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Rick Gates: Who told Trump he mixed up Rick Scott and Matt Gaetz? Internet mocks ‘it was steroids talking’

At the Florida Rally, Trump repeatedly called Rep. Matt Gaetz ‘Rick Gates’, which is the name of his convicted former aide in Russian meddling of 2016

President Donald Trump has a trademark style of acknowledging his supporters and at the same time mixing their names. In a frolic incident in POTUS’s Florida rally on October 16, Trump botched the name of one of his most vocal loyalists in Congress, Rep. Matt Gaetz by mixing his name with Rick Gates. Gates has been a former Trump aide who pled guilty to crimes pertaining to Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and making false statements about interaction with officials close to the Russian govt. 

Coming to the rally, the most interesting part came when Trump apparently realized that he was mixing names after one of his supporters, apparently named Rick, hinted at it. This came after Trump has already spoken interchanging names of Rick Gates and 
Matt Gaetz.

Trump’s callous interchanging of names started when he criticized Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Whitmer has been a target of an attempted scheme to kidnap and murder her that was busted by the FBI. Whitmer has blamed Trump for inciting the right-wing extremist groups and radicalizing them to the extent that they cause “domestic terror”. 
 
To this Trump replied in the rally, “And then she said it was my fault. It was my people that caught them. It was Trump’s fault. It’s always Trump’s fault.” Trump then used the name of Rick Gates forgetting that he is using the wrong name while he pointed to Matt Gaetz. “Can it ever be, like, Rick Gates’ fault?” Trump continued, as he pointed to Gaetz, who was near the stage to Trump’s left. “I mean, eh? It’s always Trump’s fault, Rick.”

POTUS then ran into a short riff ranting about “shameless, wealthy, liberal hypocrites in Washington, D.C. and Silicon Valley,” saying that he didn’t “want their money” and didn’t call them and didn’t want to help them. He said all this again addressing Gaetz — but still referring to him as “Rick.”
 
“We are going to win,” said Trump, “that’s why they raise money. I could raise much more money. Every call I make. Every single guy, even though they hated me, they’d all contribute. But Rick, you understand it, I don’t want to make those calls.”

By that time, people in the crowd had already noticed the name change. They started shouting “Matt” and “Matt Gaetz,” trying to get Trump to say the right name. Unaware of their hints, Trump continued, still saying the wrong name. He said, “I don’t want to make those calls, right? Huh? Yeah, I know. Where is Rick? He’s here. Where is Rick? Where is Rick?”It was at this time that someone in the crowd in front of Trump who was apparently named Rick caught the POTUS’s attention, and Trump pointed to him and said, “Oh, you’re there. Good.”
 
After this, Trump finally got the right moniker for Matt Gaetz. “So, I just want to thank everybody, and we do have some special people. Uhh, Matt, stand up. Come here, I just want to tell you something. This guy, Matt Gaetz. So, Matt’s been another one of our stars.”
 
The usage of the wrong name didn’t dispirit Gaetz. He quickly stood up at Trump’s introduction and waved to the crowd. “How are we doing in Florida, Matt? Huh?” Trump asked. Gaetz grinned and held up his arms as the crowd cheered. 
 
 After the whole incident happened, Phil Er, retired U.S. Navy commander and Democratic candidate challenging Matt Gaetz for Florida’s 1st Congressional District took a jibe at his rival. He started a donation for his campaign to fight Matt Gaetz but instead cut his name in the donation poster and wrote ‘Rick Gates’ reviving Trump’s wrong moniker. Others also made fun of Trump and Matt Gaetz on the Internet after the Florida Rally. 

“Trashy sycophantic racist tool Matt Gaetz worships a buffoon who calls him Rick Gates.” A user joked, “Matt Gaetz hearing Trump confuse him (repeatedly) with Rick Gates today.” Another mocked Trump, “Dear Matt Gaetz…….don't take offense at Trump calling you Rick Gates multiple times today while you were standing right in front of him. I'm sure it was just the steroids talking” 

Who is Rick Gates?

Rick Gates is a former political consultant and lobbyist. He served as deputy to long time Republican party consultant Paul Manafort. This was when the latter was a campaign manager of the Donald Trump presidential campaign in 2016. 

Rick Gates is one of at least six convicted felons linked with the 2016 Trump campaign, having pled guilty for crimes related to helping former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort with his financial crimes. For his crimes, Gates was sentenced to 45 days in jail, 3 years of probation, a $20,000 fine, and 300 hours of community service. He faced a reduced sentence due to his testimony against Manafort and cooperation with the Mueller investigation as reported by Mediaite. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Gates’ prison sentence has been temporarily suspended by court order.