The night before what promises to be a tense showdown over House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) keeping his gavel, former MAGA congressman Matt Gaetz debuted his One America News show with news-making interviews with two GOP lawmakers who may not support Johnson’s bid.
That’s not what drew the most attention on social media, though.
Instead, many observers were flabbergasted by Gaetz’s appearance and asked themselves what the one-time attorney general nominee had done to his face.
Much like his eyebrow-raising speech at last year’s Republican National Convention, which sparked rumors of Botox use and a flood of online jokes, Gaetz’s OAN debut sparked mockery over the host’s complexion and seemingly altered face.
“Holy makeup and Botox, Batman!” Democratic media strategist Vince Monroy reacted on Bluesky. Lawrence County election commissioner Chris D. Jackson snarked that Gaetz showed up “with some fresh botox” on his first night.
“I see Matt Gaetz went in to ask for the ‘Wayne Newton Face’ before his OAN debut tonight,” liberal social media influencer Ron Filipkowski added. Meanwhile, another user on X (formerly Twitter) wondered: “Why is Matt Gaetz turning into a character from Spaceballs?”
When reached for comment, Gaetz said that his “appearance always seems to be of great interest to people,” adding that he “never really understood why.”
Alongside the speculation over plastic surgery and shots into the forehead, some people felt that Gaetz was done dirty by whoever applied his makeup.
“However much you might despise Matt Gaetz, his makeup person has you beat,” The Young Turks host John Iadarola stated.
“Y’all need to fire your makeup artist immediately,” Turning Point USA reporter Savanah Hernandez tweeted.
An OAN insider, however, pointed out to The Independent that Gaetz will occasionally film his show from his home studio in Florida, while his producer is located in OAN’s San Diego studio. However, it doesn’t appear that he was responsible for his own makeup in his debut, as Gaetz confirmed to The Independent that he was on set in San Diego for Thursday night’s program.
One America News also noted that Gaetz was filming his show from the San Diego studio this week. Gaetz added that he will film from both his home studio and the OAN headquarters throughout the year.
As for the rest of his first night at the far-right conspiracy network, Gaetz did break some news when one of his guests, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), said unequivocally that he would not back Johnson for re-election as House speaker.
“You can pull all my fingernails out, you can shove bamboo up in them, you can start cutting off my fingers,” Massie said. “I am not voting for Mike Johnson tomorrow, and you can take that to the bank.”
The leader of the Republican charge to oust then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy in 2023, Gaetz also hosted MAGA Colorado lawmaker Lauren Boebert, who expressed reservations about supporting the incumbent as well. She did say there was a way for Johnson to earn her vote, however.
“Mike Johnson coming out and committing to Chip Roy being the chairman of the Rules Committee would secure the vote on the first round,” she declared.
Shortly after Donald Trump won the presidential election in November, Gaetz — who was under a House Ethics probe over accusations that he paid for sex with a minor — abruptly resigned from Congress after the president-elect shockingly nominated him to be his attorney general.
A week later, under withering backlash and the Trump team believing Gaetz was too “blackmail-able,” the ex-congressman pulled out of consideration for the top prosecutor role. After initially holding off on releasing it due to Gaetz resigning from Congress, the ethics committee dropped its bombshell report last month, revealing allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use.
Having already joined Cameo after his failed attorney general bid, Gaetz announced last month that he would anchor the little-watched One America News’ primetime lineup. The OAN gig came amid speculation that he would join the network’s MAGA rival Newsmax, especially since that channel was publicly courting him due to the former lawmaker guest-hosting for them in the past.
