Matt Gaetz Offends Pro-Abortion Protesters, Owns It

CLAY: I think the ultimate legacy of Donald Trump — may well win again the presidency in 2024 and be president again. And we are scheduled right now, by the way, to have Donald Trump on with us on Friday. We’re looking forward to that. I’m gonna play in the LIV Pro-Am tour at Bedminster, his course outside of New York City. I’m flying up to New York City right at the end of the show today and I’ll be with, Buck. We’re going to go out and have dinner — not a steak dinner yet ’cause I haven’t won those.

But I think the one legacy of Donald Trump that is going to continue for a long time is he basically convinced Republicans, you don’t have to beg for the approval of the Washington Post, the New York Times, MSNBC, CNN. If you’re trending on social media, somebody’s mad about what you said, don’t apologize for it. Own it, and eventually they move on. And that’s great, I think, advice for anyone out there in the world of public affairs at all.

Say what you mean, own it, don’t apologize, don’t curl up in the fetal position, because if you don’t apologize, eventually they move on to people who are willing to apologize. The Mitt Romneys of the world, as it were. Okay. So Matt Gaetz, congressman from the Panhandle in Florida, was speaking at a Turning Point USA event I believe down in Tampa over the weekend, and he had this to say about the people who were out protesting.

BUCK: The blue-haired, abortion-marching protest ladies did not like this, Clay. (laughing)

CLAY: Okay. So it’s funny, right? He’s making jokes. He’s making fun of them. They were not happy, and they got their media friends to confront Matt Gaetz. You just heard what he said at Turning Point. Obviously having some fun, making a joke. And there may be some truth behind what I said.

BUCK: Oh, there’s definitely some truth behind the blue-haired angry lady thing.

CLAY: I would just say this in general. If you are the kind of person who protests anything, outdoors on a regular basis, I think you need a little bit more of a life. I just am saying, and I give more credit to at least people who protest in person than the people who protest from their phones ’cause at least the people, to his point, who are protesting in person are willing to stand outdoors with placards and move around as opposed to just sending tweets.

BUCK: And an important clarification: When we talk about blue-haired protesters, we’re not talking about elderly folks.

CLAY: Yeah.

BUCK: That’s “silver-haired.” Blue hair, we mean electric dyed blue, like what you would expect a clown to do. This is popular among the left-wing protest set. Anyway.

CLAY: So Matt Gaetz is confronted. You just heard what he said. He’s confronted by a media member who is upset. There’s outrage. Evidently, people are really angry at Matt Gaetz for what he said at the Turning Point event. Listen to this. I promise you this is how to handle when people get upset with you.

BUCK: (laughing)

CLAY: Listen.

CLAY: (laughing)

BUCK: (laughing) I gotta say, he’s leaning into it.

CLAY: Own it. Right? They don’t want… There’s nothing that Matt Gaetz could say at this point that is going to keep the people… This is not about being offended; they hate him, right? They hate him and everything that he represents. Why would you apologize to people who hate you? They don’t want an apology. They want you weak.

BUCK: All he would do, if he engaged — and to your point about what Trump taught the GOP, there are many important things. One of the most important is, the moment you start prevaricating and waffling and, “Oh, I didn’t mean everybody at the march,” blah, blah, blah, then they just… Then they see you, it’s like you’re —

CLAY: Blood in the water.

BUCK: — the guy who’s backing away while someone’s coming at them throwing punches is gonna be on his back foot. That’s not where you want to be. So he just leans into it; throws a little haymaker there. It was good.

CLAY: I want to hear that one more time, ’cause people out there may not… It’s fast. It’s only like 11 seconds. This is what I had to deal with, Buck, when I went on and said I believe in the First Amendment and boobs, right, like, on CNN, and immediately there’s this demand. “Oh, you’ve got to apologize!” No, I never… If we get something wrong, like, we’ll say, “On this show like the other day…”

BUCK: You just said that, like, out of nowhere, right? You just were like, “I like the First Amendment…” Like, she didn’t ask you, “Clay, what are the two most important things to you,” and you responded “First Amendment and boobs,” right?

CLAY: No, but I mean I’ve been saying that on the radio for a long time because if you say, like, “I’m a First Amendment absolutist,” it goes over people’s heads because so many people claim that. So the only two things that have never let me down, the First Amendment and boobs, like, it’s a crime.

BUCK: What was the subject of the segment, by the way? I never even asked you.

CLAY: It was about whether Jemele Hill at ESPN should be fired for her comments about Donald Trump, and my argument is always, “No, I don’t think people should be fired for what they say. I think they should own it.” So, yeah, that clip is still circulating. Every now and then it goes viral again on TikTok, Instagram. My 14-year-old —

BUCK: I could get Brooke Baldwin out to dinner. Do we want to have a beer summit where you guys bury the hatchet?

CLAY: I don’t have anything against her. She’s the one who demanded I apologize.

BUCK: Yeah, I know.

CLAY: I would be happy to meet her. I’ve heard she’s not a bad person. I think she just worked at an awful place at the time.

BUCK: I think that’s true.

CLAY: Yes. So let’s listen one more time to Matt Gaetz. You heard the jokes, and here is the response.

CLAY: Oh, I just love it. I love it, Buck.

BUCK: They really hate Matt Gaetz. The libs, the left, they’ve spread lies about him. They’ve tried to go after him. They’ve suggested that any moment now, he’s gonna be locked up criminally. I mean, they hate him. They will lie about him, they will smear him, and I think that that he’s at the, “I don’t give a what” phase of his dealings with the libs, and that’s what you’re seeing there, you know. So…

CLAY: But there’s nothing that you could say that would make them happy there. Just say, be offended. Like, being offended is not a point of pride. We have to stop treating people who are offended as if they deserve something. You can be offended all the time. You’re entitled to have any opinion you want. Why should I care if you’re offended by something that I said?

BUCK: And also the people who are at these pro-abortion rallies, they’re wrong and it’s sick and it’s weird and they’re unhappy people, and we’re allowed to say that because that is overwhelmingly the case. So that’s also the truth. So there you go.

CLAY: If you’re upset, be offended. We gotta stop this idea of this ritualization of apologizing and being offended is fine. Like, there’s nothing in the United States Constitution that says you can’t be offended. In fact, get out there and make the argument on the contrary, but why do I care if you’re offended? Good for Matt Gaetz for standing up behind his joke and just saying, deal with it.