Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene was criticized after she claimed White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre "doesn't understand" an ongoing nationwide infant formula shortage because she is a lesbian.
Greene—who actually voted against the Access to Baby Formula Act earlier this year—made the remarks on her MTGLive online broadcast, claiming Jean-Pierre—who has a daughter—can't possibly understand the impact of the shortage because she’s “married to a woman” and “doesn’t have children.”
You can hear what she said in the video below.
\u201cMarjorie Taylor Greene, who voted against the baby formula bills, believes \u201cobviously [White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre] really doesn\u2019t understand\u201d the baby formula shortage because she is \u201cmarried to a woman.\u201d\u201d— PatriotTakes \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@PatriotTakes \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1659611778
Greene took umbrage with Jean-Pierre's pledge earlier this week that the Biden administration will "continue to do the work to make sure families have safe baby formula so they can feed their kids."
During a press briefing she said:
“She claims they’re doing the work every day. Karine claims that they care about families and babies.”
“Karine claims that she understands, but she doesn’t have children and, I think, she’s married to a woman, so obviously she doesn’t really understand that."
"I don’t know if they even have children.”
The nationwide infant formula shortage has received renewed attention in recent months as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) works with Abbott Nutrition—a company that had to recall some of its products in February—to safely resume production.
As of early April, "seven states reported that between 40% and 50% of baby formula products were out of stock," according to a CNN report, and since then the problem has persisted "with no end in sight."
Experts say this is the worst shortage the United States has experienced in decades, amplified by Abbott Nutrition's prolonged shutdown as well as general supply chain issues that have made securing formula ingredients and packaging increasingly difficult.
In May, New York Attorney General Letitia James said that her office is "closely monitoring reports of a baby formula shortage impacting families across our nation" and said that the state government "won't hesitate to take action against anyone who price gouges baby formula."
Many accused Greene of homophobia, pointing out lesbians and other members of the LGBTQ+ community have children all the time.
\u201cOh sure, that also explains why heterosexual couples can't understand baby formula if they had children through adoption. #sarcasm #gtfo\u201d— When is Tate's and Fitch's press conference? (@When is Tate's and Fitch's press conference?) 1659676344
\u201cMTG suggests Press Secretary can't possibly understand families because she's married to a woman. Can't possibly understand parents because she's married to a woman. \nUnfortunately for #MTG, they are parents and *gasp* gay families are families.\u201d— Carlwhy Pops \ud83c\udf3a\ud83e\udd17\u2764 (@Carlwhy Pops \ud83c\udf3a\ud83e\udd17\u2764) 1659659694
\u201c@RepMTG Lesbians have children all the time. Gay men have children all the time. It\u2019s not exclusive to heterosexual relationships. Also gay men are more likely to use formula soooo\u2026.\u201d— Krystina \u2764\ufe0f (@Krystina \u2764\ufe0f) 1659669280
\u201cErr, what? Shouldn't that double the understanding? Well, she is turning her own stupidity into homophobia, so nothing new.\nhttps://t.co/0a9VRLfwsc\u201d— J\u00fcrgen "jkr" Kraus (@J\u00fcrgen "jkr" Kraus) 1659652440
\u201cHolding a pen doesn't make MTG smart, or even look smart.\u201d— SturgeonGirl (@SturgeonGirl) 1659634455
\u201cGee Marjorie, if only there was a simple, fast, and accurate way to check if the WH Press Sec has children. \n\nBTW,who she\u2019s married to is COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT. \nI\u2019d go further and argue that having a child isn\u2019t entirely relevant either.\u201d— \u2764\ufe0f\ud83e\udd0d\ud83d\udc99MardiParker \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83d\udc36\ud83e\ude7a\u2744\ufe0f (@\u2764\ufe0f\ud83e\udd0d\ud83d\udc99MardiParker \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83d\udc36\ud83e\ude7a\u2744\ufe0f) 1659639804
\u201c@RepMTG apparently doesn\u2019t know @PressSec is a mom! Or she simply hates kids! Probably both!\u201d— John Gross (@John Gross) 1659639861
\u201cThe thought of these scumbags having a majority in congress where they could act upon their rank bigotry should repulse you\u201d— Paul Crater (@Paul Crater) 1659642053
\u201c@RepMTG are you ever going to resign after making offensive comments, or???\u201d— \ud83e\udd8bMahi\ud83e\udd8b (@\ud83e\udd8bMahi\ud83e\udd8b) 1659647711
Jean-Pierre, who has a child with her partner, CNN correspondent Suzanne Malveaux, has been subject to regular attacks from conservatives who've alleged she is little more than a diversity hire.
Earlier this year, Fox News personality Tucker Carlson attempted to discredit Jean-Pierre, claiming that she, the first Black woman and openly gay person to hold the position of White House Press Secretary, only got the job because of her sexual orientation.
Carlson said that Jean-Pierre's appointment shows that the Biden administration found someone as “shallow, nasty and partisan” as previous Press Secretary Jen Psaki, suggesting that the administration only assigns roles "exclusively in terms of groups" and not based on individual merit.