How to read Trump's failure with Matt Gaetz

Donald Trump nominated former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz to be the next Attorney General. Eight days later, Trump leaned on Gaetz to withdraw his name.

For Gaetz, this whole mess is a loss. It brought far more attention to the Ethics Committee report that Republicans in the House are still trying to suppress than if Gaetz had simply resigned and slunk back to his Florida country club scene. It guaranteed that portions of the report would leak to the media, and even with his hurried departure from the national stage, it's likely the full report on Gaetz's involvement in underage sex trafficking will be made public.

But don't expect anything to happen.

Gaetz is not so wounded by this that Fox News will wait more than a week before offering him Pete Hegseth's spot on "... and Friends" or some other cozy slot. After all, they may have to fight over his time with other national media outlets clearly in the market for Trump whisperers.

Trump dropped Gaetz's name at the end of a string of 12 nominations in as many days, reportedly deciding on the Florida fondler while enjoying an inflight meal on his private jet in the company of Elon Musk. The whole set of nominations—which included putting Hegseth in charge of the Defense Department and whale-butcher Robert Kennedy Jr. in charge of America's health—was a series of face slaps for democracy, common sense, and the media still repeating claims that Trump was somehow not going to do the things he promised in his campaign.

Gaetz wasn't just a nominee. He was a deliberate provocation. But that doesn't mean that losing him is a blow to Trump.

In the wake of his departure, Trump has replaced Gaetz with illegally blond Pam Bondi, best known for taking bribes, defending Trump in his impeachment trials, and raking in cash as a foreign agent. So there's no threat that the Department of Justice will be run by anyone with even a modicum of respect for the law. Bondi has enough nominal credit as the former Florida Attorney General that Republicans in the Senate will have no difficulty giving her the thumbs up. She will still serve Trump in using the DOJ to persecute his perceived enemies.

With Gaetz, it seemed that Trump wasn't able to get Republican senators to go along. Which on the surface seems like at least a minor defeat for Trump. Scads of headlines since Gaetz's withdrawal paint this as an indication that there are limits on Trump's power; that there are still Republicans who are willing to stand up to him when he goes too far. Some are even reading this as a signal that Trump may meet opposition when it comes to some of his most destructive plans.

All those articles are wrong.

Because what they've overlooked is the most simple factor in this whole thing: Republicans on Capitol Hill hate Matt Gaetz. Hate him. Like ... a lot.

This was not a measure of the limits of Trump's power. Republicans didn't say no to Trump because they thought he was being too extreme in his selection—just wait for the speed with which they push through his most ridiculous nominees.

This was an opportunity to stick a knife into someone that they hate more than Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton rolled together with Bernie Sanders sprinkled on top. Gaetz's role in the departure of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, his constant grandstanding, and his open disdain for everyone who isn't Matt Gaetz is what doomed the botox king.

Don't read this as any signal that Republicans have located even a single vertebra from their long-absent spines. It's just that there are still a few things they value more than pleasing Trump.

And kicking Matt Gaetz is all of them.