Danny McAuliffe
Republican state Rep. Matt Caldwell is making the most out of Facebook’s misstep.
The tech giant earlier this week removed one of Caldwell’s ads featuring him shooting and declaring his support for guns, the Second Amendment and President Donald Trump.
Caldwell, a candidate for Agriculture Commissioner, accused Facebook of one-sided censorship and has subsequently received an apology from the company. In the aftermath, he scored a 4-minute appearance on Fox News, where he was able to tout his own conservative accolades — including the endorsements of U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz — to prospective Republican voters just a few weeks away from the primary. In that race, he will face Sebring Sen. Denise Grimsley, retired U.S. Army Col. Mike McCalister and former Winter Haven Rep. Baxter Troutman.
Caldwell’s media hit is clean and wide-ranging. While brought on to discuss Facebook’s censorship of guns, the Lehigh Acres Republican redirected the conversation to abortion, telling Fox News and its viewers, “I’m 100 percent pro-life, it’s one of the reasons we’ve got support from folks like Marco Rubio.”
At one point during the bit, Caldwell asks rhetorically, “Why don’t they have restrictions on abortion advertisers?
“That’s something that’s an actual, serious problem every single day in this country.”
In a news release highlighting the appearance, Caldwell said, “Facebook’s censorship regime takes advantage of their liberal policies to repress conservative ideals and our pro-liberty message, which includes our pro-Second Amendment endorsement from the NRA.
“This type of liberal bias and censorship is one of the many reasons why President Trump was elected!”
Watch the full-length clip here.
