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The Guardian

Welcome to Politics Weekly Extra, I'm Jonathan Friedland.

We've all been trying to get over our Trump addiction in the weeks past since January.

It can be difficult because we were so hooked on a guy who made news not just every day, but every hour.

But in the last week or so, the American news media and those who follow American politics have had something else almost on a Trumpian level to focus on.

And that is the story of Matt Gates, Florida Republican Trump loyalist, who is under investigation.

It turns out by the Justice Department for breaking federal sex trafficking laws.

He denies that and denies all charges, including claims that he had relationships with young women who'd been recruited online, and that he'd had sex with a 17 year old girl.

He denies it, the Justice Department are investigating it, and this weekend it proved that it had broken through because it became the subject of a sketch on Saturday night live.

We're one of the cast played Britney Spears and another took on the role of Matt Gates.

That's ridiculous, people are just targeting me because I defended Donald Trump.

And what has Trump said in your defense?

Uh, Giggity Squad.

So that sketch has had lots of people talking about the future of the Republican Party after Trump and about what happens in Florida politics if Matt Gates is toppled by all this.

But what caught my eye is a different angle, and that is the notion of a particular kind of politician who is happy to pass judgment on others who are seen not to be sufficiently conforming to Christian values who are then exposed as deeply flawed and Matt Gates, if these allegations are true, fits that pattern.

And it really is a pattern, and it's one that goes back several decades, which is why I'm so glad that our guest on the podcast this week is someone who thinks really deeply about all this.

And that is Peter Wainer, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Washington DC Think Tank, the works to clarify the ways in which moral and religious principles can and should shape public policy.

He's worked for several Republican presidential administrations and wrote a book called The Death of Politics.

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