Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz roasted after three separate venues cancel their ‘America First’ rally

Republican representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz have had the meme treatment after their plans to hold an America First rally in California on Saturday were derailed not once, but three times.

MTG, who has attracted criticism for her support of the far-right conspiracy theory QAnon and comparing coronavirus regulations to the Holocaust, was joined by Florida politician Gaetz to “[peacefully] protest against communism”.

Gaetz is reportedly under investigation by the US Justice Department for alleged sex trafficking – allegations which he has strongly denied. He has not been charged with any crimes.

The pair are also staunch Trump supporters, with ‘America First’ being the slogan for the ex-president’s foreign policies during his time in office.

At first, the rally was meant to take place in Orange County, at the Pacific Hills Banquet & Event Center.

“We just want to stay clear of that,” Javad Mirtavoosi, general manager of the venue, told The Orange County Register on 9 July.

The plans were cancelled.

The pair hoped that it would be second time lucky for them when they announced the rally had been moved to the Riverside Convention Center.

Raincross Hospitality Corp, who manage the venue, said it wouldn’t be going ahead there, either.

“I recognise this was a divisive issue in our community, and I am glad it has been resolved. I commend Raincross Hospitality Corp for this decision,” Patricia Lock Dawson, Riverside’s mayor, said in a statement.

So the duo were hoping that three would indeed be the magic number when they planned to host it at the Anaheim Event Centre – not to be confused with the Anaheim Convention Center.

Nope.

“A planned America First rally at a private venue in our city is cancelled. The city of Anaheim shared public safety concerns with the operator, and those concerns are shared by the operator.

“As a city, we respect free speech but also have a duty to call out speech that does not reflect our city and its values,” Mike Lyster, a spokesperson for the city of Anaheim, said in a statement issued on Twitter.

As Gaetz and Greene were forced once again to search for another venue for their little get-together, Four Seasons Total Landscaping began trending on Twitter, with critics joking that the site could be used once more for a political conference.

Back in November, former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani held a press briefing on unsubstantiated and disproven claims of electoral fraud next to the garage door of the store, in an incident believed to be the result of a mix-up with the Four Seasons Hotel.

The unusual location also had the hilarious bonus of being situated between a crematorium and a sex shop. There’s a joke in there somewhere.

Since then, the venue has been picked to host a punk rock gig in August, and Twitter users jokingly suggested the two politicians could use it too:

The actual location, Riverside City Hall, was tweeted by Gaetz just hours before the event, and of course, it still faced criticism and ridicule:

Speaking to the crowd at the rally, Gaetz said: “They may try to cancel us online, they may try to pursue us in real life, they will try to shut down our venue, but we will take this fight to them in the courts, in the houses of Congress and if necessary, in the streets.”

Although knowing how terrible Gaetz and Greene are at organising events and securing venues for their divisive rhetoric, that street may be subject to change at short notice.