“Stand back and stand by.”

As you may recall, that’s what Donald Trump told the Proud Boys — during a presidential debate on live TV in 2020 — when asked if he would denounce violence from white supremacist groups.

And here’s what Rep. Matt Gaetz posted on social media yesterday while appearing alongside numerous other MAGA Republicans at Trump’s election interference trial in New York:

“Standing back and standing by, Mr. President.”

This was no accident. Gaetz was intentionally echoing Trump’s infamous appeal to violent, neo-fascist thugs.

To Rep. Matt Gaetz:

Maybe you wanted a big response on social media. Maybe you wanted to “own the libs.” Maybe you were once again displaying your abject servility to Donald Trump. But there is no excuse for willfully using language that appeals to fascistic tendencies. You should apologize immediately.

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- Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen
 
 
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