Florida (Congress)Man Matt Gaetz has long been one of the loudest and dumbest of all the House Republicans. He’s corrupt, he’s racist, he yells a lot and this week, he was part of a thing in a House Judiciary Committee debate about the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Rep. Cedric Richmond spoke about being a black man and raising black children in America. Matt Gaetz, who at the moment of this hearing was thought to be an unmarried, childless 38-year-old man, decided to get into it with Rep. Richmond. Here’s the video:
It was widely believed that Matt Gaetz was having what’s known as a “racist’s temper tantrum about his theoretical non-white children” when he shrieked “who the hell do you think you are?!!?” at Rep. Richmond. It was though that Rep. Gaetz had just shown his ass yet again and the video went viral because of the sheer visual of a white man condescendingly whitesplaining “fathering non-white children” to a black Congressman. Then things got… uh, interesting? This is what Gaetz posted on Twitter yesterday:
Nestor turned 19 a few days ago & will be off to University. He arrived here at 12.
As you can imagine, I was triggered when (to make an absurd debate point) a fellow congressman diminished the contributions of Republicans because we don’t raise non-white kids.
Well, I have.
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) June 18, 2020
“…This is my son Nestor. We share no blood but he is my life. He came from Cuba (legally, of course) six years ago and lives with me in Florida… Nestor turned 19 a few days ago & will be off to University. He arrived here at 12.” Well. Not to nit-pick (I mean…) but Rep. Richmond was speaking about black children. Not white-passing Cuban large adult sons.
The best case scenario – out of all of the scenarios out there – is that Gaetz has more of a “big brother” relationship with Nestor, who truly looks like he’s easily in his mid to late 20s. The best case scenario is that Nestor and Gaetz have some kind of informal bond and that Gaetz genuinely loves Nestor and thinks of him as a son, and now that Nestor is old enough, Gaetz speaks about him publicly… to score nonsensical political points, like “how dare you not know about the Cuban son I’ve been hiding for six years, HOW DARE YOU!”
But of course there are many, MANY not-so-great scenarios. Incidentally, Rep. Gaetz was the only “no” vote on an anti-human trafficking bill in 2017. He was the only person in Congress who was actively against protecting vulnerable children being trafficked, often across borders. I mean, where do we start? Gaetz has actually made references to Nestor before, like the time he described his beloved son as a “local student.”
Or the time he referred to Nestor as his “helper.”
about that "son" of his… pic.twitter.com/ROS8niJ9t8
— Florida Chris (@chrislongview) June 18, 2020
Or the time he invited Nestor to meet Don Trump Jr. *hork*
And yet with all of these Nestor appearances, Gaetz’s biographies online were never updated, and he’s been listed as unmarried and childfree all this time. His official campaign bios even mention his DOG, but not his beloved adopted son??? And so far no one can find any paperwork on this alleged “adoption.” I’m just… I hope Nestor is okay. He’s on Twitter, replying to his daddy’s tweet (HORK) and he seems to be fine. I mean… oh God.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, social media.
This might be the best mysterious republican creepiness since whatever went down with Ted Cruz & his neighbour (allegedly involving someone’s 18+ son sleeping with someone’s under age daughter. Allegedly.) I hope we get more answers to this one than we did with the Cruz neighbour drama.
Rand Paul?
Yeah, I meant Rand Paul. A bit of wishful thinking that someone would wail on Cruz came through there.
For a moment there I thought you meant that Rand Paul was the one who got with the underage girl! o.0
there’s no fucking way that that is his actual adopted child that he has been actually raising since he was 12. no fucking way.
I know, isn’t this great?
“Was that a nerve?”
I am from Florida therfore I have a right to speak on this matter.
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
Matt Gaetz is PURE CONCENTRATED EVIL!
You can see by looking at his face that Gaetz is malevolent. The question is will he be voted out next election?
He is straight from central casting – if one is seeking a villian.
He makes a movie jerk like Biff look like a gentle puppy dog.
Gaetz has a wicked case of Heat Miser mouth.
I thought Nestor is the brother of an ex-girlfriend.
