Former Rep. Matt Gaetz was caught texting his mom for advice on how to deal with President Trump — in a wide-ranging conversation in which the TV host also flexed about his real-estate assets and having “$500,000 in the bank.”
In the 72-second video — surreptitiously filmed by a passenger on a recent flight and posted on TikTok by user ‘tidesofmarch’ — Gaetz’s conversation is in full view, thanks to a zoomed-in screen that made the message text larger.
Former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz was filmed having a text message conversation with his mom, Vicky, on a recent flight.Matt Gaetz
The user captioned the exchange “POV: You’re sitting behind Matt Gaetz and he’s texting his mommy.”
Gaetz’s mom, Vicky Gaetz, warned the ex-Florida congressman “Don’t be criticizing the president or his actions. He’s trying to keep us safe. That’s his job. MAGA will turn on you. You will lose viewership,” the doting mother warned.
“Your days in congress are over … let’s not mess up the media gig,” she said of his job as host of “The Matt Gaetz Show” on One America News Network he started in January.
“The president has been a very good friend to you. He hates betrayal. Be smart, not stub𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧,” his mom admonished.
“I’m trying to guide him, not criticize him,” Gaetz insisted.
“I’ve never been freer to share my views – and I’ll continue to do so. I think about the people who cheered for the Iraq war because they liked Bush. Those people have blood on their hands,” he said.
Vicky advised her son against trying to guide the notoriously independent-minded commander-in-chief, to which Gaetz replied, “Guiding DJT always includes a private and public component … I know how to do it,” he insisted.
Gaetz boasted about his net worth and real estate holdings in the exchange.TikTok/ @tidesofmarch
The conversation veered into his finances, his mother asking, “how many times do you want to hit the wall?”
Gaetz replied with a flex of his family and assets.
“I’m a happily married man with a son on the way, two penthouse condos, a 1:1 real estate asset to debt ratio … and $500k in my bank account cash,” he touted.
On the topic of Iran, Gaetz claimed the Islamic Republic has “been 3 months away from a nuke since 1992.”
He also claimed he was s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ed at “guiding” President Trump.TikTok/ @tidesofmarch
After the exchange went viral, Gaetz responded on X in a lighthearted fashion.
“Apparently someone sitting behind me on a flight recorded me without my knowledge. They found me texting my mother about news of the day, family finances, and working on my laptop,” he wrote.
“Please let this be a reminder to everyone to CALL YOUR MOTHER! (and maybe get a screen protector)”
Gaetz, 43, replied to a question on X about the giant-size text, explaining, “My eyesight has gotten very poor in recent years.”
Gaetz vacated his congressional seat last year when Trump tapped him to become attorney general but withdrew his nomination due to swirling allegations about his personal life — including that he paid two women for 𝓈ℯ𝓍 and had an affair with a 17-year-old.
