Trump henchman Jason Miller told Axios yesterday that Trump is planning to start up his rallies again late spring or early summer. But the faithful are just so bereft, they’re coming out to see a couple of his fringe supporters just to hear the tunes:
They’re keeping the crowd excited for the big return of Dear Leader:
“Tell me who’s your president?!” Greene called to the crowd upon taking the stage.
“Donald Trump!” they shouted back without hesitation.
Much like Trump had done, Greene and Gaetz cast themselves as Washington outsiders who could better relate to “proud American patriots” like the ones assembled in the audience. They accused the media of being “fake news” and mocked Democrats’ “wokeness” — but also blasted “Republicans in Name Only” who dared to go against Trump and his agenda.
“If Liz Cheney could even find Wyoming on a map and get there, she would find a lot of very angry cowboys,” Gaetz said, referring to the Wyoming congresswoman who voted to impeach Trump and is now at risk of being overthrown from her No. 3 leadership spot in the GOP.
“It’s the establishment against the rest of us,” Gaetz added.
Greene said she had never wanted to be a member of Congress — “a dirty rotten job, I’ll tell you that much” — until she saw Trump run for president “and I liked what he had to say.” She suggested she had the time to launch “America First” rallies because she had been stripped of her House committee assignments for her past extremist remarks and support of the QAnon ideology that has radicalized its followers.
“They decided they didn’t like me over a few things they didn’t like on Facebook some years back,” Greene said dismissively Friday, referring to past social media activity in which she had suggested some mass shootings were staged and supported assassinating some Democrats.
Greene boasted of tactics she had used to obstruct Democratic legislation and decried the fencing and other security measures surrounding the U.S. Capitol, falsely describing them as a sign Democrats didn’t want the public to access the building to observe the bills they were passing. She made no mention of the real reason for the extra security and fencing, which went up after a pro-Trump mob overran the Capitol on Jan. 6 in a violent short-lived insurrection that left five people dead.
Greene also called for President Biden to be impeached, but did not specify why beyond alluding to false claims about Biden’s son Hunter, and name-dropped other Democratic members of Congress with whom she has clashed, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Reps. Cori Bush (Mo.), Marie Newman (Ill.) and Maxine Waters (Calif.).
At one point in the rally, Gaetz, who is under federal investigation for sex-trafficking and other allegations, tried to make light of the accusations by saying the media would probably bill the rally in Florida as: “Matt Gaetz has wild party surrounded by beautiful women in the Villages.” (Gaetz has not been charged with any crimes and has denied the accusations against him.)
Then Gaetz really went for it:
“We have a right to bear arms in this country and we will use it!” Gaetz declared. “The Second Amendment … is about maintaining within the citizenry the ability to maintain an armed rebellion against the tyrannical government. People may not like that. It might not be politically correct. But that is the truth.”
I don’t know about you, but to me that sounds vaguely … insurrectionist. They’re always babbled this drivel. But after January 6th, you’d think elected Republicans might ixnay the “armed rebellion” talk. Apparently not.
And this sounds like a direct threat against a Republican congresswoman from Greene:
Update: Here are some of the fans waiting outside. They seem nice.
(I won’t say what I’m thinking about all that sniffing …)