The day after the House voted to remove it from the committees for its earlier promotion of conspiracy theories, a defiant Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene attacked the media and repeatedly refused to address her previous endorsements of violence against Democrats.
At a notable press conference outside the Capitol, the Republican newcomer from Georgia acknowledged that her earlier adoption of certain conspiracy theories – including allegations that several school shooting massacres were staged to advance gun reform laws – was “wrong and offensive”.
But when asked if she still remains for comments accusing the Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Nancy PelosiHouse votes to expel Greene from committees because of the adoption of conspiracy theories Drama by Hoyer: Lead Democrat says Greene is putting ‘Squad’ at risk Impeachment managers call on Trump to testify MORE (D-Calif.) Of betrayal, which she said at the time was a “crime punishable by death,” Greene intervened and asked the reporter, “How many stories have you told about Russian collusion conspiracy lies?”
“You owe the people an apology,” Greene told the reporter. “You lied about President Trump
Donald TrumpSenator of the GP warns that his party must decide between ‘conservatism and madness’ Pompeo scolds Biden’s new foreign policy. Here are the 11 Republicans who voted to remove Greene from House MORE committees. “
And when another reporter later asked if Greene still had a comment she liked on Facebook saying that “a bullet in the head would be faster” to remove Pelosi, Greene took a similar step.
“You know, here’s the thing. When you want to keep telling the same story over and over, but you don’t want to tell the truth, that’s your problem, ”said Greene, and then quickly ended the press conference.
The controversy surrounding Greene came at a volatile time for Republicans on Capitol Hill and across the country.
With former President Trump defeated and banned from Twitter, his voice was silenced. But he still maintains enormous influence over Republican voters, which almost certainly played a major factor in Republican leaders’ decision not to punish Greene. And Greene said on Friday that Trump’s control over the GOP is absolute.
“It’s his party,” she said. “It doesn’t belong to anyone else.”
The House voted mainly according to party lines on Thursday to remove Greene from the Education and Labor and Budget committees, with 11 Republicans joining all Democrats.
Greene highlighted these GOP lawmakers.
“People are very angry. It was all I heard from people all morning, furious about it. So I hope that my Republican colleagues really think about what they did, ”said Greene.
The press conference appeared to be an effort by Greene to soften his image after weeks of reviewing previous comments endorsing violence, racist messages and debunked conspiracy theories, including QAnon.
After initially offering an olive branch to available reporters – “I really support press freedom,” she said – she quickly went on to attack the media in a distinctly Trumpian way. And in a strategy similar to that of Trump, Greene spoke about reporters who asked questions that she did not want to answer directly.
“Do you know what the media does? And you are great at this – and I’m saying this because I want to like you – but you’re doing a very good job of making our nation hate, ”Greene told dozens of journalists gathered outside the Capitol.
Democrats have been claiming for weeks that Greene is to blame for promoting hatred. And on Thursday they approved a reprimand, removing Greene from the Budget and Education panels – an extraordinary step in a chamber where party leaders have historically had a free rein to dictate their committee’s duties without interference across the hall.
Before Thursday’s vote, Greene went to the floor in his own defense, saying he was duped into believing online plots that were without merit.
She clarified in her Thursday speech that she believes 9/11 and school shootings “absolutely” happened, after previously questioning the reality of the events. And she acknowledged that she initially came to believe in the QAnon conspiracy theory in 2017, but stopped in 2018 after encountering “misinformation”.
But, similar to Friday’s press conference, Greene refused to specifically address his earlier comments that seemed to endorse violence against prominent Democrats.
“I’m sorry for saying all those things that are wrong and offensive. And I really mean it. And I’m happy to say that. I think it’s good to say when we did something wrong, so yes. This is easy for me, ”she said on Friday.
But Greene did not apologize for confronting David Hogg, a survivor of the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, who left 17 people dead, arguing that he was a legal adult at the time she followed him on Capitol Hill.
In the video of the incident, Greene asked Hogg, “how did you get children?” and questioned why Parkland activists were using children to promote their cause. And after he left, Greene called him a “coward”.
“David Hogg was an adult when I talked to him. I don’t think any of you noticed that, ”said Greene. “I’m not sorry to tell him that he shouldn’t demand gun control.”
She pointed to a 1990 incident at her school in Georgia, where a classmate took hostages, saying she understands Hogg’s experience of school violence.
“I want you to know that I know this fear that David Hogg felt. It is scary. It’s scary when the only person in the building with a gun is very upset and is there to do evil, and there is no nice guy with any weapon to protect us, ”said Greene.
At times, Greene seemed to contradict himself. She regretted, for example, that the Democrats, by removing her from the Budget and Education committees, had “stripped [her] district of your voice. “A moment later, she said that the change” freed her “to fight harder for the conservative values that her voters sent her as a champion.
“If I were on a committee, I would be wasting my time because my conservative values would not be heard, nor those of my district,” she said. “I now have a lot of free time, which means I can talk to a lot more people across the country.”
Greene also attacked the progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Alexandria Ocasio-CortezHashtag criticizing Ocasio-Cortez’s account of the Capitol rebellion assumed by supporters who share photos of pets The House will have to vote on the budget for the second time, as Republican Party points win House votes to expel Greene’s committees for embracing conspiracy theories MORE (DN.Y.), although she acknowledges that she has not yet had a chance to meet her colleague.
“I was in the chamber, unlike AOC, representative Ocasio-Cortez, who feigned his outrage at another scam, just another scam that is shared everywhere,” said Greene.
Ocasio-Cortez said earlier this week that he initially thought a rowdy had broken into his office in Congress on January 6 and feared for his life while she hid in a bathroom. But Ocasio-Cortez later realized that the person in his office was a Capitol Police officer, who told him to move to another office building.
In September, Greene posted an image of herself on Facebook holding a gun alongside photos of Ocasio-Cortez and Reps. Ilhan Omar
Ilhan OmarHere are 11 Republicans who voted to remove Greene from House On The Money committees: White House considering whether Biden can cancel student loan debt | Senate signals broad support for more targeted relief checks | Romney proposes monthly payments for families with children. House votes to expel Greene from committees on the adoption of conspiracy theories. MORE (D-Minn.) E Rashida Tlaib
Rashida Harbi TlaibHouse votes to expel Greene from committees because of the adoption of conspiracy theories Hoyer’s drama: Top Democrat says Greene endangers ‘Squad’ LIVE COVERAGE: House debates removing Greene from committees MORE (D-Mich.) Titled “Squad’s worst nightmare.” Facebook ended up removing the image for violating its policies.