Senate Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is among those speaking out against the recent appearance by two Republican members of Congress, Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and Paul Gosar (Ariz.), at an event in Orlando, Florida, promoting white supremacy. And just to be clear, that description of the event isn’t a stretch: someone who appeared after Greene told the crowd that “Western white culture is the majority culture, to which even non-whites assimilate into today — and they’re better off for it” — they weren’t subtle. McConnell said that there’s “no place in the Republican Party for white supremacists or anti-Semitism” — something that you’d hope would be a given, but in this day and age is anything but.
After Marjorie Taylor Greene spoke at a white nationalist rally where Putin was cheered, Georgia Republicans react. GOP state Sen. Russ Goodman tells the Senate it’s “unfathomable” to hear Americans cheering Russia. Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan condemns Putin apologists. #gapol
— Greg Bluestein (@bluestein) February 28, 2022
Greene, for her part, has defended her appearance at the conference. She complained on Twitter that she’s “not going to play the guilt by association game in which you demand every conservative should justify anything ever said by anyone they’ve ever shared a room with” — but this isn’t something ultimately trivial, like dinner choices. It’s white supremacy. Greene even faced criticism from the infamously cowardly House GOP leader, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). McCarthy said that “it was appalling and wrong… There’s no place in our party for any of this… This is unacceptable.”
NEW: @GOPLeader condemns Greene & Gosar for speaking at a white nationalist conference, and tells us he plans to speak w/ them about the matter.
"To me it was appalling and wrong,” McCarthy said.“There’s no place in our party for any of this.”
“This is unacceptable,” he added.
— Melanie Zanona (@MZanona) February 28, 2022
Besides the white supremacy, the conference was also a fountain for pro-Putin sentiments — at one point, organizer Nick Fuentes literally asked attendees to provide a “round of applause for Russia,” and the crowd did so. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) also referenced that issue in her criticism of Greene and Gosar’s participation in the recent proceedings. As Cheney observed on Twitter, “As Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene and Rep Paul Gosar speak at this white supremacist, anti-Semitic, pro-Putin event, silence by Republican Party leaders is deafening and enabling. All Americans should renounce this garbage and reject the Putin wing of the GOP now.” Republican leaders have, at this point, spoken out — but they didn’t exactly appear to rush to offer their criticisms, and considering past comments and behavior that have been basically allowed to slide without consequences from the upper echelons of GOP leadership, it was not a given that these figures would speak out at all.
As Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene and Rep Paul Gosar speak at this white supremacist, anti-Semitic, pro-Putin event, silence by Republican Party leaders is deafening and enabling.
All Americans should renounce this garbage and reject the Putin wing of the GOP now. pic.twitter.com/6fgpV6ohZ8
— Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) February 26, 2022
