Gaetz, meanwhile, remains largely popular in his heavily pro-Trump, Panhandle district. Greene was stripped of her committee assignments and forced to apologize on the House floor for her past support of QAnon and other conspiracy theories and for spreading racist tropes.īut she refused to resign, and saw her fundraising spike and her star only brighten in certain conservative circles. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is also on Friday night’s Doral program and has pursued a push-forward-at-all-costs strategy. “So, when women don’t fit that image, it definitely becomes a point of criticism.”Īn exception is Republican Georgia Rep. “Women in general, but in politics too, are perceived as more honest and moral and trustworthy,” Conroy said. Meredith Conroy, a political science professor at California State University at San Bernardino and author of several books, including “Masculinity, Media, and the American Presidency,” said women tend to be more damaged than their male counterparts by scandal.
“Women are damned if they do, damned if they don’t.” They double down, they deny and they hope that it will just sort of pass them by,” said Democratic strategist Nicole Brener-Schmitz. Katie Hill resigned in 2019 after admitting to inappropriate relationships with two staffers. Male politicians seem more likely to employ the tactic. The political fallout eventually calmed and staying put allowed Northam to win praise for handling Virginia’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. Northam apologized while acknowledging he was the one in the robe. Ralph Northam balked at resigning in 2019, when a picture surfaced from a 1984 medical school yearbook showing one man in blackface and another wearing a Ku Klux Klan robe. Andrew Cuomo has steadfastly refused to resign despite several sexual misconduct allegations that spurred calls from some of the most powerful members of his own party for him to step aside.ĭemocratic Virginia Gov. Republican strategist Rick Wilson said, “Trump sees in Matt Gaetz what he wanted in everyone else,” adding that, in many ways, the congressman is “the son he never had.”īut Gaetz isn’t alone in refusing to bend in the face of a political storm.ĭemocratic New York Gov. “When you see the anonymous sources and insiders forecasting my demise, know this: They aren’t really coming for me. Gaetz repeated baseless claims that the election was stolen from Trump and suggested for the cheering crowd that he was a “wanted man by the deep state.” 6 “March for Trump” rally in Washington that ended with a mob storming the U.S. The sponsor of Friday evening’s event also organized the Jan. Gaetz is emulating the former president’s approach and appealing to his most loyal supporters. But after spending the past several years as one of Trump’s fiercest public defenders, Gaetz’s game plan strongly mirrors the former president’s approach.Īfter a video emerged in the final weeks of the 2016 campaign of him boasting of grabbing women by the genitals, Trump apologized “if anyone was offended” and dismissed the episode as “locker room talk.” He refused calls by some in his own party to leave the presidential ticket and won the election just weeks later.Īs president, Trump would respond to one burgeoning scandal after another by constantly moving ahead, making it harder for the public to linger on one issue for too long, even if that meant stirring up fresh controversy on another topic. Gaetz’s political future remains in question and could fully disintegrate, depending on how the federal probe unfolds. “Clearly this is a new strategy people are employing in crisis response,” said Brent Colburn, a Democratic strategist and veteran of President Barack Obama’s administration. Rather than humbly step back from public life, they barrel ahead, insisting they did nothing wrong and betting that voters will forget alleged misdeeds once the news cycle eventually shifts. The third-term congressman joins a growing list of politicians from both parties - almost exclusively men - who are defying the traditional response to controversy. “The smears against me range from distortions of my personal life to wild - and I mean wild - conspiracy theories.” “I’m built for the battle and I’m not going anywhere,” Gaetz said. Matt Gaetz of Florida has denied the allegations, rebuffed suggestions that he resign and sent fundraising appeals that portray him as a victim of a “smear campaign.” During a high-profile appearance Friday night at former President Donald Trump’s Doral golf club in Miami, he vowed, “I have not yet begun to fight.” Not anymore.Įmbroiled in a federal sex trafficking investigation, Rep. MIAMI (AP) - The mere whiff of a scandal once unraveled political careers with stunning speed. Business & Finance Click to expand menu.
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