OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz has been pushing the idea of Donald Trump becoming Speaker of the House.
In an interview at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest convention, Gaetz spoke about the 2022 midterm elections and Republicans having a strong chance to regain control of the U.S. House.
While speaking with Jordan Conradson, Gaetz spoke about the idea of Trump becoming the next House Speaker and how Republicans could make that happen given Trump is a private citizen.
Conradson: We will take back the house in 2022. Do you support President Trump for speaker of the house in 2022?
Gaetz: I was the first member of Congress to pledge that I will nominate Donald J Trump for Speaker of the House and people like to laugh but you know what? They laughed at the idea of him becoming president too. And that happened. So speaker Trump’s got a pretty good ring to it to me.
Conradson: So have you spoken to President Trump, possibly Speaker Trump about his plans for 2022?
Gaetz: I have. What I can tell you is that President Trump is dialed into races at a granular level. He’s following the fundraising, the polling, and the messaging. He is as tuned in as I’ve ever seen him and I think that’s a good thing for the politics of the right that’s right. Thank you.
Earlier this month, Gaetz said that he spoke to Trump about becoming Speaker of the House if Republicans win back the majority in 2022.
“Do you want ex-President Trump to be the speaker?” a reporter asked the representative.
“I would,” he responded.
“Have you talked to him about it?” the reporter pressed.
“I have,” he said.
When asked about Trump’s response to the idea he said, “I keep my conversations with the former president between the two of us.”
Reporter: Do you want ex-President Trump to be speaker?
Gaetz: I would
Reporter: Have you talked to him about it?
Gaetz: I have pic.twitter.com/BfAzAuaWgT— Acyn (@Acyn) December 7, 2021
It is not the first time that the idea of Trump becoming the Speaker has surfaced.
In November, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows appeared on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast and mentioned the idea and how fantastic it would be to see current House Speaker and California Rep. Nancy Pelosi hand the gavel to Trump.
“I would love to see the gavel go from Nancy Pelosi to Donald Trump. You talk about melting down … people would go crazy,” he said.
“As you know, you don’t have to be an elected member of Congress to be the speaker. She would go from tearing up a speech to having to give the gavel to Donald Trump,” he said. “Oh, she would go crazy.”
Former White House strategist Steve Bannon helped get the ball rolling on this months ago.
During his talk to the West Roxbury Ward 20 Republican Committee, Bannon even floated the idea of Trump becoming a member of the Congress, becoming Speaker of the House in 2022, and then impeaching Joe Biden.
“Trump is a disruptor, but he has a long-term vision because I absolutely believe in the marrow of my bones that he will be our nominee in 2024,” Bannon later added. “He’ll come back to us. We’ll have a sweeping victory in 2022, and he’ll lead us in 2024.”
“We totally get rid of Nancy Pelosi, and the first act of President Trump as speaker will be to impeach Joe Biden for his illegitimate activities of stealing the presidency,” Bannon said.
