Gaetz uses convention speech to criticize Biden for lack of activity

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), one of President Trump’s top allies in the House, criticized Democratic presidential nominee former Joe Biden during his convention address Monday, saying the former vice president should have more of a public presence.

“I’m speaking from an auditorium emptier than Joe Biden’s Daily Schedule. But we are a nation of full hearts – and clear minds,” Gaetz said. 

Republicans have made targeting Biden’s visibility in the race a central issue in their campaign strategy, alleging the former vice president is “hiding” his stances on key policies from the public. 

Gaetz criticized Biden’s foreign policy and said he had moved to the left, linking him to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).

“Settle for Biden – that’s the hashtag promoted by AOC and the socialists. The woketopians will Settle for Biden because they will make him an extra in a movie written, produced and directed by others,” he continued. 

The lawmaker also attempted to link the Biden-Harris ticket to Hollywood elites, accusing Biden’s running mate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) of representing a state that is struggling financially and alleging Democratic policies are responsible for the violence seen during protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man killed in police custody. 

“Blaming our best – and allowing society’s worst – that’s the story they write in Hollywood – that’s if the lights even stay on in California anymore. A state that cannot keep power running for its own people should not send its Junior Senator to be Vice President,” he said. 

Gaetz went on to call Biden of being a “basement dweller” and taking a shot at “cancel culture, referring to Trump as a “visionary” and likening him to former Presidents George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson. 

Gaetz spoke less than a week after he was rebuked by the House Ethics Committee for a 2019 tweet he sent targeting Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer.