Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz goes after 'big government' and 'big tech' in CPAC address

Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz on Friday took aim at "big government" and "big tech," during his opening-day address at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference.

"You know the greatest threat to our liberty is big government, and the second greatest threat to our liberty is big business, and there is no bigger business than big tech," Gaetz said, "the flow of digital information impacts every aspect of our lives."

Gaetz, a loyal supporter of former President Trump, also said that the union of big government and big tech makes the United States look like China.

"The China model perhaps embodies something more dangerous," he said. "And we're heading in that direction, a captive capitalism," Gaetz said. "A corrupt linkage between business and government that enriches the elites and reduces the rest of us to interchangeable parts."

Gaetz since getting elected to Congress in 2016 has become a rising star in the GOP. However, any path he might seek toward winning the party nomination in the 2024 presidential race will be complicated by whether Trump seeks reelection and the ambitions of others speaking at the CPAC event in Orlando, Fla., including GOP Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, and Tom Cotton of Arkansas and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

"Now, Trump may not have drained the swamp all the way yet," Gaetz said, hinting at a possible future presidential bid,  "So if you want to finish the job. Maybe hire a Florida man. We've drained swamps before."