Mike Pence’s former chief-of-staff Marc Short shrugged off Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz’s criticism of his old boss on Monday night, after the Florida congressman mocked Pence at a young Republican conference over the weekend.
Gaetz told a crowd of millennial and Gen Z conservatives on Saturday night that Pence ‘will never be president’ and said he was a ‘nice guy, not a leader’ in response to speculation over the former vice president considering a White House bid.
The firebrand Republican also ridiculed pro-choice women by stating they are too unattractive and overweight to get pregnant.
‘I don’t know if Mike Pence will run for president in 2024, but I don’t think Matt Gaetz will have an impact on that,’ Short said on CNN.
He took a swipe at Gaetz over his ongoing federal sex trafficking probe involving a 17-year-old girl. The congressman was accused of paying for the teenager to travel across state lines in order to have sex with her.
‘I’d be surprised if he was still voting, it’s more likely he’ll be in prison for child sex trafficking by 2024,’ Short said.
‘And I’m actually surprised that Florida law enforcement still allows him to speak to teenage conferences like that. So, I’m not too worried about Matt Gaetz.’
Gaetz had laughed off anger at his derogatory comments about women, telling those upset to ‘be offended.’
Marc Short shrugged off Matt Gaetz’s ridiculing of Pence’s potential White House ambitions over the weekend, telling CNN on Monday: ‘I’d be surprised if he was still voting, it’s more likely he’ll be in prison for child sex trafficking by 2024’
The Florida congressman on Saturday joked about the demonstrations against the Supreme Court’s repeal of Roe v. Wade, mocking those who wanted to protect access to abortion nationwide.
‘Why is it that the women with the least likelihood of getting pregnant are the ones most worried about having abortions?’ Gaetz told college students at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Tampa.
‘Nobody wants to impregnate you if you look like a thumb.’
On Monday, he was asked to explain his comments.
‘I’m very pro-life and I make no apology for it,’ the 40-year-old said.
‘I’m grateful that Roe has been overturned and that Dobbs is now the jurisprudence on abortion. I find these people that go out in these pro-abortion, pro-murder rallies odious – and just, like, ugly on the inside and out. I make no apology for it.’
He said he didn’t think everyone who disagreed with him was ‘an ugly person’, but condemned those who protested outside the homes of the Supreme Court justices and called for a ‘night of rage’ in Washington DC.
Gaetz was asked by Channel 3: ‘Is it safe to say that, based off your comments, you’re suggesting that these women at these abortion rallies are ugly and overweight?’
Matt Gaetz on Monday said he stood by his labelling of pro-choice activists as ‘ugly and overweight’
The 40-year-old on Saturday told the Turning Point summit (pictured): ‘Why is it that the women with the least likelihood of getting pregnant are the ones most worried about having abortions? Nobody wants to impregnate you if you look like a thumb’
‘Yes,’ he replied.
Asked: ‘What do you say to people who think those comments are offensive?’ the congressman replied: ‘Be offended.’
Gaetz has denied the sex-trafficking allegations against him, and no charges have been filed against him. The New York Times first reported the existence of the federal investigation into Gaetz in March 2021.
‘These people are odious on the inside and out,’ Gaetz said at the summit. ‘They’re like 5’2″, 350 pounds and they’re like, “Give me my abortions or I’ll get up and march and protest.” And I’m thinking, “March?” You look like you got ankles weaker than the legal reasoning behind Roe v. Wade.
‘A few of them need to get up and march. They need to get up and march for like an hour a day, swing those arms, get the blood pumping, maybe mix in a salad.’
It’s not the first time he has ridiculed those campaigning to uphold Roe v. Wade.
In May, when the draft Supreme Court decision leaked, Gaetz made his disdain for their activism clear.
‘How many of the women rallying against overturning Roe are over-educated, under-loved millennials who sadly return from their protests to a lonely microwave dinner with their cats, and no bumble matches?’ Gaetz tweeted.
Members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus and leaders from CPD Action affiliate organizations march on July 19 to demand abortion access
Activists and politicians protest in Washington DC on July 19
The decision to repeal Roe v. Wade has sparked angry protests nationwide
Crowds of both anti-abortion and abortion rights protesters are seen inside Indiana’s state senate on Monday
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