Marjorie Greene, the Republican Georgia at the center of a political firestorm this week, denied the idea that she was a QAnon candidate in an interview Friday with Fox News, saying her “Q” -supported videos are in her past and her do not represent priorities for Congress.
“No, it does not represent me,” Greene said of the “QAnon candidate” label she has in the national media.
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“But I do not expect many of the left-leaning media to change their position,” she said. “I think they continue to attack me because they actually see me as someone who is unapologetically conservative. And I will not back down on my beliefs and my values.”
Supporters stand with construction chair Marjorie Taylor Greene, right, because she’s on the phone, late Tuesday, August 11, 2020, in Rome, Ga. Greene, criticized for promoting racist videos and on the adamant support of the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory, won the GOP nomination for the 14th Congress District of Northwest Georgia. (AP Photo / Mike Stewart)
Greene won the Republican congressional run-off in the red Northwest 14th Congressional district on Tuesday, a victory that does everything but guarantees that Greene will advance to become a congresswoman in November.
Greene said her campaign was never about QAnon, the far-right American conspiracy theory popular with supporters of President Trump who claims he is being targeted by deep state operatives, and yet one has been identified as “Q” to draw the curtain on her activities. But she has posted videos that discuss the fringe theory. She said she became curious about QAnon during the Russia investigation into Trump, but has since found “misinformation” and chosen another outlet by running for political office.
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“I was just one of those people, just like millions of other Americans, who was just starting to look at other information,” Greene said. “And so, yeah, there’s been a while I’ve been reading about Q, posting about it, talking about it, what are some of these videos you’ve seen coming out. But once I started To find the wrong information, I decided to go the other way. “
One example of “misinformation” they cited was that the 2018 midterm elections were “safe” for Republicans when Democrats actually made big gains and took the House again.
But that’s hardly the only piece of information with QAnon detractors. And Greene’s videos from the past calling QAnon’s theories “worth listening to” and explaining “Q is a patriot” have sounded the alarm – among GOP politicians.
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Supporters take pictures with executive construction Marjorie Taylor Greene, right background, late Tuesday, August 11, 2020 in Rome, Ga. Greene won the GOP nomination for the 14th Congress District of Northwest Georgia. (AP Photo / Mike Stewart)
“Qanon is a manufacture,” Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill. tweeted. “This ‘insider’ has predicted so much wrong (but people do not remember PAST predictions), so has now moved on to vague generalities.”
“If she’s the future of the Republican Party, we’re in trouble,” the newborn rep said. Denver Riggleman, R-Va., To Politico. “QAnon is the mental gonorrhea of conspiracy theories. It’s disgusting and you want to get rid of it as soon as possible. “
Greene claims that some Republicans in Washington may have been misinformed about what their election really was.
“This was not part of my campaign,” Greene said. “It has not been that I have been talking about for some time now. What I am interested in is saving Americans from socialism. That means putting American policy first, and that means stopping the radical left, and their democratic socialist policy that they “I want to convey that our economy is ruining, killing our jobs and depriving us of our freedoms. These are the things I am working on.”
But the candidate has been called upon to confront other statements from the past, including once saying there is no evidence that a plane hit the Pentagon on 9/11.
Recently, Greene acknowledged on Twitter that the 9/11 collusion theory was “incorrect.” Asked if there were any other statements or theories they would like to correct, Greene said her videos were designed to cast doubt on topics and that she is most focused on working for her district.
“A lot of the things I talked about were things that people ask. So often I’ve talked in these videos about these topics and ways to just discuss them,” Greene said. “I’m one of those people – I have no problem talking about a problem, asking questions and bringing things up.”
Politico reported that in Facebook Live videos Greene also suggested that Muslims do not belong in government; thinks Black people “are being held slaves for the Democratic Party”; Named George Soros, a Jewish Democratic megadonor, a Nazi; and said she would feel ‘proud’ to see a Confederate monument if she was Black, because it symbolizes progress made since the Civil War.
Greene said the “little bites” from videos from past “were not my full statement” and were “chosen to try to make a story about me that is not true.”
Some GOP leaders condemned Greene earlier in the campaign for such past unearthed statements.
Greene said she has “had great conversations with Kevin McCarthy and many other leaders in Congress since she won the primary.” Most notably, she received support from Trump, who called for her on election night to congratulate her and later tweeted that she is a “future Republican star.”
While Greene distanced herself from “Q” on Friday, Trump declined to answer a question about his views on QAnon during a White House briefing.
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“They won by a lot,” Trump said of Greene’s primary win Tuesday. “She was very popular. She comes from a great state. She had a great victory, so I absolutely congratulated her.”
Greene laid out some of her priorities for Congress: stopping socialism, dismissing Planned Parenthood, protecting law enforcement, declaring Antifa a domestic terrorist group, and tackling the mass debt.
“I will be a very proud Conservative American woman and I will fight back against the squad,” said Greene of the group of progressive freshman lawmakers, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, DN.Y. “They need to be stopped. These are radical women who have embraced socialism and some of them even communism, and they are trying to destroy our country.”
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Greene had a memorable victory on Tuesday when she called House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a derogatory term for women. Democrats have apologized to Greene, but they refused.
“Yes, I meant it then when I said I wanted to kick that b —- out of Congress,” Greene said. “I know that’s not a nice word, but submitting an innocent president is also not a fun thing to do.”
Greene will face Democrat Kevin Van Ausdal in the November vote and is widely expected to win in the safe Republican neighborhood.