@ Chica1971, he is actually the son of a girl he dated that passed away. Also, I want to clarify that Nestor has NOT been with him since he was 12, as he moved in with his biological father. Once Nestor was 18, he moved in with Gaetz, and is not adopted by him, just a mentor of sorts. I don’t know how much contact they had, if any, as Gaetz has not shared anything.
@Naturelover if he moved in at 18, even if they maintained a relationship after the sister was no longer involved with Gaetz (I’d heard they split and she moved out, not that she passed) referring to Nestor as his son or adopted son and claiming to have raised him ( “. . . raising him has been the best, most rewarding thing I’ve done in my life.”) is an outright lie. The more he talks about it and the more info that becomes public, the more it sounds like he started grooming Nestor when he acted his his then GF’s attorney to get joint custody of him
Ok so I fell in the rabbit hole last night because I could not believe that this was real.
There are court documents that show Gaetz was the attorney to help Nestor’s sister Marisel adopt Nestor in 2016. Gaetz supposedly was dating the sister at the time and so the best spin is that he acted as a father figure to Nestor over the years. He did not legally adopt him. Plus the state department only shows one adoption of a Cuban child between 1998 and 2018 and it is a female child.
There are also Facebook excerpts with comments under photos of Nestor that say hijo, which is Spanish for son, and so it appears as though the mother is still living in Havana.
In short Gaetz remains a liar and is doubly horrible for using this person as a shield for his racist remarks. That’s gross even if he legally adopted this guy.
I was in the rabbit hole, too, so incredibly surreal. But the scoop about helping Nestor’s sister adopt him is a good one. And sounds aboveboard. So why does it feel so sketchy and strange? I guess using someone out of convenience as a political prop will do that.
that makes me even more curious – he’s not still dating the sister, correct? when did they break up? why is Nestor living with him and not the sister who is his actual legal guardian?
also, why does Nestor look like he’s 25-30 years old in that photo with Don Jr lmao.
The ex-girlfriend thing would make sense to me, except that Gaetz’s phrasing is still weird. He talks about how he has been here for years and Gaetz raised him and its his son. So where is the sister/guardian??
I thought the story is that the ex-girlfriend died. ??
The story said by his sister (Erin Gaetz) is that the mother died and he was dating the sister, who it seems has gotten arrested herself.
There are court documents online about the adoption which confirms he was only the lawyer.
The other angle to this story is far darker and many people have pointed out that Gaetz was the only one to vote against a human trafficking bill recently.
In any case Gaetz is a lying clown and a racist. No fake adopted son will change that.
People on twitter were saying Matty is gay and the son isn’t really the son. Also, the mother is very much alive because she posted photos of the son on facebook.
Matty did a dumb interview on People today and he acknowledged there’s no paperwork for the “adoption.” He also said he’s an involved father and everyone in Nestor’s soccer team knows he’s a dad. I would politely request that those soccer parents attest to this.
Nestor has both still living mother and father, his father lives in Florida. Gaetz’s sister lied about the mother having died of cancer 8 years ago and Mat adopting the boy at 12.Lies And with both parents alive and at least one of them residing in Florida why would there be any need for an adoption? And why was a teenager living with a non-related adult, without his supposed guardian sister being present?
Gaetz met Nestor during a page internship in Florida H ouse in 206, found him cute and took him home. He has it done before, sleeping with interns. but this one happened to be 15 yo in 2016, so he was underage, and may I mention it again: living with an unrelated adult!
This is a Pool Boy situation.
Grooming alert!! He called him a page, his helper & now his son. This is frighteningly bad for this young man. Now there’s no adoption record after he said he adopted this young man. Matt has a bunch of do you eyes and no adoption agency with Hannah child over to him also how many Cuban boys were being adopted into the US eight years ago? I know the answer… It’s none
I hope this young man is OK I hope he gets away. I’m also worried about Scarlet the dog
What BayTampabay said: Gaetz is evil. And that young man is being exploited by Gaetz. Obviously, there is no bar below which he will not sink.
I call BS for a different reason. In order to be a Congressional page, you must be at least 16. The tweet he posted describing Nestor was 4 years ago, so there is no way Nestor “just turned 19 a few days ago.”
This was the WEIRDEST thing yesterday.
