Matt Gaetz was reportedly considering an early retirement from Congress for a job at the conservative-leaning network Newsmax, that was before The New York Times report on Tuesday detailing a DOJ investigation into alleged sex trafficking of a minor. Now, it would appear that his hopes of a smooth transition from Congress to right wing media are dashed, at least for now in the more popular right wing media outlets.
In an exclusive interview with The Daily Beast on Wednesday, Gaetz said in addition to Newsmax, he has spoken to other right wing outlets as well including Fox, Fox Business and OAN.
“I’ve had many conversations with many people about life after Congress. These conversations have been very general in nature and have never included me soliciting or receiving an offer of employment,” he told The Daily Beast.
“There is not a single conservative television station I haven’t had a passing conversation with about life after Congress. I have neither received nor solicited offers from any of them. But yes, I’ve talked to either executives, producers or hosts at Newsmax, OAN, Fox, Fox Business, Real America’s Voice and probably others I’m forgetting in this moment as I focus intently on refuting false accusations against me,” he added.
But, those outlets have no interest in hiring Matt Gaetz now, even as he denied the allegations and claimed the investigation is part of an extortion effort against his family.
“No one with any level of authority has had conversations with Matt Gaetz for any of our platforms and we have no interest in hiring him,” a Fox News Media spokesperson said.
OAN’s founder and CEO Robert Herring said Wednesday that he’s aware that Gaetz was asking around about possible gigs after leaving Congress. But, “right now, I’m not really hiring anybody for talk shows,” he said. “I think he is a great congressman, and I told [that ‘somebody’] to tell him to stay there. That’s what I want Congressman Gaetz to do.”
When one OAN insider was asked if Gaetz has any chance of getting a job at the network in light of his recent scandal, the individual answered, “probably not.”
Multiple Newsmax insiders were also similarly doubtful about Gaetz’s future. One source flat out said he “highly doubt it,” when asked about Gaetz working at the upstart right wing cable network.
A Newsmax spokesperson later said in a statement to The Daily Beast: “We don’t comment on talent discussions or future programming plans.”
Though things may look bleak now for Gaetz, a source at OAN says the network may look past the serious allegations and hire him anyway. While at Newsmax an insider is already claiming that the report “looks like a smear.”
