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Was Matt Gaetz stopped from meeting Donald Trump? Here's the truth as Rep calls the fake news 'TOTAL LIE'

Gaetz slammed a news report that claimed that he was denied a meeting with Trump, and later said no such meeting was denied or sought

Florida Representative Matt Gaetz remains as popular as ever, despite the huge child sex trafficking scandal he is currently engulfed in. Republicans have backed the Congressman, as has former president Donald Trump. However, a CNN report claims just the opposite and has since been slammed by Gaetz on social media.

CNN reporter Gabby Orr published a report late on Sunday, April 11. According to her, Gaetz attempted to schedule a meeting with Trump shortly after it became public knowledge he was being investigated. However, Trump's aides reportedly rejected the request and asked Trump "not to stick his neck out to defend Gaetz". The news has since been denied by multiple people, including Gaetz himself. 

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Shortly after the CNN report was published, Gaetz tweeted, "This is a total lie. I am on a pre-planned vacation with my fiancée. I was welcomed at Trump Doral days ago. No such meeting was denied nor sought. Gabby, “unnamed sources” lied. When can we expect a retraction?"

Gaetz's spokesperson Harlan Hill also said the same thing to CNN. "Rep. Gaetz was welcomed to Trump Doral this week and has not sought to meet with President Trump himself," Hill said, according to the report. Trump's spokesperson Jason Miller too called the CNN article 'fake' in a tweet. He retweeted Orr's tweet and said, "This @CNN story is complete fake news. No such scheduling or meeting request was ever made, and therefore, it could never have been declined. Take note that this story has zero on-the-record sources. It’s literally made-up. We are demanding a full retraction."

Gaetz is currently enjoying recess with his girlfriend and gave a speech at Trump National in Doral, Miami. During the speech at the Save America Summit on Friday, April 9, Gaetz touted that he had the support of the former president. He told attendees, "Let me assure you, I have not yet begun to fight for the country I love." Since the CNN article came out, Gaetz has also received a lot of support from other conservatives. Many have retweeted Orr's tweet and slammed it as "fake" and "BS". 

Trump and Gaetz

Gaetz has been a close ally of Trump, even going so far as to declare he would resign his seat to defend Trump at his second impeachment. While that never came to pass, Gaetz has multiple times defended Trump in public and continued to share his 'big lie' about the election being stolen. However, since Gaetz's investigation has become public, the former president has maintained his distance from the embattled Congressman.

Whether it is because he lost his social media access or because he's been asked to, it is not clear. However, Trump has so far rarely issued a statement in support of Gaetz. In April, he issued a brief statement saying, "Congressman Matt Gaetz has never asked me for a pardon. It must also be remembered that he has totally denied the accusations against him." Beyond that, Trump has been quite silent which CNN interprets as "Gaetz finds himself increasingly isolated as he weathers a potentially career-ending scandal".