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Congressman Matt Gaetz Issues Statement in Response to State of the Union Guest

February 1, 2018

Washington, D.C. — Congressman Matt Gaetz (FL-01) today issued the following statement in response to questions about his guest to the State of the Union address:

"Chuck Johnson's views and beliefs in no way represent or accurately portray Rep. Gaetz's views on Israel or the Holocaust, nor does the Congressman agree with everything Mr. Johnson has ever said or done. Rep. Gaetz is staunch supporter of Israel and the Jewish faith, and had he known previously of Mr. Johnson's views, he would not have invited him to the State of the Union. Rep. Gaetz had originally planned to take his father to the State of the Union to celebrate his 70th birthday on Tuesday, until his father came down with bronchitis, leaving Rep. Gaetz with an extra ticket. Mr. Johnson and Rep. Gaetz met on the day of the State of the Union, and have no previous connections or ties of communication to each other. Moving forward, Congressman Gaetz is committed to advancing his legislation to defund Palestinian schools that are named after terrorists and Nazis. He will also continue to push the Palestinian Authority to end its abhorrent campaign of anti-Semitism."

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