Stunned US TV host utters five words he ‘never contemplated using’ after Trump announcement

A US TV news host said he “never contemplated” saying five words as he opened his bulletin following an announcement by Donald Trump.

US TV news anchor Jake Tapper could not contain his bewilderment after President-elect Donald Trump announced his shocking nomination of Matt Gaetz to serve as his attorney general.

“Welcome to The Lead I’m Jake Tapper,” said the CNN host.

“And let me begin the show by uttering some words that I never contemplated using together before.

“And those words are ‘US Attorney-General Matt Gaetz

“Because if you were wondering what Trump without the guardrails looks like, well, we’re getting an idea beyond the theoretical,” he added, reports the New York Post.

Donald Trump tapped Gaetz to be his incoming administration’s country’s top prosecutor on Wednesday, US time, sending shockwaves through Congress — even among Republicans, whom Mr Gaetz has openly criticised.

The 42-year-old Republican firebrand, known for his fierce loyalty to Mr Trump, immediately resigned from Congress after Mr Trump’s announcement.

Mr Gaetz’s resignation marks the end of a House Ethics Committee investigation that began in April 2021 over allegations that the congressman engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, dispensed special privileges and favours to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship, and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct.

CNN host Jake Tapper

The ethics panel was reportedly set to vote Friday on whether to release its “highly damaging” report on Mr Gaetz, according to website Punchbowl News.

However, since Mr Gaetz resigned, the panel no longer has jurisdiction to pursue the investigation.

Mr Gaetz has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

Matt Gaetz who President-elect Donald Trump announced on November 13, 2024, that he intends to nominate as US Attorney-General. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)

Mr Trump called Mr Gaetz a “deeply gifted and tenacious attorney” who would “end Weaponised Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organisations and restore Americans’ badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department.”

The former congressman will “root out the systemic corruption at DOJ, and return the Department to its true mission of fighting Crime, and upholding our Democracy and Constitution,” the incoming commander-in-chief vowed.

Jake Tapper said five words he “never contemplated using”. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Discovery)

It’s unclear if Mr Gaetz can secure the votes for a nomination despite Republican control of the Senate, as his appointment reportedly ruffled feathers of moderate Senate Republicans.

Several House GOP members meeting on Capitol Hill burst into laughter upon hearing the announcement, a source told The Post.

Other insiders told websites The Hill and Politico that some legislators gasped and one was seen laughing to the point of tears in a room where members were meeting to select their leadership team for the 119th Congress.

If confirmed, Gaetz would replace AG Merrick Garland, whom Mr Trump has long accused of going after Republicans — and who also led a sex-trafficking investigation into the Floridian, which the Department of Justice eventually dropped in 2023.

This story appeared in Teh New York Post and is reproduced with permission.