Matt Gaetz: War on America's monuments is 'attempted cultural genocide'

close

Video

Rep. Matt Gaetz on the debate over reopening schools in America amid the coronavirus pandemic

Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, Republican member of the House Judiciary Committee, joins Judge Jeanine Pirro with insight on 'Justice.'

The war on the historical monuments and statues is an attempt at "cultural genocide," U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., asserted Saturday night.

"They're tearing down Lincoln, Winston Churchill and Frederick Douglass," Gaetz observed during an appearance on Fox News' "Justice with Judge Jeanine."

"So this isn't about slavery or fascism or even race," he added. "There is an attempted cultural genocide going on in America right now, and it calls for patriots to stand up and say, 'This is a great country. It is worthy of our pride and our defense.'"

PELOSI DRAWS DISTINCTION ON STATUES

"The left wants us to be ashamed of America so that they can replace America," Gaetz continued. "I love this country and I think that we ought to do a lot more to push back against the hate that we're seeing."

Gaetz and host Jeanine Pirro were reacting to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who on Thursday declined to admonish protesters in her native city of Baltimore after they recently pulled down a statue of Christopher Columbus and then tossed the monument into the city’s Inner Harbor.

"People will do what they do," Pelosi said at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Gaetz praised President Trump's handling of the situation.

"I am proud that President Trump has substantially increased enforcement and prosecutions," Gaetz said. "There are more than a half a dozen Antifa members from up in Portland [Ore.] that are going to be facing a federal judge and I think prison time as a consequence of organizing these things."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The congressman also slammed Black Lives Matter, comparing the movement to the Confederacy that they claim to oppose.

"But the great irony, Judge Jeanine, is that the organizers of Black Lives Matter -- who pledge allegiance to the destruction of America -- have a lot more in common with the Confederate generals that they hate than they would like to admit," Gaetz said.

"Because it was, in fact, the Confederacy that initially wanted to kick out federal officials who wanted to destroy America and change it to something different," Gaetz said. "I think America was worth defending in the 1860s, and she's certainly worth defending today."

Fox News' Marisa Schultz contributed to this report.