Former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz debuted his eponymous show Thursday night on One America News Network—but much of the attention wasn’t on what the MAGA figure had to say.
Instead, many viewers reacted by asking some variation of, “What happened to his face?”
Some placed blame on the network.
“Y’all need to fire your makeup artist immediately,” wrote Turning Point USA’s Savanah Hernandez.
“Fire that makeup artist!” another X user echoed. “They can do better or are they purposefully making you look like a villain? The lighting and makeup make such a huge impact, this isn’t the best that can be done.”
Nick Fuentes, a far-right white supremacist podcast host who was charged with battery last month, commented simply, “Yeesh.”
Others mentioned how Botox may have factored in. Gaetz hasn’t said whether he has ever used it.
At the Republican National Convention last July, the then-congressman’s appearance spurred similar reactions, and experts on the cosmetic surgery were asked to weigh in.
Board-certified dermatologist Corey Hartman told Esquire then that Gaetz’s look was due in part to an “overly heavy hand and poor placement” of neuromodulators.
“It’s too heavy in the forehead and not lateral enough to prevent Spock Eye,” Hartman told the outlet.
“Plus,” he added, “the glabellar injections [the vertical lines between the eyebrows] use an older technique that pushes the brow down and makes him look more menacing than usual.”
All the speculation over Gaetz’ appearance aside, a bit of political news did manage to be made during Gaetz’s show, which largely focused on a crucial congressional vote Friday that will determine whether House Speaker Mike Johnson will get to keep the gavel.
Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie told Gaetz that he would not cast his ballot for Johnson, even if his colleagues physically tortured him.
“You can pull all my fingernails out,” Massie said. “You can shove bamboo up in them. You can start cutting off my fingers. I am not voting Mike Johnson tomorrow. And you can take that to the bank.”
Massie added that there could be up to five others who might buck President-elect Donald Trump, who endorsed Johnson for the position last month.
Indiana Rep. Victoria Spartz also told Gaetz Thursday that she was undecided.
Johnson can only afford to lose one vote in the closely divided House.
Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert joined Gaetz to make her case for Texas Rep. Chip Roy to chair the House Rules Committee, saying if Johnson agrees to appoint him to that post, that would secure enough votes for his reelection.
The move would almost certainly spur a rebellion in the opposite direction from more moderate members of the House Republican caucus.
