CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten said Wednesday that Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz is unlikely to become President-elect Donald Trump's attorney general (AG).
President Trump announced on Truth Social on November 13 that he had selected Gaetz to be attorney general. postsparking a left-wing backlash, reported There is widespread skepticism among Senate Republicans about his ability to secure confirmation. Enten said on CNN News Central that the gambling market, Gaetz's conduct in Congress and public opinion are factors working against Trump's election. (Related: Chairman Mike Johnson opposes release of Gates ethics report as approval battle looms)
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“When it comes to Matt Gaetz’s chances in the betting market, it can be summed up in one word: Crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy.” Matt Gaetz could be Trump's AG, look at this: 37% say yes, a majority of 63% say no,'' Enten told host John Berman. told. “And I want to note that I looked at all of Mr. Trump's cabinet options. This is the only one for which less than a majority said yes. The bottom line is that the conventional wisdom is that Matt Gaetz's chances of becoming Trump's attorney general are in very big trouble. ”
The data reporter noted that while betting markets are not foolproof, they do accurately predict President Trump's victory in 2024 and serve as a “good gauge of conventional wisdom.”
“Look, Matt Gaetz loves to make enemies on Capitol Hill. I mean, Matt Gaetz's voting record among Republican House members in this Congress is number one as the most dissident. Remember. Remember, he helped lead the effort to oust Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House,” Enten said. “He called the Senate, which I think is the swampiest place in the world or something like that. He's going after individual senators.”
“We've learned that it's not always a good thing to make enemies in the Capitol when we need to make sure the vote is counted,” he continued. “And in fact, he went out of his way to insult people. So it's not all that surprising that there are a lot of senators who might say, 'Hey, why on earth should we help this guy?' .”
Enten also argued that “approval politics” is related to “public pressure,” saying, “Matt Gaetz certainly has a lot of public interest in his nomination. “There is,” he pointed out.
“These are Google searches for President Trump's Cabinet nominees over the past seven days. Gaetz is the most searched for by far. He is the most searched for by far. He has the median probability of winning for Trump. 1,300% increase from the value, creating significant public pressure. Such public pressure may be felt by those who may vote to confirm Matt Gaetz in the U.S. Senate. ” he said. “Of note, while public perception of him could be positive or negative based on all the people looking for him, initial polling data shows that Trump's chosen candidate This suggests that he is the least popular of all, and in fact, he is the only one with the most support. ”
“So at this particular point, Mr. Berman, what are we dealing with? We're dealing with someone who is not exactly popular on Capitol Hill to begin with.” Data Reporter added. “And you may end up dealing with a lot of public pressure from people outside of the Capitol to say, 'Wait a minute, we definitely don't want this person to be inspector general.'”
Victor Davis Hanson, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, said Tuesday that he believes Gates could be chosen as President Trump's “sacrificial lamb.”
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