Rep. Matt Gaetz Attacks Jewish Legislator with Antisemitic Conspiracy, Racism

Responding to the news that Commissioner Nikki Fried, a Jewish lawmaker in Florida, asked Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to issue a stay-at-home order to defend against coronavirus, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) tweeted “Apparently the last chapter of the Globalization Book is...house arrest.”

When called out for the antisemitic overtones of his tweet, Gaetz replied by writing “I’m obviously attacking China,” trying to defend himself from the accusation of antisemitism by resorting to anti-Asian racism.

With the spread of COVID-19, more and more right-wing politicians and pundits have sought to scapegoat Chinese people for the coronavirus pandemic, leading to a sharp rise in anti-Asian racism worldwide.