A top aide to former Vice-President Mike Pence fired back at Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fl.) on Monday after the congressman said during a speech over the weekend that the former VP will never be president.
Marc Short, Pence’s former chief of staff, suggested that Gaetz will not have an impact on the 2024 election because he will be in prison soon. Gaetz is under federal investigation for allegedly having sex with a minor and violating sex trafficking laws.
During his speech at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Tampa, Florida over the weekend Gaetz took a shot at Pence saying he will never be president in 2024.
“Our America is proudly ultra MAGA, not some low-energy roadside rhino safari,” Gaetz said. “On that note, let me just say what everybody here knows: Mike Pence will never be president. Nice guy. Not a leader.”
Asked about Gaetz’s comments during an appearance on CNN Monday, Short said Gaetz’s opinion about 2024 ultimately will not matter because he will be in jail.
“I don’t know if Mike Pence will run for president in 2024, but I don’t think Matt Gaetz will have an impact on that — in fact, I’d be surprised if he’s still voting,” Short said. “It’s more likely that he’ll be in prison for child sex trafficking by 2024, and I’m actually surprised that Florida law enforcement still allows him to speak to teenage conferences like that.”
Gaetz has denied the sex trafficking allegations, and he has not been charged with a crime. But the investigation is still ongoing with the help of his former associate Joel Greenberg whose sentencing has been delayed several times while he cooperates with investigators.
“Marc can repeat debunked conspiracies on CNN, but nobody can deny that dunking on Pence was Gaetz’s best applause line of an epic speech,” a spokesperson for Gaetz told Insider.
During his appearance on CNN, Short also confirmed reports that he testified before a grand jury investigating the January 6 Capitol attack last week. Another former Pence aide, Greg Jacob also testified in the probe.
