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Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is perhaps President Donald Trump's most devout ally in the House of Representatives.
On Trump's behalf, Gaetz has badgered and intimidated witnesses, he's stormed secure briefings, and railed against Democratic leadership.
But people were surprised with Gaetz's actions on Thursday as the House voted on a War Powers resolution limiting Trump's ability to escalate tensions with Iran even further than he has in the past week.
Hours before the vote, Trump tweeted:
"Hope that all House Republicans will vote against Crazy Nancy Pelosi's War Powers Resolution."
For the first significant time, however, Gaetz didn't follow instructions.
I represent more troops than any other member of this body. I buried one of them earlier today at Arlington. If o… https://t.co/nvh20zItm6— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@Rep. Matt Gaetz) 1578608517.0
The Trump doctrine, however, demands absolute loyalty. Any dissent or deviation from Trump's best interests could indicate a deep state Republican in Name Only (RINO), or worse, a secret Democrat.
Trump's fans were not pleased that Gaetz didn't vote the way Trump told him to.
@RepMattGaetz You stabbed the President in the back. You stabbed us all in the back. We thought you were one of the… https://t.co/2qNGZreGVU— Stonewall Jackson (@Stonewall Jackson) 1578618187.0
@RepMattGaetz You sound like a demonicrat. You should have sat that one out, you're too emotional. You have prove… https://t.co/RvWfdtbNNA— ☤𝓢𝒌𝓪𝓲☤ (@☤𝓢𝒌𝓪𝓲☤) 1578621618.0
@RepMattGaetz This non-binding resolution isn't even worth the paper it's written on and this will die in the House… https://t.co/W3QDeKeZZ7— Texas Cheesehead (@Texas Cheesehead) 1578614432.0
@RepMattGaetz Yo Matt, you can do 100 good things, but when you go against the President once, you crossed us. Have fun being a RINO.— 🇺🇸K-B 3T0 Q🦅 (@🇺🇸K-B 3T0 Q🦅) 1578614535.0
@RepMattGaetz @realannapaulina Shocked, stunned and totally disappointing. You sure had all of us fooled. Well now we know.— Hang Tough (@Hang Tough) 1578610960.0
@RepMattGaetz Is always good to know who’s your enemies... you turned your back to our our President!! We turn our… https://t.co/pZXVDIQNSG— In God We Trust 🙏🏼 (@In God We Trust 🙏🏼) 1578615145.0
@RepMattGaetz Sir yoy have now lost all my respect and i bet the respect of all trump supporters— Pam frye (@Pam frye) 1578611326.0
@RepMattGaetz Well, now we know he's a fake maga. #FakeMAGA— NC Conservative Photographer (@NC Conservative Photographer) 1578661145.0
After the backlash, Gaetz tweeted again, assuring his followers that Trump wasn't mad at him.
I spoke to @POTUS today and he told me he’s more anti-war than I am. This resolution did not criticize the preside… https://t.co/PA3Pw6vLKQ— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@Rep. Matt Gaetz) 1578621378.0
His former supporters on Twitter didn't absolve him.
Blind devotion to a corrupt leader? What could go wrong?