'Lying like a dead dog': Matt Gaetz insults McCarthy while being confronted by MSNBC host

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) went after Speaker Kevin McCarthy on MSNBC Wednesday, saying that the California Republican is a "liar" and a wimp in several different ways.

Speaking to Ari Melber, Gaetz began by saying McCarthy is "lying like a dead dog" about the reason he and McCarthy are feuding. Gaetz swears he wants term limits and that McCarthy agreed to it in their deal in January. While Gaetz said several months ago that he would release the agreement the two men reached, he still hasn't done it. Now he's saying he doesn't have it and that Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) is the one who has the paperwork.

Melber and Gaetz debated back and forth about whether or not Gaetz would call on Roy to release the agreement, which has never been made public. Gaetz swore he had no problem and then attacked Melber for quibbling about the agreement instead of about anything important.

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Melber couldn't understand why if Gaetz made a deal with McCarthy, why then he didn't have the deal and lied in their previous interview when he promised to release it.

"Again, I told you, I don't have a copy. But no one is disputing this. You don't have to look at a written agreement because back in January of this year, these things didn't just emerge out of nowhere. We talked about them at the time. In January we were saying balanced budgets, term limits, single subject spending bills."

While Gaetz was bringing up the agreement again to McCarthy, he said that the speaker had been completely non-responsive.

"I can't quite tell if he's in the denial or anger phase, but we've got to get to bargaining soon in order to resolve this," said Gaetz.

Melber played clips of McCarthy telling the press today that Gaetz is "upset about an ethics point" and that he didn't care about threats for his speaker chair.

"My response is really going to surprise you. This is about term limits, a balanced budget, and spending bills just like I have been saying the entire year," said Gaetz.

He went on to proclaim himself the "most investigated man in the entire Congress," a fact that Rep. George Santos (R-NY) might disagree with.

"Right there you saw Kevin McCarthy lying like a dead dog, because I have never asked him to interfere in any ethics matter," swore Gaetz. "I had the FBI and DOJ who hate me investigate me for three years. You covered it nearly nightly and you acknowledged at the end that my denials held up consistently, and the people who spread lies about me are sitting in a federal prison right now, because they were part of a criminal scheme, not me."

Melber cut in to say that in fairness the DOJ did close the case, but he finds it curious that Gaetz would go this far in attacking the Speaker.

"He seems to be implying you are not doing these things for the reasons you say, but that you were requesting, or perhaps through other people, requesting some special handling or treatment in the ethics requirement. You're saying that's a lie tonight?" he asked.

Gaetz called it an "abject lie from a sad and pathetic man who lies to hold on to power." He went on to attack McCarthy further, demanding his compliance with term limits and other items he said are on his list and that there wouldn't be a motion to vacate the chair.

Melber played another clip of McCarthy relating to impeachment, which Gaetz also attacked McCarthy.

"Yesterday, McCarthy said impeachment inquiry. Today he says something to the effect of it's not really about impeachment, it's about getting answers. And then I have a sound I want to you listen to where he says this," said Melber with the recording.

McCarthy has been attacked by Democrats for pretending to have an impeachment, but not actually moving forward with a legitimate impeachment that includes a vote. It was a fact that one Republican senator told Raw Story she wasn't even aware of.

Political analysts warn he's being attacked by moderates because the public believes there is an actual impeachment, and he's facing off against MAGA supporters who know it isn't a real impeachment and want to see more.

"I couldn't tell if you cut away to Kevin McCarthy or a commercial for low-T," Gaetz said, referencing low testosterone, an issue that some men face as they age. "Yesterday's impeachment is not today's impeachment. If we have to make the case about Joe Biden let's hope we have effective people like Jim Jordan and James Comer making the case and turn off the Kevin McCarthys."

See the full exchange in the video below or the link here.

Matt Gaetz debates Melberwww.youtube.com