Marjorie Taylor Greene

About

Marjorie Taylor Greene, also known as MTG, (born May 27th, 1974) is a Republican United States Congresswoman representing Georgia’s 14th district and a noted conspiracy theorist. Greene emerged as a prominent figure during her campaign for Congress in 2020 and was dubbed the "QAnon candidate” by many observers.^[1] A staunch supporter of former President Donald J. Trump and outspoken proponent of various conspiracy theories, Greene’s various public statements have consistently generated controversy and memes.

Political History

Before Congress

Marjorie Taylor Greene owned and operated a Crossfit gym in Georgia, as well as a construction company with her husband.^[2] She rose to prominence in conspiracy circles as a writer for various conspiracy theory websites (publishing dozens of explainers and articles about QAnon and the alleged crimes of Hillary Clinton) and a moderator for the far-right conspiracy Facebook group Family America Project.^[3] Posts from this period of Greene’s career, in which she advocated for the execution of Democratic politicians and posted frequently and positively about QAnon, have since resurfaced and led many to criticize her.^[4]

2020 Campaign

On June 4th, 2019, Greene announced her candidacy for a congressional seat in Georgia’s 7th district, while residing in the 6th. On December 13th, 2019, she switched her campaign to the 14th district. In the first round of the GOP primary, she won 40 percent of the votes, later won 57 percent in the second round and eventually won 74 percent of the vote in the general election. Greene’s district is notably one of the most Republican districts in the country.^[5]

First Term In Office

Greene's first term in office was largely marked by controversy, as she continued to promote conspiracy theories and stake out positions far to the right of the majority of the Republican caucus. She has been associated with figures like Lauren Boebert. An effort to disqualify her from running for reelection in 2022 due to her role in the January 6th insurrection faltered, with a Georgia ruling on May 5th, 2022, that she could run for office.^[6] Texts revealed by former Trump Chief of Staff showed Greene calling Trump to invoke "Marshall law" (sic) following his loss in the 2020 presidential election.

Online History

Greene began her political career posting online for conspiracy theory websites. She joined Twitter in December 2020 and is present on Facebook. She was temporarily suspended from Twitter in January 2021 for violating the platform’s “civic integrity” policy, and then permanently suspended on January 2nd, 2022, for posting coronavirus disinformation.^[7] She was suspended the next day on Facebook for the same reason. Her official Congressional accounts remain active on both networks.^[8]

Conspiracy Theories

Jewish Space Lasers

In January 2021, Greene received much media attention after a post she made (seen below) in 2018 supporting a conspiracy theory about a Jewish Space Laser that she claimed was responsible for the California wildfires resurfaced. The issue was brought up by Democratic politicians and others on Twitter who cited it as evidence that Greene was unfit to serve in office. The space laser meme quickly spread beyond that point, appearing in various remixes and riffs.

Violation of My HIPAA Rights

On July 20th, 2021, Greene was asked by a reporter whether she was vaccinated against COVID-19 and replied that answering the question would be “a violation of my HIPAA rights Greene misunderstood HIPAA, which is a law protecting patients from having their medical information disclosed by providers or their insurance companies, leading many to mock her response. Many users online joked about the comment, posting that any frivolous questions they didn't want to answer were a "violation of their HIPAA rights."

Controversies

Removal From Committee Assignments

Two weeks after taking office, on February 4th, 2021, Greene was removed from all of her committee assignments by Republican leadership due to comments she made about the January 6th insurrection and her ties with white nationalists such as Nick Fuentes, whose rally she attended. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy declined to censure her in any other way.^[9]

Harassment of Alexandra Ocasio Cortez

Greene has often collaborated with other Republican congresspeople like Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert while harassing Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. Video from 2019 showed Greene shouting slurs at the office door of Ocasio Cortez, and she has also shouted at Ocasio Cortez in the halls of Congress, leading the New York congresswoman to express concern about her security and Greene’s mental health.^[10]

"She Is A Nazi" Christian Nationalist Comment

On July 19th, 2022, the Twitter^[11] account patriottakes tweeted a video taken during Greene's Twitch stream, wherein, she called herself a "Christian Nationalist" and that, "Republicans need to prove to the American people that we are the party of… Christian nationalism.” In six days, the video received roughly 358,100 views and 2,600 likes (shown below).

On June 24th, 2022, Twitter^[12] user AvengerResister highlighted Greene's quote when tweeting, "Marge Taylor Greene wants America to be a Christian Nationalist country. She sounds like a Nazi," earning roughly 5,200 likes in one day (shown below, left). The tweet inspired a viral debate regarding Greene's statement and its supposed relation to Nazism. For instance, on July 25th, 2022, the Twitter^[13] account for TheUSASingers tweeted, "Marge Greene identifies as Christian nationalist. In other words, she is a Nazi," earning over 9,000 likes in less than a day (shown below, right).

On July 25th, Twitter^[14] user RabbitResist surfaced a Ben Garrison cartoon of Greene as a Nazi, earning over 340 likes in one day.

Search Interest

External References