Fox, OAN Shoot Down Matt Gaetz’s Dream of Becoming a Right-Wing Media Star

On Tuesday, before the New York Times reported that Rep. Matt Gaetz was being investigated by the Justice Department for allegedly having sex with a 17-year-old—and potentially violating sex trafficking laws by paying for her travel with him—the Florida congressman had already made headlines, albeit for a comparatively benign scoop: Axios reported that Gaetz was thinking about leaving Congress early for a TV gig at Newsmax. A day later, Gaetz told the Daily Beast that Newsmax wasn’t the only right-wing outlet he was talking to about post-congressional plans. “There is not a single conservative television station I haven’t had a passing conversation with about life after Congress,” Gaetz said, noting he had “neither received nor solicited offers from any of them,” though “executives, producers, or hosts” at “OAN, Fox, Fox Business, [and] Real America’s Voice” were among the interested lot.