Matt Gaetz bails on Trump's big announcement despite being 'one of the very few' lawmakers coming
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) suggested at the last minute that he would not attend a speech where former President Donald Trump is widely expected to announce his intentions to run again in 2024.
Gaetz had reportedly been one of the few lawmakers making the trip to Mar-a-Lago to hear Trump.
But the congressman told Associated Press correspondent Farnoush Amiri that he probably would not go due to the weather.
"Rep. Matt Gaetz, one of the very few GOP lawmakers who had planned to go down to Mar-a-Lago tonight for Trump's announcement, says the weather is not looking good for his flight down from D.C. to Florida," Amiri reported on Twitter. "But he will be there 'in spirit.'"
According to data from FlightAware, two afternoon flights from Washington, D.C. to West Palm Beach had not been delayed at the time of publication.
The National Weather Service reported light rain in D.C. while Palm Beach had mostly cloudy skies.