigation over claims of sexual misconduct, bribery and drug use – which he denies – and was also the focus of a sex trafficking probe involving a 17-year-old girl.
Even Republican lawmakers were shocked by the selection, setting up an early loyalty test as the new GOP-controlled Senate plans confirmation hearings.
Similarly, readers who voted for Trump believed he blundered by nominating Gaetz.
‘I voted for Trump and support every nominee so far except the completely unacceptable Kristi Noem and now the equally unpalatable Matt Gaetz,’ one reader from Florida, which is Gaetz’s home state, wrote.
‘With all of the incredible attorneys out there who have Republican affiliation, why would he choose someone as radioactive as sleazeball Gaetz?
‘Take it from a Floridian, we can do a lot better than him as attorney general.’
DailyMail.com readers have rejected Donald Trump ‘s attoney-general pick Matt Gaetz as unqualified, ‘creepy’, and tainted by scandal
Gaetz, who married his wife Ginger Luckey in 2021, was the focus of a sex trafficking probe involving a 17-year-old girl
Another from Geatz’s state agreed that Trump would not look back on choosing Gaetz, Elon Musk, and others as good decisions.
‘Dear lord. Some of his picks are concerning. Matt Gaetz isn’t the best, or a solid choice. Between Elon now telling him how to run the country when he can’t run the businesses he has and Gaetz, he will regret it,’ the Orlando resident wrote.
A third reader from Denver added: ‘So, Trump picks Gaetz, the guy whose license had been suspended by his state, and who is under an ethics investigation, to be attorney general? Good grief.’
Another felt Trump hadn’t thought through his selections well enough.
‘I back Trump but I think this is a bad choice. He threw things into chaos without a plan to introduce something to replace it. Trump needs to pull that one back,’ they wrote.
Other readers not only disliked Gaetz for his scandals and credentials, but were turned off by his vibe and mannerisms.
‘I’ve got to be honest here. I’m a Trump voter, and there’s still something about Matt that creeps me out a bit,’ Mike from Nashville wrote.
‘That was the first nomination that made me wince. Call it discernment, intuition, perception… I don’t know. The eyes are a little bit crazy.’
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Just 36 per cent of thousands responding to a poll thought Gaetz should be the country’s next top lawman, with 54 saying no and 10 per cent unsure
Another from Pittsburgh added: ‘These charges against him sound like a really really bad guy, outside the normal definition of bad.
‘Plus his face and hair and eyebrows look bad too. In a line up of ten people if the question was pick out the bad guy you would pick him. Sometimes people show you who they are.
‘Plus his resignation from Congress is such a cooked up deal already. I have been OK with everything else but this guy but this feels crooked as hell.’
Gaetz did have some readers on his side, and many others who were just happy to see his nomination enrage Democrats.
‘I have to trust Trump’s thinking on this one as no one better than he has experienced the wrath of political injustice,’ one staunch Trump supporter wrote.
‘Gaetz is awesome, he interrogated the corrupt democrat AG so brilliantly he humiliated him, it was something to behold,’ another added.
‘Showed [Biden’s attorney-general Merrick] Garland to be the complete democrat hack he is, and the poetic justice that Gaetz will (hopefully) be replacing him.’
Gaetz resigned from Congress almost immediately after Trump’s nomination, meaning he was all-in on being confirmed and would be out of a job if the Senate rejected him.
Gaetz was brutally mocked after speaking at the Republican National Convention in August (right) with a face that looked starkly different to that in his official portrait (left)
Some readers thought this was part of the plan, as Gaetz’s nomination was too outrageous to be anything other than a ploy by Trump at his expense.
‘He knows he won’t get through… it’s a test and also one to get his 2nd choice through easily,’ one reader who said he was military on active duty wrote.
‘Horrible choice. The rest of the cabinet is okay. Maybe this is a favor to House Republicans, removing Gaetz from the House. Once he resigns as a congressman, Trump can fire him,’ another added.
Some of Trump’s other controversial cabinet and agency picks were speculated to be similar stalking horses, to soften up opposition for his real choices.
The same has been said of some Trump policies as well, with the most outlandish to be dumped in exchange for others being approved by Congress.
While Trump appears to be valuing staunch loyalty as a prerequisite for his choices to key posts over standard qualifications, the choice of Gaetz as the top law enforcement official in the land left many scratching their heads – if not scraping their jaws off the floor.
Republicans who had the Gaetz nomination thrown in their lap – apparently without prior consultation – revealed their shock both through their words and their silence.
Others like John Bolton, who was Trump’s UN ambassador and national security adviser, called for both Gaetz and director of national intelligence pick Tulsi Gabbard to be fully investigated by the FBI before hearings even began.
Gaetz, 42, is under investigation over claims of sexual misconduct, bribery and drug use – which he denies
He cited to News Nation the ongoing ethics investigation of Gaetz and Gabbard’s history of pro-Russian statements.
‘Given the Russian propaganda that she has espoused over the past period of time, I think she’s a serious threat to our national security.’ he said of Gabbard.
‘Up until a few hours ago, I would have said that was the worst cabinet appointment in recent American history. Of course, since Matt Gaetz’s nomination, he clearly has taken the lead on that score.’
Bolton said appointing Gabbard showed China that the Trump administration would not be serious about intelligence gathering.