Marjorie Taylor Greene doubles down on view that United States should be a Christian nation
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, a Republican from Georgia, on March 3, 2023. Photo by Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
By Jacob Kornbluh April 2, 2023
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, doubled down on her view that the United States should be a Christian nation in a wide-ranging prime time interview on CBS News’ 60 Minutes program Sunday night. She also dismissed criticism of her past comments as being antisemitic.
“The Founding Fathers quoted the Bible constantly and were driven by their faith,” Greene told veteran journalist Lesley Stahl.
Stahl, who is Jewish, responded that the First Amendment “prohibits having a religion in the government.” Greene has previously referred to herself as “a proud Christian nationalist,” and has sold T-shirts with that phrase on it. Christian nationalists reject the separation of church and state, believe that the U.S. is a Christian nation with a divine destiny, and want the government to maintain and foster Christianity as America’s national identity.
Greene, a supporter of former President Donald Trump and an ally of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, has been accused several times of making antisemitic remarks — including suggesting that a Jewish-funded space laser had sparked wildfires in California in 2018. She also promoted QAnon conspiracy theories and embraced the Nation of Islam — a group whose leaders have regularly trafficked in antisemitic tropes — in her fight against COVID-19 vaccinations. Greene further provoked outrage in 2021 when she called on “rational” Jewish people to back her claim that mask mandates are comparable to the Holocaust. Greene apologized and visited the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.
A year later, she compared President Biden to Hitler.
“I stand for what's on my social media. But … you're not always in control,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said when she was asked why she liked a post that threatened to put “a bullet to the head" of Rep. Nancy Pelosi. https://t.co/OeSKbLD97I pic.twitter.com/zSJRPHeEix
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) April 2, 2023
Her controversial statements led the Democratic-controlled House, with the support of 11 Republican members, to revoke her committee assignments in February 2021. This year, McCarthy rewarded Greene with a key committee membership — a seat on the House Homeland Security Committee — after Republicans won back control of the House in the midterm elections.
In the Sunday interview, Greene was asked to respond to her critics and the names she has been called. “They call me antisemitic, which is not true,” she said. “I’m not calling anyone names. I’m calling out the truth, basically.”
Greene will travel to New York on Tuesday to protest the arraignment of Trump.
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