Republican Matthew Foldi explains why he gave up journalism to run for Congress
‘My work as a conservative investigative journalist is going to help me both on the campaign trail and in Congress,’ Foldi said.
A former conservative journalist has officially launched his bid for Congress, trying to become the youngest lawmaker in the U.S. House of Representatives, and he hopes his muckraking skills will aid him in the attempt.
Matthew Foldi, 25, resigned from his role as an investigative reporter for the Washington Free Beacon last month when he filed just before the deadline as a congressional candidate in Maryland's 6th district, which he insisted is "ripe" for a GOP pickup. He will be among six Republicans competing in the July 19 primary and hopes to defeat 66-year-old Democratic incumbent Rep. David Trone in November.
In his first interview since launching his campaign, Foldi said his reporting for the Free Beacon inspired him to give up his journalism career and run for office himself after he exposed Democratic lawmakers who've continued working remotely instead of from their offices in D.C. and in their home districts, accusing them of having a "part-time job" as U.S. representatives.
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"The Democrat I'm challenging is the epitome of a part-time congressman," Foldi told Fox News Digital. "David Trone, in all of his offices, they are closed and locked in parts of Maryland where the coronavirus has not been top of mind for voters in well over a year. And in one of these offices in Hagerstown, you actually see that mail is piling up, gathering dust from Marylanders. So David Trone and other Democrats can claim, 'Oh, we're still working full time for our constituents.' It's complete hogwash."
GOP congressional candidate Matthew Foldi (Matthew Foldi)
Foldi insisted his stint as a conservative investigative journalist will aid him both on the campaign trail and in Congress, and he says he no one has made the case against the multimillionaire Trone's "sordid past" in business as the co-founder of alcohol retailer Total Wine.
"David Trone, my opponent, is someone who has not received serious scrutiny in years, and I've been going through his recent record, going through thousands of pages of documents, looking into exposing him as both a fraud and as a part-time congressman," Foldi said. "We already know that he's been arrested multiple times."
Trone's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Foldi said Democrats lived in the "Ron Klain Twitterverse," referring to President Biden's Chief of Staff who tweets and retweets throughout the day, and they were "closing themselves off" from their constituents with coronavirus as their excuse.
"If you want to beat someone, you have to actually make the case against them," Foldi said. "We've seen Democrats in Congress are literally not working … They like living in the coronavirus. The coronavirus has been very good to elected Democrats because they can hide from their voters because their agenda is not popular. But now they can go close their doors, lock their offices, and they can live in this fantasy land where Biden Inflation isn't happening, where, you know, the economy is strong."
Matthew Foldi blasted Congressman David Trone as a "part-time congressman." (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Foldi made national headlines with his reporting on Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, who owned millions in stock in Proterra, an electric vehicle company the Biden administration repeatedly promoted. Granholm was forced to sell her stock as a result of Foldi's reporting and it remains unknown who she sold her stock to and how much she received. If elected, Foldi intends to use subpoena power to find out.
"I think voters and the American people realize there's a lot of sketchy stuff going on in the Biden administration, but we cannot count on the mainstream media to do that," he said. "And I felt like in what I could do as a journalist, my role was limited … The Biden administration can ignore us, and we unfortunately don't have subpoena power as journalists."
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The young Maryland native – whose reporting has landed him on popular cable news programs such as "Tucker Carlson Tonight" – is calling for a "new generation to take over this country," accusing President Biden and Speaker Nancy Pelosi of "destroying this country." Foldi was just 12 years old when Biden was first elected vice president and only 10 years old when Pelosi first became Speaker of the House.
"They're not in touch with the consequences of their failures They don't even know how to fill up a tank of gas, and they have no idea how much it costs. They have no idea about the supply chain crisis. They do not deal with rising crime that we're dealing with. Their kids do not go to public schools," he said.
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If elected, he would be sworn into office at 26 years old and become the youngest member of the House of Representatives. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., the current youngest member, will be 27 in August.
GOP congressional candidate Matthew Foldi. (Matthew Foldi)
This isn't Foldi's first run for office. He previously made history as the youngest elected official in Chicago when he became the 5th Ward GOP committeeman in 2016 at just 19 years old.
Foldi insisted he did not initially plan on running for Congress, at least in the current election cycle, but the "circumstances" encouraged him to throw his hat in the ring, citing the forecast of a "historic red wave" in November and saying Maryland's 6th District crop of GOP candidates "did not have what it takes to beat David Trone." He says he does.
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"Republicans running for office, of course, have a double standard. We have to do the media's job for them," Foldi said.