As an initial point – Nestor being his son does nothing to invalidate Rep Richmond’s comments. It actually validates them. The comment that set Gaetz off was that Richmond said that he knew people in the Republican party had black sons, and he cared about them too and didn’t want them to die (which seems reasonable) and that he cared about them more than the Rs did, apparently, because he is trying to protect them.
so Gaetz having a Cuban son does NOTHING to prove that point wrong, it just makes it more true. It was about the steps the representatives can take to protect minorities from police, steps Gaetz is not willing to take.
Anyway – that said.
Like you said Kaiser the BEST CASE here is still really weird, that Gaetz has this father-son relationship with Nestor (why is he here in the US? where are his parents? Gaetz never adopted him) that he kept hidden for “reasons” and decided at this moment to introduce him to score political points.
And there are so many other possibilities that this just gets weirder and weirder.
Also Gaetz’s behavior during that hearing was in violation of House rules. He may have been facing a reprimand for it , as it wasn’t his first time, and decided to distract with whatever this is. There seems to be no record of a legal adoption.
Gaetz, like all dumb racists, can’t handle it when the conversation isn’t about them.
Florida allows people to adopt Adults. Remember the man that adopted his fiancée a few years back
But he allegedly adopted him when he was 12. Again, it’s nice to adopt an older child, but why keep him hidden. MAGAs were screaming that he hid him because the evil Dems would want to kill him, lol. This seriously is one of the weirdest developments of late. I almost felt like he and Tucker Carlson were punking us. It seemed so staged. So awkward.
@Esmom: I read someone suggest that it was staged in a sense to draw focus from Bolton’s book.
Betsy, Yes that makes sense, I guess. That Gaetz would step up for Trump like that but holy hell what a weird way to do it. He and Nestor’s “I love you” tweets were so strange.
I wish someone would just be like “Hey Gaetz, don’t you have a DUI to be getting so your daddy can sweep it under the rug?”
Christ these people are loathsome
Oh fck on that video someone posted, Gaetz says he’s out at his family’s house in Walton County! And calls Nestor his helper! Oh fck, that’s my area! I hate Gaetz! White people out here think they are not racist lol. I’m white btw. But anyway but I’m so sickened by what white people are posting nowadays! As a white person who has been married to a black man, I can tell you his experiences are totally different than mine. And these so called non racist whites don’t know to act when they see a mixed couple. So much ignorance, why can’t we just listen to other races? Why are we always so defensive and dismissive when they speak out about their experiences? And imo, a lot of these white people who adopt non white kids kinda erase their kid’s ancestry and raise them white. And people like Gaetz will teach them to not acknowledge the racism they experience. I’m so sickened by some whites these days!
I mean MEGHAN MCCAIN was calling him out on it yesterday!! (Saying her sister is from Bangladesh but that doesn’t give her any insight on what its like to be Black in America.)
I hate to say it but i agree with Megan McCain…shiver
Meghan McCain, like Mitt Romney, does have some redeeming points under that awful Republican Coat she wears on Television.
I’m a progressive who likes Meghan, who is paid to represent conservative voices on the View. I follow her Instagram. I primarily diverge from her pro-gun stance, but otherwise want to hear her opinion; it’s more important than ever to find common ground. Meghan does not support Trump, who disparaged her father, who was a veteran of the Vietnam War and considered one of the more independent-minded conservatives in the modern history of the GOP.
I think that comment shows how Meghan truly respects her sister.
That said her husband runs the Federalist and that is a very problematic publication. I would like Meghan much more if her husband wasn’t a part of that. She’s supported him on the complaining about removing false stories from FB.
Sometimes Meghan says things that make sense and then she goes and f*cks it all up on The View.
WTF
Our politicians are liars, thieves, they lack of ethics and moral, they cheat they hide. I hate most of them. But USA… I have no words for yours… Poor Nestor who is used as an accessory. Smh
They are a reflection of their constituents, unfortunately, and Gaetz’s district is full of racist aholes. There are other factors too, of course. Like gerrymandering, and financial inequity that allows drunk rape-face losers like Matt to fail upward while the rest of us suffer. We need election reform as much as we need police reform. Our electorate is in shambles.
When this came out yesterday I was praying you’d cover it, thank you!! So bizarre.
🤔….so very weird.
