'He looks very unhinged:' Gaetz roasted by McCarthy over alleged sex and drug scandals
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy roasted Rep. Matt Gaetz on live television Thursday morning, going so far as to suggest the MAGA firebrand who orchestrated his ouster was taking drugs.
"I don't know if he's on something, but I hope he gets the help that he needs," McCarthy told CNN's Manu Raju. "He looks very unhinged."
Tensions mounted between the two rivals during this week's Republican National Convention after Gaetz (R-FL) heckled McCarthy (R-CA) in the middle of an interview with Raju's CNN colleague Kaitlan Collins.
Gaetz had to be pulled away by bystanders as he taunted McCarthy, "If you took that stage, you would get booed off of it!"
Days later, a seething McCarthy replied, "I hope that young women get the justice they deserve when it comes to him."
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"You're referring to the House Ethics committee investigation that is ongoing?" Raju asked.
"Yeah, with his partner in jail because they paid under age women for sex and drugs," McCarthy replied.
McCarthy was referring to Gaetz' former associate and friend Joel Greenberg who was sentenced to 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to felony sex trafficking charges.
The Justice Department investigated Gaetz but opted not to present charges. Greenberg is now reportedly cooperating with an Ethics committee investigation into Gaetz, who denies wrongdoing.
On Thursday, McCarthy doubled down on an oft-repeated accusation, which Gaetz denies, that the Florida lawmaker orchestrated the House speakership ouster.
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McCarthy contends Gaetz retaliated when McCarthy refused to kill another Ethics committee investigation into Gaetz years earlier.
"That's what the whole motion to vacate was about," McCarthy said. "He wanted to leverage me to try to do that, and if I didn't, he wanted to do a motion to vacate."
Raju then showed McCarthy images of Gaetz' RNC speech — which spurred much debate about the limits of botox — and asked how the retired congressmen felt about Gaetz' elevated position with former President Donald Trump.
"Are you concerned he's getting the platform here?" Raju asked.
"Well, no, I have concerns with his actions with young women," McCarthy said. "It doesn't matter which party you're in, but if you take those types of actions, I just don't think that's safe."
McCarthy suggested he was not the only one to take umbrage with Gaetz's behavior.
"You see him in Congress, do you think anybody else wants to be around him?" asked McCarthy. "Do you think people want to associate? No, everybody knows his challenges."