Taylor Greene defends ‘America First’ effort, pushes back on critics

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) defended her efforts to form a pro-Trump caucus in the House of Representatives, saying she would push forward with forming the group but distancing herself from nativist language the group has espoused. 

Greene said in a statement that she had not read a staff-written draft from the “America First Caucus” that calls for a “common respect for uniquely Anglo-Saxon political traditions.”

“On Friday, sick and evil POS in the media attacked me with phrases I never said or wrote. They released a staff level draft proposal from an outside group that I hadn’t read. The scum and liars in the media are calling me a racist by taking something out of context,” Greene tweeted. 

“It’s more proof so-called journalists lie and create false narratives,” she continued. “The media are the ones focused on race & use it to divide the American people with hate through identity politics.”

On Friday, sick and evil POS in the media attacked me with phrases I never said or wrote.

They released a staff level draft proposal from an outside group that I hadn’t read.

The scum and liars in the media are calling me a racist by taking something out of context.

— Marjorie Taylor Greene (@mtgreenee) April 17, 2021

Greene’s response comes after a wave rebukes from both Democrats and Republicans over the caucus. Beyond reproaches from Democrats calling the group racist, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said any lawmaker who joins should be stripped of their committees, and Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), a member of the hard-line Freedom Caucus, called the group “hateful.” 

The America First Caucus’s platform maintains that “a certain intellectual boldness is needed” in order to “follow in President Trump’s footsteps, and potentially step on some toes and sacrifice sacred cows for the good of the American nation.” 

“America is a nation with a border, and a culture, strengthened by a common respect for uniquely Anglo-Saxon political traditions. History has shown that societal trust and political unity are threatened when foreign citizens are imported en-masse into a country, particularly without institutional support for assimilation and an expansive welfare state to bail them out should they fail to contribute positively to the country,” it states.

Greene indicated Saturday she would press forward with the caucus, which she is reportedly forming with Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.).

Greene and Gosar have both faced pushback over past remarks, including racist and anti-Semitic comments Greene made before her election and Gosar’s appearance at a conference whose organizer has expressed white nationalist views.

“I believe in America First with all my heart and that means every American, of every race, creed, and color. I will never back down and I will never stop fighting for America First. There are tens of millions of Americans who agree,” she said. 

“I have plans to drive President Trump’s America First agenda with my Congressional colleagues but we won’t let the media or anyone else push the narrative,” she added. “America First policies will save this country for all of us, our children, and ultimately the world.”