Sacha Baron Cohen Also Duped GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz – And He’s Thrilled

Sacha Baron Cohen Tricks Matt Gaetz Image by Getty Images

By Tamar Skydell July 13, 2018

Sacha Baron Cohen strikes again.

Matt Gaetz, GOP representative, confirms that he, too, joins the legions of congressmen that have been duped by Sacha Baron Cohen. The comedian has been posing as a journalist and has tricked multiple politicians, including Sarah Palin and Judge Roy Moore, for his upcoming show Who is America?.

The Daily Beast informed Gaetz that he may have been punked, but Gaetz was originally unable to remember this ever occurring. However, after earnestly deliberating for hours, he was finally able to pinpoint an interview in which he felt that something had gone awry. He thinks back to an interview that he had regarding Israel and remembers feeling oddly about it, describing the interviewer to be a man with dark hair and a face laden with heavy makeup.

Gaetz, a self-proclaimed fan of Baron Cohen, laughed when he remembered the strange interaction. “There were points in the interview where he wanted me to like hold up images of weapons systems and endorse those weapons systems,” the congressman recalled. “And I said, I would not do that, of course. I don’t know these weapons systems, I’m not going to talk about them.” Although he thought the interview had been uncomfortable, he admits that “they totally got me”; he had no idea that he was being punked until now but, unlike most of his infuriated congressional cohorts, Gaetz is very excited to view the show. “I can’t wait to see it.”

Who is America? premieres on Showtime this Sunday.

Tamar Skydell is an intern at The Forward. You can contact her at skydell@forward.com

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