- Rep. Matt Gaetz said he thinks the death of Rep. Jamie Raskin's son impacts his work in Congress.
- "The country shouldn't have to go through all that with him," Gaetz said this week.
- Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jerry Nadler quickly came to Raskin's defense.
Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz said this week he doesn't think his Democratic colleague Rep. Jamie Raskin can properly do his job in Congress because his son died by suicide.
Gaetz made the comments Tuesday during an episode of MTG: Live, which GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene broadcasts to her social media sites. The lawmakers were discussing the work of the House select committee investigating the Capitol riot, which includes Raskin.
"No one would ever want to lose a child, particularly to suicide, and as a human being our hearts go out to him," Gaetz said of Raskin. "I think that he takes that trauma and he associates it now with his work in the Congress in such an interwoven way that he's unable to do the Congressional experience outside of the dungeon of that personal trauma."
The Florida congressman said he thinks it has made Raskin "look at everything in these very dark and severe ways" and that it "clouds his judgement."
"The country shouldn't have to go through all that with him," Gaetz continued.
—Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 9, 2022
Raskin, who has served in Congress since 2017, lost his 25-year-old son, Tommy, to suicide in 2020. The Maryland Representative and his wife published a tribute to their son's life days after his death. Raskin also invoked the loss of his son in early 2021 when explaining why he decided to serve as an impeachment manager for former President Donald Trump's second impeachment: "I'm not going to lose my son at the end of 2020 and lose my country and my republic in 2021."
When a clip of Gaetz's comments circulated on Twitter, some of Raskin's Democratic colleagues came to his defense.
"@RepRaskin is a greater statesman, Congressman, human being than most of us. History will remember him. Tommy was a remarkable person and testament of his parents' love," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York said in a tweet.
She also called Gaetz "a bad haircut in a cheap suit" and "a feat of mediocrity." Gaetz replied in a tweet that said "A lot of people like my hair" and "My suits are cheap. Not sorry."
Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York also tweeted: "@RepRaskin is a wonderful father, a selfless public servant and an American hero in every sense of the word. Matt Gaetz should strive to be even half of the patriot and kindhearted human being that Mr. Raskin is."
A representative for Raskin did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.