Matt Gaetz Rising or...

The Left gets the narrative they want but they once again underestimate Trump.

The question of the day is whether Matt Gaetz can be confirmed. The mainstream media says no. But Mark Halperin, during the morning meeting, said yes, and he thought he would. This is all anyone in politics will be talking about.

“MAGA will come hard after any senator who votes no,” he says.

Kevin McCarthy says, “Gaetz won’t get confirmed; everyone knows that.”

I’ve been watching 2Way for a while now. I find Halperin among the smartest people I’ve ever listened to - right up there with Real Clear Politics guys when talking shop. I like both Sean Spicer and Dan Turrentine. If you want to stay on top of the news, these two podcasts are essential listening. You can find RCP podcasts here.

2Way is genuinely objective, though I once had to turn it off because I thought Halperin was too partisan against Trump. I then had to tell myself to get over it. It’s good to hear different points of view as long as they don’t edge into mass hysteria territory, which is where most news outlets on the Left remain.

Tulsi Gabbard is a great choice. If there is one person I trust in government, it’s her. Pete Hegseth is a good choice too, though they’re beating both of them up in the press. I can see a scenario wherein a group of senators push back against Trump and refuse all of his picks except Marco Rubio. But he might as well go big or go home.

Matt Gaetz is one of the bravest people in Congress. Along with a handful of others (Jim Jordan, Harriet Hageman), he is one of the people I listen to during congressional hearings. Steve Bannon calls him the “firebrand.” He is an independent thinker and not strictly partisan.

Lee Fang wrote a defense of Gaetz from the progressive Left’s point of view. But here is the paragraph I like:

It is possible that Trump’s choice of Gaetz rests largely on his loyalty and his criticism of the handling of the January 6 investigation. He has been an outspoken critic of government overreach in prosecuting nonviolent participants in the riots. In his new role as attorney general, the Department of Justice will face a variety of challenges over the next year, including questions over how to pursue corporate mergers, government waste, and a variety of fraud cases pending before the courts.

Only two reps showed up to help the January 6th prisoners: Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene.

The first time around, Trump seemed to try to pick people the “swamp” would approve of, and they ate him alive. So why shouldn’t he now do what he wants to do? The Left would be hysterical no matter who he picked. The question is whether they can get confirmed.

Meanwhile, the Gaetz and Hegseth picks have the media in its happy place.

They’re already awash in their phantasmagoria of “retribution”:

I imagine there will be nothing but a tsunami of hysteria all day today, giving the Left what it has come to crave: a feeling of moral superiority.

So, what do you think of his choices?