There was a time when leaving office in disgrace carried at least one consequence: shame. Now too many politicians leave public life and immediately start filming paid birthday messages like washed-up reality contestants. Worse, a few have flirted with doing it while still holding office. That is not entrepreneurship. It is e-begging with a title card.
If you served in Congress, governed a state, or claimed you were fighting for the future of the republic, opening a Cameo account should be beneath you. It looks cheap because it is cheap. It tells the public that your grand speeches, your solemn committee hearings, and your endless talk about service were all just branding exercises on the way to personalized video hustling.
Matt Gaetz Is The Perfect Example Of Why This Looks So Pathetic
Matt Gaetz joined Cameo in November 2024 after leaving Congress, and his own Cameo bio leaned into the bit, saying he had served in Congress and that Trump had nominated him for attorney general “that didn’t work out.” See Gaetz’s Cameo page. News coverage at the time noted he was charging hundreds of dollars per video after his congressional exit. See the New York Post’s report and The Guardian’s report.
What makes it look even worse in Gaetz’s case is that this is not some man clawing his way up from nothing. Forbes reported in late 2024 that Gaetz’s father, Don Gaetz, had a fortune of about $35 million based on Florida disclosures, and that the family controlled substantial real-estate holdings. See Forbes. Newsweek likewise summarized that Forbes reporting and noted the family fortune behind him. See Newsweek.
That is what makes the whole thing feel especially undignified. When a politician from privilege ends up on Cameo selling novelty videos, it does not read as survival. It reads as vanity mixed with shamelessness.
This Is Not Just A Republican Problem
Republicans do not own this embarrassment. George Santos turned Cameo into a post-expulsion cash machine after being thrown out of Congress. The Associated Press reported on his lawsuit against Jimmy Kimmel over prank Cameo requests, a reminder that Santos was already deep into monetizing the whole spectacle. See AP. The Guardian separately reported that Santos said he had made hundreds of thousands of dollars on the platform after his expulsion. See The Guardian.
Democrats have their own version of the same degradation. Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, impeached and removed from office, also went to Cameo, where his profile openly markets him as a former governor available for paid videos. See Blagojevich’s Cameo page. Chicago magazine noted years ago that he was among the first politicians on the platform and treated it like a new lane for political celebrity culture. See Chicago magazine.
That is the bipartisan truth. Whether it is a Republican ex-congressman, a disgraced Republican expelled from the House, or a Democratic ex-governor with a corruption cloud hanging over him, too many political figures now treat public notoriety as a revenue stream to be strip-mined one $300 birthday greeting at a time.
Doing It While Still In Office Is Even Worse
If post-office Cameo is pathetic, sitting politicians doing it while still in office is worse. That is where the conduct stops being merely tacky and starts colliding with the dignity of the office itself. In November 2024, Rep. Lauren Boebert briefly opened a Cameo account while serving in Congress, reportedly charging at least $250 for personalized videos, before taking it down amid ethics questions. See Colorado Politics, Punchbowl, and MSNBC’s report on the episode.
The problem should be obvious. A sitting member of Congress is not a novelty product. She is not supposed to convert public office into a personalized video side hustle. The mere fact that House ethics questions came up immediately tells you everything you need to know. Normal people understand the line even if too many politicians do not.
Public Office Is Not Influencer Culture
There is a deeper rot underneath all of this. Modern politicians increasingly act like internet personalities with committee assignments. They build parasocial brands, chase viral moments, and turn every controversy into content. Cameo is just the most humiliating expression of that mindset because it strips away the pretense. It tells supporters and critics alike that for the right price, the former lawmaker or current political celebrity will perform a tiny custom clip on demand.
That is not service. It is content creation for cash. And once politicians start thinking like creators instead of stewards, the office itself becomes smaller. Every speech becomes a clip. Every hearing becomes a branding event. Every resignation becomes a monetization opportunity.
Both Parties Should Be Ashamed Of This
Republicans should be embarrassed when figures like Matt Gaetz, George Santos, or a sitting Lauren Boebert flirt with treating office like a launchpad for paid shout-outs. Democrats should be embarrassed when disgraced figures like Rod Blagojevich cash in on their political notoriety the same way. The partisan details change. The underlying message does not.
The message is this: public office is no longer sacred enough to preserve even a minimum level of personal restraint. If a politician can go from floor speeches and constitutional rhetoric to “happy birthday, Chad” for a fee, then he probably did not belong in office in the first place.
There Should Be A Hard Cultural Line
- Sitting officeholders should not be on Cameo. If you still hold power, the conflict with the dignity and obligations of office is obvious.
- Former officeholders should think twice before turning political fame into novelty sales. There is such a thing as acting like the office mattered.
- Wealthy politicians doing this look especially ridiculous. Gaetz’s family background, as reported by Forbes, makes the whole spectacle look less like hustle and more like humiliation.
- Both parties should stop rewarding clown behavior. If voters and donors want more dignity from politics, they should stop applauding politicians for becoming paid internet curiosities.
Conclusion
Cameo may be fine for actors, athletes, washed-up reality stars, and internet personalities. It should be beneath politicians. It is certainly beneath politicians who came from money, inherited influence, or spent years presenting themselves as defenders of the public trust. And it is absolutely beneath anyone still holding office.
Whether it is a Republican like Matt Gaetz or George Santos, or a Democrat like Rod Blagojevich, the slide from public office to e-begging is degrading. When it happens while someone is still in office, as the Boebert episode suggested, it is worse than degrading. It is contemptuous. Politicians keep telling the country that democracy is sacred. Fine. Then maybe they should stop acting like washed-up app influencers the second the spotlight shifts.
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