Rep. Matt Gaetz is showing off his Cuban-born “son” (who is not black) to prove to everyone, especially African American Rep. Cedric Richmond, that he (Gaetz) totes understands what it’s like to have a black son. And what better place to prove that racial sensitivity than on Tucker Carlson’s White Power Hour?
In case you missed it, Gaetz pulled a stunt designed to make racial hay during debate on the Democrats’ Justice in Policing Act. Richmond said he was fed up with “moving at a snail’s pace” toward reform and that his all-white Republican colleagues do not understand there is a crisis because they “do not know what it is like to be an African-American male.”
Well, that got Mr. White Privilege Gaetz in a huff and don’t tell me he wasn’t waiting for a moment to grab the spotlight away from the Uppity Blacks and prove he’s just as sensitive as anyone to being black in America because some of his best relatives are black. And not, coincidentally, derail the debate from police reform.
Yesterday, Gaetz “proved” his black-sensitivity bonafides with a tweet about his “son.”
For all those wondering, this is my son Nestor. We share no blood but he is my life. He came from Cuba (legally, of course) six years ago and lives with me in Florida.
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) June 18, 2020
I am so proud of him and raising him has been the best, most rewarding thing I’ve done in my life. pic.twitter.com/JB96wzOzYU
Twitter had a field day with this. I will just say that in a People interview, Gaetz revealed he never adopted Nestor, declined to discuss Nestor’s current relationship with his biological family and said, “Our relationship as a family is defined by our love for each other, not by any paperwork. … [Nestor] is my son in every conceivable way, and I can’t imagine loving him any more if he was my own flesh and blood.”
People also noted, “The second-term Republican congressman from Florida's Panhandle had not publicly identified himself as a father before this week and his office has said that he did not have kids.”
Oh, and one other thing: The People article has several photos of Nestor that make it very clear he’s not black. As did Nestor's appearance in this segment,
But maybe all people of color are the same to folks like Carlson and Gaetz. Gaetz turned up on the Tucker Carlson Tonight show last night, Nestor in tow, to play the white victim of discrimination, a favorite Tucker trope.
Carlson opened the interview with this comment:
CARLSON: When you attack people on the basis of their race and their children, you get exchanges like that. It's disgusting. Of course, Cedric Richmond will never be disciplined for it.
Of course, there was no discussion about why Richmond felt an urgent need for significant change. No, it was all about Gaetz as white martyr and racial hero. The unspoken message was, of course, Richmond is the real bigot and racial villain.
GAETZ: I believe everyone should be able to participate if they're black, white or otherwise, and it's certainly offensive to have someone tell you that, you know, you don't know what a certain experience is like when they know nothing about you.
…
I'm honestly embarrassed for the United States Congress that we've resorted to criticizing each other based on our race and the race of our children and I wish that we would be more productive going forward.
This is a load of BS. Had Gaetz wanted to be “more productive,” he would have conducted a respectful dialogue with Richmond instead of going for an anti-black YouTube moment.
Gaetz continued with his phony-baloney racial victimhood:
GAETZ: And I've raised Nestor to believe that in our family, we treat everyone equally. It doesn't matter what their background is, what their race is, we treat every American with respect.
We got to hear from Nestor, himself:
NESTOR GALBAN: I think it's kind of unfair to not -- to tell someone that they don't understand because they don't have, like, because of their racial color, while like, he is fighting for equality, but if you tell someone to not get involved, that he doesn't understand because of his color, you're kind of being a hypocrite there.
Before closing, Carlson and Gaetz got in one last racial dig at Richmond:
CARLSON: Saying something like this out loud seems like the kind of thing that, you know, in normal times you'd be censured for.
GAETZ: I cannot believe that it's acceptable in the United States Congress for someone to tell someone else that they're fighting for their children more than they are.
You can watch Gaetz’s latest racial stunt below, from the June 18, 2020 Tucker Carlson Tonight.
He is not a father, and he did not rear Nestor from anything like childhood. He has no credibility in this matter, and Richmond was absolutely correct to school Gaetz on his viciousness. If anyone should be apologizing to the Congress, it’s Matt Gaetz.