Donald Trump just nominated Matt Gaetz for Attorney General – and it could backfire spectacularly
In this cartoonishly dark new era where anything sounds plausible no matter how ridiculously awful, nothing should come as a surprise. But when the news broke moments ago that Donald Trump had nominated Matt Gaetz for Attorney General of the United States, I’ll admit I thought it was just a prank. Even Trump, in his fully unhinged and fully senile condition, wouldn’t do that, would he? Yes, he would. He just did.
Here’s the thing. This Republican Senate, with votes to spare, is likely to rubber stamp most of Trump’s cabinet nominees. But the Gaetz pick is so uniquely inappropriate, and moreover the optics are so uniquely bad, it might actually fail. The DOJ criminally investigated Gaetz for alleged underage sex trafficking and reportedly only declined to prosecute him because a cooperating witness fell apart, and now Trump wants to put Gaetz in charge of the DOJ? This is really the kind of headline that Trump wants right out of the gate?
Not only is this terrible optics for Trump, it’s also a very risky move. The Republican controlled House Ethics Committee has an ongoing probe into Gaetz’s alleged improprieties, and could spring the report at any time. If Gaetz’s enemies in the Republican House decide to kneecap this nomination, they can do it. They can make the specter of a confirmation process such a nightmare that Trump ends up having to withdraw the pick before it even gets that far.
The Gaetz pick is such an absurd notion that I almost wonder if it’s a smokescreen. Trump and his babysitters may be thinking that if they start off by floating someone as cartoonishly inappropriate as Gaetz, then once his nomination fails they can then quietly sneak through their actual pick. But if this is their strategy, they’re very naive. A failed attempt at filling a position as high profile as Attorney General would be a body blow to Trump’s political viability right out of the gate – especially a failed attempt that involves phrases like “alleged underage sex trafficking.” This pick can’t be for real, can it? They can’t be this dumb, can they?
We’ll see what happens. Trump’s problem is that for every establishment Republican pick he makes, such as Marco Rubio for Secretary of State, he alienates his base. And for every unhinged pick he makes to please his base, such as Matt Gaetz for Attorney General, he alienates traditional Republicans. Trump is making a mess for himself. This Gaetz nomination suggests that the people around him, helping him call the shots, are woefully inept at understanding how politics works – and that’s good for us.
So what do we do? Push back on the Matt Gaetz pick as loudly as possible. Also push back on the Tulsi Gabbard pick as loudly as possible. Trump is handing us easy material to use against him, so let’s use it. If these two picks make it as far as confirmation hearings, that’s when we’ll start strategically leaning on the Republican Senators least loyal to Trump (Murkowski etc). But it’s not just about defeating these nominations. It’s about using these ludicrously scandalous nominations as fodder for driving Trump’s approval rating into the gutter before he even takes office. Remember, when it comes to stopping a President’s agenda in its tracks, low approval rating is everything.
