Matt Gaetz Shocks Twitter By Posting Photo of His Adopted Cuban Son: ‘I Am So Proud of Him’

Sarah RumpfJun 18th, 2020, 1:54 pm
 

@mattgaetz/Twitter

Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) shocked Twitter on Wednesday when he posted a photo with a young man named Nestor, who he identified as his adopted son from Cuba, a day after he got into a heated exchange with Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA) at Richmond’s suggestion that Republicans do not understand what it’s like to worry about having a nonwhite son.

During the debate over a Democrat-sponsored police reform bill, Richmond spoke in support of the bill, saying that it addressed a “crisis” because people were dying, and said that perhaps his Republican colleagues were not understanding because of “unconscious bias” or even “at worst, it is conscious bias,” saying that while he was obviously aware of Republican congressmen with black grandchildren, “it is not about the color of your kids” but instead about “black males, black people in the streets getting killed…and if one of them happens to be your kid, I’m concerned about him too, and clearly I’m more concerned about him than you are.”

Gaetz took issue with Richmond’s suggestion that Republicans did not have nonwhite children, and the comment about being “more concerned” and shouted back at Richmond, “You’re claiming you have more concern about my family than I do — Who in the hell do you think you are?”

The video clip went viral Wednesday, with many articles and social media users questioning why Gaetz was so incensed, considering that he was unmarried and had no children.

Except, apparently, the second part of that is false.

Thursday afternoon, Gaetz posted a tweet with a photo of a young man he identified as his “son Nestor.”

“We share no blood but he is my life,” wrote Gaetz, who added that Nestor was 19 and had come to Florida from Cuba when he was 12.

“I am so proud of him and raising him has been the best, most rewarding thing I’ve done in my life,” Gaetz continued, adding that Nestor was heading to college soon.

“As you can imagine,” Gaetz explained, “I was triggered when (to make an absurd debate point) a fellow congressman diminished the contributions of Republicans because we don’t raise non-white kids.”

“Well, I have.”

Gaetz’s sister Erin Gaetz also posted several tweets sharing photos and videos of Nestor with their family, calling her brother “an incredible father to Nestor,” and sharing how proud she was of both of them.

Mediaite reached out to both the congressman and his sister for comment. Erin replied, “Matt’s the person to speak to about all things Nestor. But he’s an awesome kid that we are blessed to have in our family.” At the time of publication, Matt Gaetz had not replied.

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Sarah Rumpf - Contributing Editor

Sarah Rumpf joined Mediaite in 2020 and is a Contributing Editor focusing on politics, law, and the media. A native Floridian, Sarah attended the University of Florida, graduating with a double major in Political Science and German, and earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the UF College of Law. Sarah's writing has been featured at National Review, The Daily Beast, Reason, Law&Crime, Independent Journal Review, Texas Monthly, The Capitolist, Breitbart Texas, Townhall, RedState, The Orlando Sentinel, and the Austin-American Statesman, and her political commentary has led to appearances on television, radio, and podcast programs across the globe. Follow Sarah on Threads, Twitter, and Bluesky.