Greene’s viral SOTU outfit was meant to echo Chinese spy balloon, her office says

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) says she aimed to send a fashionable message to President Biden by sporting a $500 white fur-trimmed coat to his State of the Union address.

The Georgia Republican made headlines on Tuesday as one of several GOP lawmakers who jeered Biden during his speech before a joint session of Congress. 

But it was her distinctive ivory ensemble that drove much of the conversation on social media, with some Twitter users mocking her look as reminiscent of Disney villain Cruella de Vil or the White Witch of Narnia.

The Regina hooded Peruvian alpaca wool coat retails for $495 on Overland. A sales page for the clothing item boasts that its “beautiful” tulip-hem “flatters every figure.”

The website says that the “sustainable, heirloom-quality garment is part of a collection that supports Peruvian artisans in earning fair wages while preserving their ancestral heritage.”

Greene’s office tells ITK that the congresswoman bought the now-famed coat while campaigning against former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and fundraising for Cheney’s GOP primary opponent, now-Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.). 

Greene “wore her outfit to highlight something President Biden refused to address in his speech, the white Chinese spy balloon,” a spokesman told ITK.

“Biden refused to mention it, just like he refused to stop the intelligence gathering operation that traversed the United States and surveilled some of our most important military facilities in the country,” Greene spokesman Nick Dyer said.

While he didn’t explicitly mention the suspected Chinese spy balloon during his State of the Union address, Biden did nod to his decision to shoot it down last week. 

“I am committed to work with China where it can advance American interests and benefit the world,” Biden said. 

“But make no mistake. As we made clear last week, if China’s threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country. And we did,” he added.  

Republican lawmakers including Greene have criticized Biden for being slow to act in taking down the balloon days after it was discovered hovering around sensitive military sites. 

Biden has said he immediately called for his officials to shoot down the balloon but was advised to wait until the massive aircraft was in an area where the debris field would not pose a threat to civilians on the ground.  

Ahead of Biden’s speech, Greene posted a video on Twitter showing her walking through the halls of the Capitol while holding the string to a white balloon.

“It’s just an innocent white balloon,” she said in the clip. 

It’s not the first time that members of Congress have taken a sartorial stand at the State of the Union.

In 2019, dozens of lawmakers appeared at the Capitol dressed in white to show solidarity with women ahead of then-President Trump’s State of the Union address.