Tucker Carlson Had Matt Gaetz Back On His Show One Year After Their Infamously Cringey Interview

One year ago, shortly after news broke that the Justice Department had spent several months investigating Matt Gaetz for allegedly having sex with a minor, the Florida congressman sat down for a truly bizarre interview with Tucker Carlson (which is saying a lot).

While blowing off the charges against him as total bullsh*t, Gaetz dragged the Fox News host into his scandalous antics by reminding Carlson that he and the missus had once had dinner with Gaetz and a female friend of his, saying “You’ll remember her.” Carlson claimed to have no recollection of this person, and later described the entire exchange as “one of the weirdest interviews I’ve ever conducted” (which is also saying a lot).

Following the interview, Gaetz was essentially exiled from Fox News, with one staffer telling The Daily Beast that “Gaetz is going to be excommunicado for a while” at the time. Well, “a while” appears to mean one year—to the date.

On Wednesday, to commemorate that eventful tête-à-tête, Carlson welcomed Gaetz back onto his show for what Raw Story deemed a “triumphant return.” Ironically, Gaetz’s segment followed one in which Carlson accused the Walt Disney Co. of “sexualizing” kids and acting like a “sex offender.” Which made the segue into Gaetz all the smoother…

Of course, Carlson—top-notch journalist that he is—made sure to address the elephant in the room with Gaetz, even if he did downplay it as something related to the congressman’s “personal life,” which he didn’t want to ask him about because “it’s not my business.” What he did ask, though, was whether Gaetz expected to officially be charged with any crimes. To which Gaetz responded:

“No. That would be a travesty. I’m innocent. I’ve maintained my innocence, I’ve been entirely consistent on this fact. And each and every day, the lies about me unravel and are debunked… And, admittedly, it’s pretty wild to come on your show and say that my family’s being shaken down for $25 million by some fraudsters—some with connections to the intelligence community and the Department of Justice. But, in fact, someone had pled guilty to just that. So I feel vindicated each and every day that the facts are revealed.”

If Gaetz thinks that’s the wildest thing ever said on Carlson’s show—by a guest or the host—he’s clearly not watching a lot of Fox News.

(Via Raw Story)