Florida Representative Matt Gaetz was forced to admit to using literal Chinese propaganda during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday as he pushed to cut off U.S. aid to Ukraine.
Gaetz was questioning Colin Kahl, the Undersecretary of Defense on Policy, when he decided to whip out an “investigative report” by the Global Times to enter into the record.
The Florida Republican grilled Kahl on whether Ukraine’s Azov Battalion—the Kremlin’s favorite bogeyman—was getting access to U.S. weapons. But Wahl reacted calmly to the congressman’s spiel, asking:
“‘Is this the Global Times from China?”
Gaetz replied: “No, this is… ” Gaetz said, before admitting, ”Yeah, it might be. Yeah.”
Kahl didn’t waste time shutting down Gaetz’s attempt to score political points by replying: “I don’t take Beijing’s propaganda at face value.”
Gaetz conceded: “‘Fair enough.”
The Global Times, popularly referred to as “China’s Fox News,” is a well-known government mouthpiece. Before speaking to Kahl, Gaetz spent several minutes unsuccessfully trying to get Defense Department Inspector General Robert Storch to admit that the Biden administration somehow lost track of funding sent to Ukraine.
Watch the video below from CSPAN.
Rep. Matt Gaetz asks about Global Times Investigative report.@DOD_Policy Kahl: "Is this the Global Times from China?"@RepMattGaetz: "No, this is well…yeah, it might be. Yeah…"
Kahl: "I don't take Beijing's propaganda at face value."
Gaetz: "Fair enough." pic.twitter.com/9XQewKdZeA
— CSPAN (@cspan) February 28, 2023
