Matt Gaetz Says Pence Spokesman Repeated 'Conspiracies and Lies' About Him

Matt Gaetz has hit back at the attack from one of Mike Pence's top aides who suggested the Florida congressman will "be in prison for child sex trafficking" by the time of the next presidential election.

Gaetz was reacting to Marc Short's comments he made on CNN's Erin Burnett OutFront on Monday night after the congressman declared that Pence "will never be president" at a speech at Turning Point USA Student Action Summit, calling the former vice president a "nice guy. Not a leader."

"I don't know if Mike Pence will run for president in 2024, but I don't think Matt Gaetz will have an impact on that. In fact, I'd be surprised if he was still voting, it's more likely he'll be in prison for child sex trafficking by 2024," said Pence's former chief of staff. "And I'm actually surprised that Florida law enforcement still allows him to speak to teenage conferences like that."

Short was making reference to the Justice Department investigating Gaetz over allegations he had sex with a teenage girl and paid for her to travel with him, including over state lines. Gaetz has not been charged with any crime and denies all the accusations against him.

Speaking on The Joe Pags Show on Tuesday, Gates dismissed the remarks from Short while saying his attack on Pence had the "best applause" from the crowd.

"They can repeat debunked conspiracies and lies about me, but what Mike Pence and his political hacks cannot in any way dispute is that the people in that audience, the activists, the people that go out and win elections and the define the ideas of our party, they reject Mike Pence," said Gaetz.

"They don't want him to be the leader of our movement. And I think Mike Pence is going to find that very frequently out on the campaign trail."

Gaetz added that the reason people like Short can make such statements against him is that you can "pretty much say anything you want about a public figure" in the United States.

Gaetz said the "last person who talked like Mark Short" was Stephen Alford, a Florida businessman who pleaded guilty to attempting to extort money from the congressman's family in November 2021.

There has been rising speculation that Pence is gearing up for a presidential run in 2024, setting up a potential GOP primary battle with his one-time ally Donald Trump.

Short and Pence's political group, the Advancing American Freedom Foundation, has been contacted for comment.