Matt Gaetz Says Members of Congress Had to Wear Demoralizing' QR Codes For AIPAC Donors to Scan Like a Can of Tomato Soup'

"I remember my first AIPAC reception, and like your fundraiser tells you you have to go, and your chief of staff tells you you have to go, your committee chairmen all tell you you have to go. You get there and you wear this name badge and I remember there's a QR code on it, and what we were supposed to do was go talk to donors, and then if they liked you, they scanned your QR code to make a donation, like on the spot. Can you just imagine how demoralizing that is? To like be told that your job for the next several hours is to go chat people up hoping they would scan you like a can of tomato soup on the way out of the meeting?"

"So I saw that and I was like, That is so freaking weird,' and then, you know, I was in Israel. I went multiple times and I did not like the fact that I found someone in my room rooting around in my stuff. They should not have been there, it's King David Hotel. When I came back to my room, no one was expecting me to be back in my room I don't know who it was, I just thought like, this is weird."

Matt Gaetz, a former Republican congressman, criticized pro-Israel lobbying practices and recounted experiences at AIPAC fundraisers. He described being required by staff and party leaders to attend receptions and to wear name badges displaying QR codes. Donors could scan those QR codes and donate on the spot, which Gaetz characterized as demoralizing and transactional. He likened the experience to being scanned 'like a can of tomato soup.' Gaetz also recounted finding someone rummaging in his King David Hotel room during a visit to Israel. He connected these incidents to a broader concern that intense focus on Middle East policy has not served his generation well.

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