*hork* I am so stealing this word lmao
Nestor is his lover. Not a doubt in my mind.
I thought the same, that he has been groomed.
If he came here at 12, and is just recently an adult, I wouldn’t use the term “lover” if that’s what you suspect and yes, we are all wondering too. If that were the case, it would be “victim”…lover infers that it’s a mutual relationship.
@A: as people point out, he looks a bit older, which means this could be a grooming/victim situation, or he could actually be older making this just another creepy hypocritical Republican on the down low.
Like @A said: victim foremost.
Yuppers. Exactly my thought as well.
I knew I hated Gaetz but never had that much interest to find out his family info. Now this comes out. So he’s had “custody” of his “helper” who he now claims is his “son”- from the age of 12? Why am I getting bad vibes from this?
Yes, I had the same thought.
My left eyebrow went up and my eyes and lips slid sideways as soon as I saw the tweet re: this “out of nowhere” supposed 19yr old son. 🤨🧐
All of these Trumpers are so blackmailed and compromised! No doubt in my mind either. I’m sad Nestor is anywhere near this DUI loving dickhead
I hate to think that-but my mind went there too.
This is…odd? I mean, I know he’s a congressman but it almost seems like a child trafficking situation when there’s no mention of Nestor’s parent(s)? Is he an orphan? Was he adopted?
Supposedly Nestor’s mom is alive and well and comments on FB posts. Who knows. But part of me feels like this was Gaetz’s twisted way of outing a secret relationship that others might be frowned upon by a segment of his constituents.
Nestor’s dad is also alive and living in Florida. He deleted his Facebook account yesterday.
It took me a minute to piece this together because there are so many different stories and because I have pregnancy brain right now, BUT here is what I think:
Gaetz was dating Nestor’s sister. Nestor came to live with his sister. Gaetz and this woman broke up because she discovered Gaetz having a pedophiliac relationship with Nestor. He pays Nestor’s family hush money and Nestor goes to live with his biological dad. Nestor came back to live with Gaetz as soon as he turned 18 because Gaetz groomed him between the ages of 12 to 16. I remember listening to the head of a halfway house for formerly trafficked women speak at an event a few years ago and I believe she said 12 is the prime age that traffickers start grooming their victims.
An even more gruesome fear that I have is that Nestor’s family trafficked him to Gaetz.
Someone was about to out Gaetz and his pedophilia/trafficking so he’s come out with this story that Nestor is like a son to him. I mean he went straight to People Magazine?
And Gaetz’s sister really messed things up by saying Nestor’s mother is dead. Cuz she’s not.
Nestor has apparently been living with Gaetz since 2016… And I don’t think he ever dated Nestor’s sister, I think there some other type of connection there.
Is this like how Liberace ‘adopted’ Scott Thorson?
Yes.
Just cause he calls you Daddy, doesn’t make him your son, Matt Gaetz.
Matt Gaetz has 8 DUIs, so how was he even allowed to even adopt?
Gaetz’s sister tweeted that Nestor’s mom died and then Nestor went to live with Gaetz. But in that Facebook post with Junior, nestor’s mom left a comment.
There’s a picture of Nestor being a congressional page on twitter…but he would have been underage at the time. Also, can your son be your page?
When he was sworn in, he had all his family there…except for his son who is his life? Mmmhmm.
Six years ago, there was only one adoption from Cuba…a girl.
Perhaps the G Lady G stands for Gaetz, not Graham.
Also, I hate her, but Megan McCain tweet about this was a burn on Gaetz. I guess even a broken clock is right twice a day.
“There’s a picture of Nestor being a congressional page on twitter…but he would have been underage at the time. Also, can your son be your page? ”
Nestor wasn’t a US Congressional page, but in the state of Florida, so apparently not underage for them.
Meghan loves her sister and–perhaps–knows from GOP circles that there is something deeply weird going on with Gaetz. A nice two-fer to distance herself from it.
Let’s hope she doesn’t undo it on the next episode of The View.
I don’t get it. Is that his once underage boyfriend ? Child slave ? Former child sex slave?
Papers, please.
As a parent by international adoption (legally), I know how many documents he needs to produce . But now he’s saying it was “informal?” No wonder he voted against that bill.
