A member of QAnon, the Republican congresswoman spreads unease and controversy. The Democrats demand her expulsion from the House of Representatives. Among the Republican ranks, Mitch McConnell talks about a “cancer” in the party.
Calls for her resignation come thick and fast, but nothing seems to stop her. Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who since January has sat in the House of Representatives, has become uncontrollable. A member of the far-right movement and conspiracy theory group QAnon, which notably believes in the existence of a cult comprised of elite pedophiles and satanists, she doesn’t blink at spreading the most unbelievable theories.
A ‘Bullet in the Head’
Her latest feat of arms? Violent remarks against the Democrats, highlighted by CNN, which have sparked a heated controversy. She notably, in January 2019, even before she aimed for Congress, liked a comment on Facebook that stated that the easiest way to remove Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi from her role would be with a “bullet in the head.” She has since, on multiple occasions, openly suggested that Pelosi deserved to be killed and demanded her impeachment for “treason,” a “crime punishable by death.” The 46-year-old Republican has also supported calls to execute FBI agents who are part of the “deep state” against Donald Trump. Greene is convinced that Joe Biden “stole” the election. The day after his inauguration, she demanded his impeachment for “abuse of power.”
Old videos also stand out, one in particular dated 2019, where she attacks David Hogg, an anti-gun activist and survivor of the Parkland school shooting in Florida. She doesn’t hesitate to pretend that the mass shootings were staged in order to damage supporters of the Second Amendment, and that the survivors are actors. In the past, Greene, never far from controversy, also accused American intelligence agencies of being behind the 9/11 attacks and shares Islamophobic and anti-Semitic views. Facebook had to censor a photo posted during her “Save America! Stop Socialism!” campaign. It showed her with an AR-15. Her goal: to warn the “Antifa terrorists” that it was in their best interests to stay out of her state, Georgia.
Caught in a whirlpool of controversy, Greene accuses the media, and CNN in particular, of lies. She has defended herself by arguing that teams manage her social media profiles and that certain shared posts or likes do not represent her opinions. At the same time, she has started to clean up her profiles and remove incriminating messages. Greene also claims to have distanced herself from QAnon. But pressure is building. Democrats have given the Republicans an ultimatum: She should be removed from the Congressional committees in which she takes part — Education and Budget — or the issue will be discussed in a Congressional meeting on Wednesday.*
A ‘Cancer’ in the Republican Party
California Rep. Jimmy Gomez demands her expulsion from the House, and already has the support of about 50 of his colleagues. Pelosi now speaks of her as an “enemy” within the House of Representatives. As for African American Rep. Cori Bush, she announced on Jan. 29 on Twitter that she is moving her offices away from Greene’s, in order to protect herself and her team. She accused the defender of white supremacist ideas of having supported the assault on the Capitol on Jan. 6 and of having refused to wear a mask while members of Congress were under lockdown. Greene has in fact continued to accuse “Antifa Terrorists/Black Lives Matter” and their “Democrat accomplices like Cori Bush, Ilhan Omar, Kamala Harris or AOC” of being responsible for the attack. “Those who stoke insurrection & spread conspiracies have blood on their hands. They must be expelled,” she tweeted.
Should she be expelled from Congress? It would take two-thirds of the House voting in favor of this option. Yet for the moment, the Republicans, who have 212 of 435 seats, are not rushing to condemn her words. Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy should try to get her to fall in line. According to CNN, he will soon talk with her. Republican leaders are faced with a dilemma: How do they not alienate the more die-hard Trumpists while not putting themselves in a delicate situation for the midterm election in 2022?
Monday evening, however, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell caused a stir with a strong condemnation, even if he did not directly mention her name. “Loony lies and conspiracy theories are a cancer for the Republican Party. Somebody who’s suggested that perhaps no airplane hit the Pentagon on 9/11, that horrifying school shootings were pre-staged and that the Clintons crashed JFK Jr.’s airplane is not living in reality. This has nothing to do with the challenges facing American families or the robust debates on substance that can strengthen our party,” he said, according to The Hill.
The only one who does not feel any discomfort is Greene. In response to McConnell’s claims, she quickly tweeted that “The real cancer for the Republican Party is weak Republicans who only know how to lose gracefully. This is why we are losing our country.” As a Trump supporter, she arrived for her first day in the Capitol, Jan. 3, with a “Trump won” mask. She boasted today of having an upcoming meeting with him at his private club in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, and insinuated that he supports her 100%. No one among those close to the former president have confirmed this.
*Editor’s Note: Since this article was written, Greene has been stripped of her committee assignments.
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