Former Representative Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican, has joined Cameo, a platform where celebrities sell personalized videos, and made clips over the weekend, including one where he joked about striking his enemies with Predator drones.
Gaetz resigned from the U.S. House of Representatives last week after President-elect Donald Trump picked him as the next U.S. attorney general, leading the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). However, he later decided to withdraw his name from consideration following pushback from the public, and reportedly from a few senators, as allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use by the politician were thrown back into the spotlight. Gaetz, meanwhile, has denied any wrongdoing.
Now that Gaetz is no longer up for consideration to serve as the U.S. attorney general, and plans to not rejoin Congress next year, he has turned to making videos to celebrate peoples' special moments—for at least $525 a pop.
In one Cameo video shared online, Gaetz said he can't "order predator strikes on my enemies" now that he won't be the next attorney general. The Predator is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) used during the War on Terror. It was retired by the U.S. Air Force in 2018.
"Now listen. I may not be the attorney general, the most powerful law enforcement officer in the land—for now. We actually got a great one in Pam Bondi," Gaetz said, referring to the former Florida attorney general who Trump tapped to lead the DOJ after the former congressman withdrew his name. "And so, I can't, like, order predator strikes on my enemies, as much as I would like to. For now."
He continued: "But I can order you to have as much fun as possible. So be well. Your buddy Dave wanted you to have this message. And there's a lot of reasons for optimism. And, you know what, I don't think the attorney general can order predator strikes anyway. I'm pretty sure that's DOD [U.S. Department of Defense]. But in DOJ there's a lot of great work to be done. The Trump administration's gonna get it done."
Newsweek reached out to a representative for Gaetz via email for comment Sunday afternoon.
The former congressman joined Cameo on Friday, according to his profile on the platform, which gives the following blurb about him: "I served in Congress. Trump nominated me to be US Attorney General (that didn't work out). Once I fired the House Speaker."
He was referring to being the leading force in former Republican California Representative Kevin McCarthy's ousting from the House speaker's chair in October 2023.
Gaetz has posted several videos on Cameo since joining the platform and has been given a 5-star rating in eight reviews.
Gaetz isn't the first politician to join Cameo after leaving office. Former Representative George Santos, a New York Republican who was expelled from the House in early December 2023, was the butt of the joke on Jimmy Kimmel Live! after host Jimmy Kimmel submitted several Cameo video requests for Santos under fake names. Kimmel shared clips Santos sent him on his show in December 2023 in a segment titled, "Will Santos Say It?" Santos sued Kimmel over the segment, but lost the lawsuit.
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