And why hide the relationship? Not usually a sign of everything being legal, good, healthy and appropriate.
Nice-looking “kid.”
It was fun to watch Twitter explode in a bright ball of “W.T.F!?” over this yesterday. But boy, it’s never a good sign when Meghan McCain is the voice of reason on something.
People defending Gaetz kept claiming that he was dating Nestor’s sister but “stepped up” as Nestor’s father after their mother died…except that their mother is still alive? I really hope this situation isn’t as skeevy as it looks from the outside.
It’s weird for sure. Matt didn’t legally adopt Nestor, obviously there would be paperwork if that was the case. The reason I believe Matt considers Nestor like a son is the slip up he made in the holiday video – he starts to say son and corrects himself to helper.
The vote on child trafficking in inexcusable though. And they way in which he introduced Nestor to the world was in defence of himself, when he was previously too embarrassed/ashamed.
People were even dissecting the “s” sounds he made before he said “helper. That it wasn’t veering toward “son” but “si—-gnificant other.” Just bizarre whatever it is.
What I don’t understand is why he would need a pre-teen/teenage helper anyways 🧐 help him do what? 🤔
1st and most importantly, the “non white” thing is bs. We see this all the time, and I can’t you how many times right here on this site, I have side eyed posts beginning with “as a woman of color”. B, what color, because we are talking about black people. There are a lot of “people of color’ who are just as racist against black people as white people are. That’s a big red flag of mine.
2nd, this thing stinks to high heaven and actually looks like a set up. Katie Hill races on to twitter to swear that Gaetz talks about his “son” all the time. Oh really Katie? So he talks about his son all the time, but Cedric Richards never heard about this? Set up. I could go on forever, but I have no right to take up all the space here. I have a lot to say about this, it stinks to high heaven, I believed Gaetz’ initial defense of Hill’s sexcapades stunk at the time, and at the time, my eyebrows nearly shot off my forehead, and now….this stinks.
Yes. And I almost hate to say it, but lots of white presenting Cubans in Florida are super racist. Definitely anti-black. Also, anti-Mexican, anti-Dominican, anti-Puerto Rican, etc.
Also, Matt Gaetz is a creep. And still a racist.
Say it, Darla! Katie Hill should have stayed out of it. We don’t need to be tone policed. Something is fishy about this. People who are close to Gaetz had no idea he had a secret son. No idea, but she wants us to believe he talked about him all the time. Right…Anyhoo, Nestor is a prop. He doesn’t negate Gaetz obvious racial bias. A few shade darker and Nestor would be just another boy at risk of police brutality.
The Katie Hill part is…off. Hell, this whole thing is off in every possible way.
ETA: Yes, it’s incredibly awful for him to distract from his anti-black racism by saying, “Look, a brown person!”
In one of his few non douche moves, he was a big supporter of Katie and doesn’t think she should’ve been driven out of Congress. She probably feels some loyalty or friendship.
@Courtney B I remember being surprised by that & I can see her having loyalty. The whole situation is just so odd, but I guess she felt the need to repay the favor.
Darla I’m Native American. I would consider myself to be a WOC. I’m definitely treated like one, most often assumed to be Latina or Hispanic by white people. Please don’t erase my identity. It’s not a contest.
Wasn’t the reason Hill quit was because she got into an inappropriate relationship with a staffer herself? Not exactly the best person to co-sign on a proper above board relationship.
He thought this stunt would prove he isn’t racist but all it did was raise a million red flags…
I know, right? Oof.
I don’t know what is going on with Matt & Nestor, but my pool boy payoff radar is tingling. When Gaetz got all huffy and mad in the House committee, it seemed like hot dog will yelp. If Nestor is his son, then his actions and words betray his “concern” for black and brown children. Trotting Nestor out and proudly proclaiming how much he loves him, just shows his hypocrisy. There’s not an ounce of decency and empathy in that man’s body.
His totally legal Cuban son got here somehow, but we’re not suppose to question that I guess. But since I think their relationship is something else, f&ck Matt Gaetz! Ask away!
Imagine if it were a 19 year old woman who was mysteriously living with him? Nestor being male allows for a tiny shred of “maybe Gaetz is just his father figure” but even then not really.
