THE VILLAGES, Fla. — Two of the most controversial Republicans in the country were a big draw in The Villages Friday night, as hundreds gathered to see U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene join U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz for the kickoff of their “America First” tour.
The two have joined to create “Put America First,” a joint fundraising committee, and Friday’s event in the country’s biggest senior community was the first of a series of scheduled rallies designed to appeal to former (and potentially future) Trump voters.
Rallygoers at The Brownwood Hotel & Spa cheered and waved signs for both Gaetz and Greene at a rally that echoed Trump rallies down to the choice of music, including “Macho Man” and Elton John.
Gaetz, R-Fla., was making one of his first public appearances since news broke of a federal investigation over possible sex trafficking, in connection with the multiple charges against former Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg.
No charges against Gaetz have yet been filed, and he has denied the allegations.
“I’m a marked man in Congress,” Gaetz said. “I’m a canceled man on some corners of the internet. I might be a wanted man by the deep state. But I am a Florida man. It’s good to be home.”
Not in attendance was Gov. Ron DeSantis, a close Gaetz ally, nor any other Florida politician.
Gaetz argued the “deep state” was targeting conservatives and alluded to “leaks and lies” in the media.
“To my friend, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene … you should consider Florida your second home,” Gaetz said.
Greene, who came out first, asked the crowd, “Did anyone here vote for Joe Biden? Do you really think he won?”
“No,” the crowd shouted.
“We love you, Marjorie!” someone yelled.
Greene, R-Ga., had expressed support for the outlandish QAnon conspiracy theory, supporters of which believe, among other things, that Democrats are child sex traffickers, Hillary Clinton and others drink the blood of children, and JFK Jr. is alive. She has since backed off her support.
She was removed from her House committees for social media posts that include denying a plane hit the Pentagon on 9/11 and calling the shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland a “false flag” and liking posts calling for executing members of the “deep state” and suggesting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi get a “bullet to the head.”
“They decided to kick me off of committees over some stuff I said on Facebook some years back,” Greene told the crowd.
Greene has also denied the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob was committed by Trump supporters over the false claim the election was stolen and voted against a resolution commending Capitol Police.
Many rallygoers said they didn’t believe the allegations against Gaetz, and they also didn’t care about Greene’s past or her controversial statements.
“I really admire both,” said James Dragon, of The Villages who wore a “Trump 2024” hat. “They’re incredibly brilliant people, very bold, courageous.”
Dragon said he knows Greene for her “standing so firm for the Second Amendment. … And she scared Nancy Pelosi to death, thinking that Marjorie Taylor Greene is going to bring arms into the House.”
Carl Rittenhouse of The Villages said he didn’t know too much about Greene, “But I know something about Gaetz. I like him. And I like I know he’s been having a little trouble. But I think that’ll get all squared away.”
His wife, Jan, however, was not a Greene fan. “She’s a little bit too controversial for me.”
Cheryl Coco, of the Villages, dismissed the allegations against Gaetz.
“It’s an investigation,” Coco said. “So what? They did all these investigations with Trump and they never found anything at all.”
As for Greene and her QAnon background, “Yeah, well, that’s a bit out there. But that’s OK. It’s better than what we have.”
Diane Salsburg of Grand Island also dismissed Greene’s controversies.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she said. “What I like about her is she talks about Congress the way it is. I’m interested in what she says.”
An hour before the event, Martha Geisler was by herself across the street, holding a sign reading, “Republicans against Marjorie Treason Greene.”
“It is a lonely vigil out here,” said Geisler. “I’m a lifelong Republican. And I just don’t feel that the Republican Party should be embracing the extremist dogma of Marjorie Taylor Greene and Gaetz. Trump had his good and bad points. And I feel like they’re embracing all the bad ones.”
She joked, “Maybe I should cut off the ‘s’ for ‘Republicans’ today. But I just feel like it’s a really important message that it’s not just Democrats that don’t like them.”
Soon, though, she was joined by other protesters.
“It’s ridiculous,” said Mike Littlefield, of Brooksville, who wore a Biden 2020 hat. “I can’t believe people follow those two. The QAnon conspiracy, Gaetz and the troubles he’s having. … And yet they kick Liz Cheney out.”
U.S. Rep. Cheney, R-Wyo., was in danger of being removed from her House GOP leadership position for her continued criticism of the “Big Lie,” the false claims by Trump and his supporters that there was election fraud.
Cheney was one of a handful of Republicans to vote to impeach Trump for his actions inciting the mob on Jan. 6.
“I’m not a fan of Liz Cheney,” Littlefield said. “But I am very proud of her for standing up to what’s wrong. The Big Lie is the big problem in this country right now. And until it stops, we’re gonna have nothing but problems.”
