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In another example of the GOP’s slide toward nationalism, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene spoke Friday at a white supremacist rally.
Greene, a bombastic freshman congresswoman from Georgia, agreed to be the “surprise guest’ at the America First Convention. The convention, hosted by neo-Nazi and Holocaust-denier Nick Fuentes, has been widely condemned by Democrats and traditional Republicans alike.
Moments before Greene took the stage, Fuentes has been on a horrifying rant touting white supremacist talking points.
Fuentes began by saying the “secret sauce” to the far-right movement is “these young white men”. Fuentes then gestured to the room – filled with young, white men.
At one point, Fuentes called the United States “the Great Satan” of the world. He suggested the nation earned this title because of its support for the LGBTQ community and Black lives. Fuentes then lamented the burgeoning anger against Russia.
“Now they’re going on about Russia and how Vladimir Putin is Hitler, and they say that’s not a good thing,” Fuentes said. He paused briefly before laughing and exclaiming “I shouldn’t have said that!”
He would go on to ask the crowd: “can we get a round of Russia?!” The cheers transitioned to chants of “Putin!”, to which Fuentes pumped his fist in the air.
Shortly after, Fuentes enthusiastically introduced Marjorie Taylor Greene. Greene walked out to greet the crowd, smiling ear-to-ear, and said “hello, canceled Americans!”
Marjorie Taylor Greene, other Republicans, face significant backlash for their appearance at alt-right rally
Backlash to Greene’s appearance was swift, with leaders from both parties condemning her, Fuentes and Arizona Representative Paul Gosar, who also spoke at the rally.
In a brief interview with CBS News, a frustrated Greene claimed she never met Nick Fuentes, that she did not know him and had no idea what his views were before accepting an invitation to speak at his rally.
During that brief interview, Greene never apologized for her appearance at the rally, never offered prayers for the people of Ukraine and called America a “weak nation”.
The Congresswoman later took to Twitter to position herself as the victim.
“I am not going to play the guilt by association game in which you demand every conservative should justify anything ever said by anyone they’ve ever shared a room with,” Green wrote.
Another politician featured at the event was Lt. Governor Janice McGeachin. McGeachin is running what’s described as an “insurgent” campaign against the incumbent Republican governor. She reportedly told the crowd at the white-supremacist rally to “keep up the good work fighting for our country”.
McGeachin took a similar path of blaming the media for her own lack of judgment.
Liz Cheney, the Republican congresswoman from Wyoming who has taken a clear stand against Trump, called Greene and others out in a Tweet on Saturday.
“As Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene and Rep Paul Gosar speak at this white supremacist, anti-Semitic, pro-Putin event, silence by Republican Party leaders is deafening and enabling,” Cheney wrote.
“All Americans should renounce this garbage and reject the Putin wing of the GOP now.”
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