Matt Gaetz Says on His First AIPAC Reception, He Had to Wear a Name Badge with a QR Code: ‘Can You Imagine How Demoralizing that Is?’

EXCERPT:

GAETZ: "Initially, I resented the fact that there was no appreciation for nuance. Like, if you asked any questions about any decision of the Israeli government, in any place, regarding settlements, regarding Gaza, regard — whatever, you were like — you deviated from the script. And I just, in any policy area, I have resentment over that. And then I saw the way that AIPAC worked and that was weird for, like, a country lawyer like me. I remember my first AIPAC reception, and like, your fundraiser tells you you have to go, and your chief of staff tells you you have to go, your committee chairmen all tell you you have to go, and you get there and you wear this name badge, and I remember there’s a QR code on it. And what we were supposed to do was go talk to donors and then, if they liked you, they scanned your QR code to make a donation, like on the spot. Can you just imagine how demoralizing that is, to, like, be told that your job for the next several hours is to go chat people up, hoping they would scan you like a can of tomato soup on the way out of the meeting and — "

UNKNOWN: "It's like literally purchasing."

GAETZ: "Right.