Anybody in Gaetz’s district please vote for his opponent, Phil Ehr. He’s a Navy vet and not a Trump buffoon.
Unfortunately, Gaetz’s district is full of Trump-loving rednecks. But I hope Phil wins!
Human props. Adult props most likely through payoffs and handshakes. There are no depths.
We did ourselves a disservice as a country banning fisticuffs from the Congressional chambers because if there was ever somebody who deserved a beatdown on the House floor, it’s Matt Gaetz.
I WISH! Him and rand Paul both
We’re so blessed here in FL with “leadership” from Gaetz, Rubio, Scott and Desantis….yuck
Ya really. Although the 7 DUIs aren’t true, it’s pretty incredible that the diverse state of ours is so red with such poor leadership
I always tell people this man will 100% run for president if Trump doesn’t make it this time around. People like him, Trump Jr and guys of that ilk are the future for R candidates. It won’t be people like Ben Sasse or Josh Hawley as much as conservative pundits are wishing it so. I mean, they will try, but the base wants people like this.
Gaetz has too many skeletons many of which are yet to be revealed, but yeah, he’ll try it. He’s not smart enough not to. Trump will lose this Nov, and 2024 will be a dogfight between Tom Cotton and Don Jr, unless the Trump’s are prosecuted and I personally don’t believe for one moment they will be.
I see Cotton as the 2024 nominee, and he’s as bad as trump but smarter, so we’ll be in some trouble. another reason I want Kamala as Vp, we are going to need a STAR in 2024. White ladies, and the oh so woke black blue checkmarks they hide behind…Meemaw ain’t it.
Nikki Haley thinks she going to be the nominee in 2024. She’s been really careful to keep the trump base happy and I’m sure she thinks that gop would love to have a women of color heading the ticket and they can pretend like the Republican Party is getting more progressive. Ugh. She’s terrible.
Nimrata is very cunning in the way she’s been positioning herself, but most of her support comes from the Javanka crew and their Genie Energy conspirators. If trump and cia fall, she’ll nt be able to compete with the white males of the party.
Well that is if DeSantis doesn’t kill the whole entire base (no masks, running around spewing their germs, virus is a hoax). Wouldn’t that be something?
It crossed my mind that the wild telenovela style reveal was an attempt to distract from questions about Florida’s progress toward sacrificing a few thousand more of its citizens to coronavirus.
May this open the door to get this jackass impeached.
He just had to put in the “legally of course”. From what I understand if you can get out of Cuba there are many options available to immigrating legally. If this child was from another Central American or South American country he would have a lot more trouble. This whole thing seems pretty weird…
The Cuban adjustment acts gives Cuban automatic asylum. Cuban migration is allowed in unlimited quantity. So the fact that he did it “legally, of course” doesn’t mean he’s more virtuous or law abiding.
Son. Right.
@becks1 – yeah, the meghan mccain thing is really messing with me:
https://mobile.twitter.com/meghanmccain/status/1273691227922169856
I don’t know, it sounds weird to me. This “so called son” just suddenly appears out of the woodwork just to sort of , what? Prove that Matt Gaetz isn’t racist? There’s something about what he’s trying to sell that I’m not willing to buy.
This whole thing is very weird! This is not his son, he has not adopted him, & Gaetz dated Nestor’s sister at some point. Like him using Nestor as a political prop just opened up a HUGE can of worms! And yes, he still didn’t get Rep. Richmond’s point…Gaetz is not black, nor does he know what it’s like to raise a BLACK child. He’s an idiot and a racist.
And he’s claiming to have some deep understanding of the challenges Black parents face because of his (part-time, for the teenage years) “parental” role with a WHITE Hispanic kid! That aspect also burns me up. Unless you live in some small Nordic village where everybody has blue eyes and super-pale skin, which is DEFINITELY not how Florida is, wouldn’t you look at that kid and perceive him as white? He looks Spanish, and I guarantee Cubans from Spanish families (i.e., no known indigenous / African / Asian ancestry) think of themselves as white (and are often very racist about it). It’s like Gaetz can’t conceive of someone being both Hispanic and white. I mean, I’m a member of a Native American tribe but also look white, and I would never go around describing myself as a “person of color” and pretending I had special insight into what it’s like to live with daily racist micro- and macro-aggressions because of my skin color. Ugh. The whole thing just leaves a bad taste, and that’s without even getting into how Gaetz pings the creep radar like crazy. Run, Nestor, RUN!
