In a heated battle on Capitol Hill over racial disparities, Eric Swalwell defended the fundamental value of the Black Lives Matter movement; sparking objection from Matt Gaetz who claims that all lives matter, as a way to move away from the systemic issues facing black people. In an attempt to put up a strawman to evade the hard conversation, Eric stood firmly in his belief by objecting and reclaiming his time. Matt Gaetz has long been known as a Republican who has been fundamentally hard-lined against many things concerning people of color or marginalized people. Statistically, COVID-19 has been detrimental to the black community and people of color, however, Matt Gaetz saw necessary to mock the Corona-virus by wearing a gas mask on the house floor on the voting for the supplemental appropriation bill.
This time Gaetz saw fit to stand firm in his belief that all lives matter, amidst the ongoing footages of black people being murdered by police officers. The most recent encounter happened when Rayshard Brooks was gunned down from behind after wrestling with officers. In one instance Gaetz can be seen in a heated conversation over the value of a black life when Rep. Cedric Richmond rips through his straw man defense. Matt responded by refuting Cedric's argument over having black kids; Matt then lost his composure and began bickering over having black kids. However, Matt Gaetz doesn't have any kids of his own. This shows that he exemplifies dissonance in his thinking about matters that concern minorities.
