Matt Gaetz Caught Pushing Chinese Propaganda, Gets Called Out by Pentagon Official
Florida Representative Matt Gaetz has been caught in an embarrassing situation, and this one was caught on camera. It happened during a House Armed Services Committee hearing about Ukraine, where the Republican was caught saying Chinese propaganda and was called out for it.
The Republican was questioning U.S. Defense Undersecretary Colin Kahl, a top official at the Pentagon, and was trying to make a point about cutting off U.S. aid to Ukraine. However, in doing so, he pointed to a piece of Chinese propaganda as his evidence, according to Rolling Stone.
"Is the Azov Battalion getting access to U.S. weapons?" Gaetz asked the undersecretary during the hearing, The Azov Battalion is a controversial, far-right unit within Ukraine's national guard, and this line of questioning has Kahl confused.
He answered the question that he was unaware of this but told Gaetz that if he had any information about the Azov Battalion getting U.S. weapons, he would be happy to hear about it.
Gaetz then pointed to an article from The Global Times that the infamous right-wing group had been receiving U.S. weapons since 2018. However, Kahl pointed out to the controversial Republican congressman that The Global Times is an infamous Chinese propaganda mouthpiece.
"I'm sorry, is this the Global Times from China?" Kahl asked. This got Gaetz flustered before checking his notes and admitting that his source was indeed from the Chinese state government-run outlet.
Rep. Matt Gaetz asks about Global Times Investigative report.@DOD_Policy Kahl: "Is this the Global Times from China?"@RepMattGaetz: "No, this is well...yeah, it might be. Yeah..."
Kahl: "I don't take Beijing's propaganda at face value."
Gaetz: "Fair enough." pic.twitter.com/9XQewKdZeA— CSPAN (@cspan) February 28, 2023
"As a general matter, I don't take Beijing's propaganda at face value," Kahl told the Florida representative before Gaetz admitted that he does not have any other evidence. The undersecretary then reiterated that they should not take any piece of Chinese propaganda at face value.
The Global Times is an English-language tabloid published by the People's Daily, which is the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party. It has often been labeled as "China's Fox News." It had even been labeled by the Trump administration itself as a "foreign mission operating in the U.S."
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Matt Gaetz Was Trying to Justify Aid Cuts to Ukraine When He Cited Chinese Propaganda
Matt Gaetz, along with other prominent MAGA Republicans, has been trying to cut U.S. aid to Ukraine as the Eastern European country is trying to fend off an invasion from Russia.
According to The Independent, he has been repeatedly calling for the United States to end the country's assistance of Ukraine in its defense and was trying to make a point by stating that American-made weapons are being used by what Russian officials often claim to be a neo-Nazi militia.
Matt Gaetz Also Called Out for Inviting an Alleged Murderer to Recite the Pledge of Allegiance
During the House Judiciary Committee's first hearing of the session, Matt Gaetz introduced a special guest to lead the Pledge of Allegiance. His guest was Staff Sergeant Corey Ryan Beekman, whom Gaetz introduced as an "American hero" and a constituent in his district.
However, much like his Global Times blunder, Gaetz did not seem to know that the man he invited to lead the Pledge of Allegiance was previously charged with various crimes.
According to Vanity Fair, Beekman was charged with open murder, assault with intent to murder, and two counts of felony firearms in Michigan back in 2019.
The case against Beekman was dropped as the woman who survived his attack refused to testify. However, this means that the door is still open for him to be charged again in the future should she change her mind.
The family of the man he killed, 32-year-old Billy Buchanan, decried Gaetz's invite of the alleged murderer and was also called out by Democrat Eric Swalwell. Gaetz would later apologize for inviting the alleged murderer to be the one to lead the pledge.
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This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Rick Martin
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