Creepiness aside, the reaction to this on Twitter was very funny, and I’m glad I got to experience it in real time. Most of the time it’s a total hellscape, but every once in awhile, we get to have some collective dunking that brings out the very best memes. As a treat.
I don’t doubt that Gaetz has assumed a fathering role in that young man’s life. He may very well have been active in many of the things a parent does including providing a secure home, education, medical needs, guiding/mentoring, etc. It happens. Families come in all shapes and forms. My own isn’t all that different from what Gaetz says his is.
What disgusts me is the way he used that relationship to diminish a black man talking about the reality of raising black children in this country. Truly, truly disgusting. Utterly beneath contempt.
Agreed 100%
Sugar daddy is more likely…
Apologies if someone else already said it but … is this the ultimate “Florida Man….” story???
This story is weird and gross on a lot of different levels. First, Rep. Richmond’s point still stands as he was talking about being black in America. Second, if Gaetz really does see Nestor as a son, it’s gross he is using him as a prop to ‘win’ and argument. Third, why would he post pictures of him at all if he wanted to protect Nestor’s privacy?
And finally, this is Matt Gaetz, of course something shady is going on here!
How did the party of Lincoln get so debased? Republicans need to ask themselves tough questions…everyday they seem more crooked, creepy and downright loony! Something’s in the water!!!
I’m Latina and adopted by white people from Florida. My mom and grandmother are still incredibly racist.
My boyfriend is Latino and adopted by white people. His mother is working on her racism, but only recently.
Saying “I adopted Brown kids” is like saying “I have a Black friend.” It’s a proxy shield to avoid discussing real issues. Especially when the adoptees, like his or like me, are not even Black!
I’m so sorry. That just have been so difficult to live with.
This is his boyfriend. Come on, Matt, let’s be real here for a moment.
That’s exactly what I was thinking. This is a pretty extreme version of “I can’t be racist I have a black friend…”
I believe he groomed Nestor when he was underage and now he’s looking for a way to explain away their living arrangement. Possibly someone was ready to out him. As a gay myself, I’ll give him points for creativity (and then subtract them again because the timeline makes him a pedophile), but I think it’s probably not long before someone sells a picture of them together in a gay club. Gaetz is on record defending Acosta’s decision to let Epstein go. He also voted against human trafficking bill. Whatever the truth is here, it will come out.
This is what I think too. I worry some of my readiness to believe this is internalized homophobia, but… I don’t think so. It just really, really looks like a grooming situation, and if I had been that boy’s family member I would have gotten him the hell out of there.
Went down the rabbit hole too – he’s opened up a total Pandora’s Box this time….everyone knows he’s a demented, lying sack of sh*t but what a STOOPID move….
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/6/18/1954167/-Does-Matt-Gaetz-have-a-son-or-doesn-t-he
I wonder if something is a about to come out in a Florida newspaper and this was him getting ahead of it. Support local newspapers!!!!
What kind of a dumbdumb is an avowed homophobe in public and hides a lover for years but brings him out just to prove a point?
Surprisingly a lot of GOP pols do that. Seriously the truth shall set you free.
so many of them…
I think it’s a case of a very tone deaf white privilege guy.
According to various resources:
Former U.S. Rep. Katie Hill came to Gaetz’s support, saying in a tweet that the representative “talks about Nestor more than anything.”
The former Democratic representative says Gaetz “was never ‘hiding’ his son,” but trying to “protect him from the crap that comes from being a politician’s kid.” (PNJ)
I’ve read a similar quote via other reputable sources. However, it sounds like Nestor is the brother of Gaetz’s former girlfriend. Inquiring minds want to know if this was before or after Gaetz’s DUI?
Interestingly enough, the NPR Fresh Air program with Terry Gross yesterday featured Blogger Kristen Howerton who wrote Rage Against the Minivan. The main thrust of the interview was how Howerton’s raising two white biological daughters and two black adopted sons helped her understand white privilege. A total 180 from Gaetz.
“Inquiring minds want to know if this was before or after Gaetz’s DUI?” He had 8 DUI… 8.
