Max Miller, former aide to Donald Trump and current representative-elect for Ohio’s 7th District, had a sharp assessment of Matt Gaetz as the Republican speaker debacle enters its fourth day.
Speaking on Fox Business Network, Mr Miller — who has backed GOP leader Kevin McCarthy in all 11 votes for speaker to date — was asked if Mr McCarthy’s struggles were reflecting poorly on former president Trump
Mr Miller said they were not, that he has spoken to the former president several times and that Mr Trump had been “helpful”.
“I wouldn’t say this was a repudiation of President Trump,” he added, saying that Mr McCarthy’s Commitment to America agenda was based off America First policies espoused by the former president.
Pivoting the discussion to Mr Gaetz, Mr Miller said: “I like Matt, he’s a decent man, all that being said, nominating President Trump was a political stunt and should be seen as nothing other than that.”
“When you go ahead and do that and then you send out fundraising emails and text messages — and I understand he feels the need to go ahead and raise money so he can fight against Kevin McCarthy — we don’t need to be raising money off of this,” he continued.
“To me that is a self-serving individual, putting yourself before the conference and the American people and that is why this is so upsetting.”
He adds: “I hope the American people can this for what it is — is that you have a group of some individuals who are good people but are using this platform for a negative way to make money and continue to push an agenda that is only their’s and not on behalf of the American people.”
Mr Miller was a 2016 Trump campaign aide and rose to become a special assistant to the president during Mr Trump’s term in office.
He accompanied the then-president on the infamous walk to St John’s Church in June 2020, was appointed deputy campaign manager for presidential operations, helped organise the 2020 Republican convention, and negotiated the arrangement of presidential debates.
Mr Miller has referred to Mr Trump as the “greatest POTUS this country has ever had”, promoted the claim the 2020 election was rigged, and said the 6 January 2021 Capitol riot was not an insurrection.
He was deposed by the January 6 House select committee in January 2022.
