Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene faced backlash after an interview on 60 Minutes where she denied making previous comments suggesting that the 2018 Parkland school shooting was a "false flag" operation.
During the interview, journalist Lesley Stahl confronted Greene with evidence of her past remarks on social media. However, Greene tried to shift the blame for her actions, saying that "other people also ran my social media."
This is not the first time that Greene has made controversial statements about school shootings. In a 2019 video, she suggested that last summer's shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, was orchestrated "to persuade Republicans to go along with more gun control." Additionally, Greene has previously harassed a Parkland shooting survivor who advocates for gun control.
Despite evidence of her remarks, Greene has repeatedly denied making them, and during the 60 Minutes interview, she tried to rewrite history.
You can hear what she said in the video below.
\u201cWhen liars are caught in a lie they usually panic and say weird crap. Case-in-point:\n\nWatching Leslie Stahl fact-check Marjorie Taylor Greene on 60 Minutes this evening about calling the Parkland shooting a "false flag" was the worse deflection I have ever seen in my life:\u2026\u201d— Brian Krassenstein (@Brian Krassenstein) 1680487827
Greene said:
“I never said Parkland was a false flag. No, I’ve never said that. School shootings are horrible. I don’t think it’s anything to joke about.”
When Stahl informed her CBS fact-checked her statements, Greene gave a convoluted answer and attempted to discredit Stahl and the network.
“Have you fact-checked all my statements from kindergarten through 12th grade and in college? And as I’ve paid my taxes and never broken a law, and the only, I got a few speeding tickets, do we need to talk about those too?”
“Because I think where you’re going down is the same attacks that people have attacked me with over and over.”
Many have criticized Greene for her remarks.
\u201cLet's be clear. This is not a "both sides" problem. Democrats do not attack school shooting survivors.\n\nhttps://t.co/dNweDM1E4c\u201d— George Chidi (find me on Mastodon) (@George Chidi (find me on Mastodon)) 1680037536
\u201c@RepMTG You do absolutely nothing to protect children. You can hang as many crosses on your wall as you want, but you're still an evil person. THIS is not "protecting children": https://t.co/u7ndbHs72g\u201d— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1680488493
\u201cRep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Facebook in 2018: Parkland school shooting was a false flag planned event | what a stupid lying jerk she is https://t.co/wGwcE7Mf6E\u201d— Andrew Mark (@Andrew Mark) 1680532993
\u201c\u2066@RepMTG\u2069 Here, Marge, is the proof of how you lied to Lesley Stahl on last night\u2019s @60 Minutes. We knew what a liar you are and not the rest of the work knows. You want me to send you the video of you screaming at \u2066@davidhogg111\u2069 ? https://t.co/khHQqPjxgH\u201d— Ktdidfl (@Ktdidfl) 1680559269
\u201cOf COURSE Marjorie Taylor Greene lied to 60 Minutes!\nLies, victimhood, and rage-farming are all @repmtg HAS.\nAnd @mtgreenee called the Parkland massacre a \u201cfalse flag\u201d TWO YEARS BEFORE she was in Congress. SHE posted it, SHE chased & shrieked at survivors, & SHE lied about it.\u201d— \ud835\udc12\ud835\udc27\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc33\ud835\udc33\ud835\udc16\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc27\ud835\udc20\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc2b\ud83c\udf3b (@\ud835\udc12\ud835\udc27\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc33\ud835\udc33\ud835\udc16\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc27\ud835\udc20\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc2b\ud83c\udf3b) 1680557505
\u201cMarjorie Taylor Greene said the school shootings at Sandy Hooky and Parkland didn\u2019t happen\n\nShe launched her political career by harassing a Parkland survivor\n\nShe thinks the way to stop school shootings is to put MORE guns in schools\n\nShe\u2019s not protecting kids\nShe\u2019s killing them\u201d— Adam Cohen Lawyers for Good Government #DemCast (@Adam Cohen Lawyers for Good Government #DemCast) 1680491503
\u201cI missed @RepMTG on @60Minutes did they include this video of her harassing high school gun massacre survivors in their show?\nWherever her name is mentioned this video needs to go up. https://t.co/tsjz1XfwvJ\u201d— Nina Burleigh (@Nina Burleigh) 1680526311
\u201c'We Fact-Checked': Marjorie Taylor Greene Caught Lying in '60 Minutes' Interview https://t.co/5bvUwcytWa via @YahooNews \nWe ALL saw it here on Twitter Marge. Gotta keep up w/yr damn lies. \u201cI never said Parkland was a false flag,\u201d Yeah U did!\u201d— Sheri Zwarich Drips (@Sheri Zwarich Drips) 1680556150
Greene's rhetoric has been deemed dangerous and many have called for her to be held accountable for her actions.
60 Minutes and Stahl also took considerable criticism for even having Greene on the program.
\u201cHey, @60Minutes -- I fixed it for you.\u201d— Mary L Trump (@Mary L Trump) 1680463726
Some have even called for Greene to be removed from Congress, citing her endorsement of the QAnon conspiracy theory and her past remarks about school shootings.
The controversy surrounding Greene highlights the larger issue of conspiracy theories and the impact they can have on public discourse. Conspiracy theories can be particularly dangerous when they involve topics such as school shootings, which have already caused significant harm and trauma.
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