Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) will be appearing on Mackinac Island later this month in the state of Michigan, effectively crashing a prestigious Republican conference that has been criticized for being a showcase of RINOs.
Gaetz will be appearing for an event on Friday, Sept. 24 from 8 to 10 pm at the Pink Pony as part of a “Red Team Party” hosted by R. Vance Patrick and the Michigan Conservative Coalition.
Gaetz will be joined by vote fraud whistleblower Kristina Karamo, a grassroots favorite who saw the Democrats’ rigging operation first-hand while working as a poll challenger in Detroit on election night. Karamo has appeared on Big League Politics Live and was endorsed by President Trump in her bid for secretary of state on Tuesday.
Speakers confirmed for the 34th biennial Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference, put on by the Michigan Republican Party, include Sen. Ted Cruz, former Education Secretary Betsy Devos, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Sen. Lindsey Graham, RNC Chair Ronna Romney-McDaniel, and Congresswoman Nancy Mace.
Former Vice President Mike Pence and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley were scheduled to speak at the event at one point, but are no longer listed on the official event page as speakers, suggesting they may have pulled out of the conference fearing backlash from attendees for their disloyal and contemptuous comments regarding President Trump and his supporters.
Event organizers believe that the party with Gaetz and Karamo will be an opportunity for the grassroots to flex their muscle and show they are the driving force in the new GOP with Trump as its champion and figurehead.
“I’m excited to be in the room with so many great American patriots as part of the Red Team Party with Rep. Matt Gaetz and future secretary of state Kristina Karamo,” Patrick told Big League Politics.
“We are not retreating from Mackinac, instead, we are going to throw the most exciting event on the island with the best speakers to show that the Republican Party is a solidly America First party now!” he added.
“The Michigan Conservative Coalition is excited to be co-hosting Matt Gaetz on the big island on the weekend of the GOP Republican convention. He will be appearing next to Kristina Karamo, Trump’s choice for secretary of state in Michigan,” Michigan Conservative Coalition president Roseanne Ponkowski said to Big League Politics.
“Attendees of the GOP conference are welcome to join us Friday night at the Pink Pony. Let’s give Gaetz a warm Michigan welcome!” she added.
After being hit with a media smear campaign meant to drive him out of office, Gaetz has doubled down and refused to buckle under the pressure. He has been touring the country, promoting his book, Firebrand, while starting a podcast under the same title. Additionally, Gaetz has cleared his name, with extortion charges being levied against a Florida developer who allegedly participated in the dastardly plot.
Gaetz has also led on key issues that most elected Republicans are too cowardly to broach, such as fighting for justice for Jan. 6 political prisoners and pushing back against an increasingly woke military that cares more about promoting social justice than protecting national security.
“To get answers, we did what members of Congress normally do. We showed up at the facility and sought a tour. This happens for Republicans under Democrat administrations. It happened for Democrats under Republican administrations, and now there is an unprecedented effort to deny members of Congress information that relates to criminal cases and relates to the treatment of people who are held,” Gaetz said as he appeared with a handful of other lawmakers demanding to observe the prison conditions for Jan. 6 protesters currently under detention.
“Today, the Chinese communist party is building aircraft carriers and jets that every member of this committee knows threaten to close or eliminate the capability gap. North Korea is perfecting the ability to strike the United States with nuclear weapons. Cartels are hunting the next trafficking routes, and here we are,” Gaetz said during an address before the House Committee on Armed Services earlier this year.
“Today, the House Armed Services Committee is engaged in a review of constitutionally-protected expression from our troops. How utterly weak of us. No wonder the Chinese communist party continues to gain ground,” he added, accusing Democrats and deep state operatives of working “to gaslight the targeting of U.S. military patriots who do not share preapproved politics.”
“This is not about extremism. It’s not about white supremacy. It’s about woke supremacy. It’s about converting the military…into an institution controlled by the political left. Today, instead of working together, we are gathered having a hearing designed to tear us apart, to try and get us to view our fellow countrymen and women who protect us as somehow evil or dangerous or a cancer to be exercised,” Gaetz said in a passionate defense of the freedom of speech for U.S. servicemen.
Gaetz is quickly staking his claim as a leader who could someday take the baton from Trump and be a credible GOP presidential contender promoting an America First platform. His appearance at Mackinac will certainly highlight the deepening chasm between the new Republican Party and the GOP of old.