Ouch. Great role model.
Actually as this goes along it sounds very sketchy.
He actually had only 1 DUI back in 2008 (check Snopes) but a total of 16 speeding tickets between 1999 and 2014. The sleaze runs deep in this dude…
Katie Hill is a weirdo, so she doesn’t get any points from me at all. It is interesting that Gaetz stuck up for her living situation-perhaps trying to deflect from his own. Of course her girlfriend wasn’t underage, but it was definitely a situation of taking advantage of an employee.
Kinda surprised he didn’t pull the other inappropriate white person excuse and say Nestor was ‘rehomed’ with him.
This is weird… and immediately makes me think of this one episode of Law and Order SVU. Yiiiikkkeess.
All kinds of red flags. This seems like a pack of lies.
I’m Cuban, and the startling number of Cubans that are/support Republicans really burns my ass. I guess they don’t take into account the fact that if it were up to our illustrious president and the Republican party in general, they wouldn’t even be here.
In Florida, at least, a ton of republican marketing 2014 on has been focused on painting the Democratic Party as far left extremists and socialists which understandably rubs a lot of Cuban-Americans the wrong if they fall for that propaganda.
Time to follow the money and see who’s being paid off. Nestor’s parents, maybe?
I try never to look at this man. Has he always looked like Jack Nicholson after things went bad in The Shining?
YES!
Matty and Jimmy like the young boyz.
The only reason he even brought this boy out as his son was because his bluster and fake outrage was exposed for the ignorant tool he is to the nation. Representative Richmond dragged him so hard for all to see. It was spectacular. A thing of beauty and one for the books. “ kicked dog will holler “ “ Was that a nerve” LOL! Definitely getting creepy vibes, but mostly because GAETZ is a 3rd rate asshole and is super shady. Also, he still does not have a Black son and has no clue about raising one in this climate.
I do not mean to diminish the struggles of being an orphaned immigrant in a strange country with no one but a depraved alcoholic politician to turn to. I feel for him. But Nestor’s plight was not on topic re: excessive use of force.
There is no orphan in this situation, though…
Matt Gaetz is objectionable for all kinds of reasons (his politics, his DUIs, his gas mask stunt at the beginning of COVID, his cozying up to DT) and it is gross to trot a person out to use as a prop–but there is a whole lot of commentary on here that veers into some really homophobic tropes (gay men are pedophiles–it has been referred to through this thread time and time again that he “groomed” this kid), and I’m uncomfortable with that. This is *not* the first article where I felt the comments were kind of anti-gay. I just think everyone ought to check that.
Erin, I’m not seeing homophobia here–in this case, the timeline strongly suggests that Gaetz may well have pursued Nestor when he was underage. If Nestor were a young woman I think people would also be calling attention to the timeline and age.
Erin, literally nobody here is overlapping homosexuaity and pedophilia, nobody.
People here mostly oppose child abuse and hypocrisy, though… The only homophobe so far is Gaetz himself through is legislative voting.
He has 8 DUIs? How is he not in jail? At some point, wouldn’t one of those (If not more) have been upgraded to a low-class felony given his past DUIs? How was he allowed to run for Congress with that many (presumably) misdemeanors??
White skin, rich dad, crime syndicate passing as a political party aka GOP, corruptest state aka Florida.
I’d love to hear what states those DUSi convictions took place in. He has one in Florida. Where did the other seven happen?
Florida too, as you well know. His rich well connected dad has his records deleted a few years ago, but not before some people got hold of copies.
oasisgirl, Unfortunately, the 8 DUI’s is an urban myth. He does not have 8 DUI’s, he has one DUI. If you check this out, you will see that the story of 8 DUI’s is untrue. I say unfortunately because I can’t stand this guy and wish he had something major on his record to throw in his face….other than his despicable policies.
Ole timer here and mid century baby to boot. I remember when the Civil Rights Bill was passed and arguments were something something states’ rights. JFC. Or as a friend explained to me through barely suppressed anger that it was racist to say white people didn’t didn’t vote for Obama because he was biracial. And went on to say the Civil War was about tariffs, not slavery, and had the government just let things be, the South would have sorted the whole matter.
Johnson non