Geraldo Rivera shared his visceral reaction Thursday to President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of now-former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) as attorney general.
“When I heard Matt Gaetz was picked as attorney general, I threw up in my mouth,” Rivera told NewsNation in his role as the station’s correspondent.
“I think it’s a terrible, creepy choice. I have no idea why he did it,” added the former Fox News personality, who despite being a longtime friend of Trump, ultimately endorsed Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.
Trump’s other choices are “controversial” but can be defended, Rivera continued, before pointing out that as attorney general, Gaetz would have “access to the files” of the investigations into himself.
Gaetz “is the embodiment of everything that is rotten in Washington” and is “privileged, entitled and conniving,” Rivera later said in a video shared online by Mediaite.
He also predicted that “there is no way Senate Republicans will confirm this guy.”
In a separate conversation with NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo, Rivera described Trump’s choices as “an earthquake.”
Trump has appointed Fox News’ Pete Hegseth as defense secretary and anti-vaccination conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Ministry of Health.
Trump has said that Kennedy can “let go” of health in his role.
“This is blowing up Washington DC and the selection of Matt Gaetz in particular to lead the Justice Department is a major embarrassment to the critics,” Rivera said.
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Gaetz is “perpetually under investigation,” “barely an attorney” and a “clearly incompetent person,” he added.
On X, formerly Twitter, Rivera ripped Gaetz as “a loser.”