It happened to Donald Trump in 2020, and it's happening to Matt Gaetz in 2024.

In America, it's become a favorite pastime of liberals to try to discredit conservatives by accusing them of working with the "Proud Boys."

According to Wikipedia, "The Proud Boys is an exclusively male North American far-right, neo-fascist militant organization that promotes and engages in political violence."

No wonder liberals love trying to connect Republicans to the Proud Boys. Violence, fascist, and male... all of the terms they like to use to insult Republican voters.

Trump in 2020.

Other than the famous fly that took most of the attention away from Mike Pence's talking points in the vice-presidential debate, Trump was involved in one of the most noteworthy moments of the 2020 campaign trail. He refused to simply denounce any association with the Proud Boys.

In a moment that many people feel hurt Trump very seriously, Donald Trump was challenged to completely dismiss the Proud Boys as well as any association he had with them. Trump did not.

Instead, his words made it appear as if he were the leader of the Proud Boys, seemingly ordering them to "stand back and stand by" instead.

Many Americans REALLY wanted Donald Trump to simply squash all rumors involving his connection to the group. What actually happened was that Trump seemed to accidentally reinforce the idea he was somehow their leader.

Now, another Republican is being accused of something similar in 2024:

Gaetz in 2024.

Instead of leaving that moment in the past to forget about like Republicans would have wanted, Gaetz recently did the exact opposite. He brought Trump's gaffe back into the spotlight again, allowing liberals to hit all of their favorite talking points in only one argument yet again.

"Standing back, and standing by, Mr. President," Gaetz recently wrote on social media. He probably shouldn't have done that, as even Donald Trump seemed to try to distance himself from his own comments shortly after he made them back in 2020.

"I don’t know who the Proud Boys are. Whoever they are, they have to stand down. Let law enforcement do their work," Trump said amidst the backlash of his debate comments. Matt Gaetz' office apparently was not ready to distance themselves from the comments like Trump was. When Matt Gaetz' office was contacted about the Tweet, they offered little explanation other than asserting that Gaetz was standing by his words.

"The tweet speaks for itself," they said.

For better or worse, Matt Gaetz is standing by his office and former President Donald Trump. Gaetz was one of the Republican lawmakers who has actually attended Donald Trump's criminal trial in order to support him.

Other Representatives also inside the courtroom were Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Mike Waltz of Florida, and Eli Crane of Arizona. Andy Ogles of Tennesee, Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, and Bob Good of Virginia were also seen at the Manhattan courthouse.