Wednesday was a vintage Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene day. After embarrassing herself and the Republican Party during a House committee hearing, Greene got into a verbal argument with Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman outside of the Capitol—in front of a lot of cameras. It amounted to being mostly political theater, and Bowman made sure to keep a consistent distance as he ribbed Greene and her party’s support of indicted New York Rep. George Santos. The one-minute interaction ended with Greene departing as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez walked past Bowman, patted him on the shoulder and said, “She’s ain’t worth it, bro. She ain’t worth it.”
During a Thursday press conference, Greene brought up her interactions with Bowman—one in March in New York City, and the one on Wednesday—and leaned into one of the oldest, most dangerous racist tropes in American history: She said she felt “threatened” by Bowman because his “physical mannerisms are aggressive.”
Greene proceeded to unleash 90 seconds of racist drivel. She began by saying that Bowman “has a history of aggression” against her and others. She then claimed Bowman had screamed that she was a “white supremacist” (though video of both interactions show he does not), and also claimed that being called a white supremacist is the same thing as hurling a racial epithet at a Black person. Greene then said Bowman “shoved” Rep. Thomas Massie a few weeks earlier (he didn’t—also on video), and warned that people should be “concerned” and “watch out” for Bowman.
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When asked about Greene’s comments, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said “Marjorie Taylor Greene is a complete embarrassment to the United States Congress, to the district that she represents, and to the people of Georgia. Her words and her actions speak for themselves.”
Bowman told reporters that Greene’s comments were “incredibly dangerous, and incredibly reckless,” adding that “she’s not using a dog whistle, she’s using a bullhorn to put a target on my back.” Bowman reminded people to watch the video so they could see that Greene’s statements about him were disingenuous, and therefore indicative of cruel intentions. Bowman pointed out that this is a tactic of white supremacists, who have attempted to “dehumanize Black people, black skin, and the Black humanity so that they can be more likely to be targeted for harm.”
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Bowman at no time (in March on the streets of New York City, or on Tuesday on the steps of the Capitol), called Greene a “white supremacist.” But even if he had, it wouldn’t have been analogous to Greene dropping the N-bomb. What Bowman said back in March was that New Yorkers “will never accept hateful rhetoric in our city. Any rhetoric that divisive, any rhetoric that uplifts white supremacy—we are pushing back against that.” You can watch Bowman’s comments to the press down below.
Unlike the myriad recorded examples of Greene harassing then-teen survivor of the Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting, David Hogg, on the streets of Washington, D.C., or threatening and harassing Rep. Cori Bush in the halls of Congress, or harassing Ocasio-Cortez and her staff repeatedly, the interaction between the two lawmakers is a non-story. Bowman and Greene spoke over one another loudly, with Bowman urging Greene to “save your party,” and Greene incoherently yelling about “migrants.”
As for the incident with Massie, that was when Bowman was calling Republican lawmakers cowards for their lack of political will to do anything about guns murdering our children. It was Massie who stepped up and pointed fingers in Bowman’s face. Bowman, frankly, would have had every right to put his hands on Massie at that point, but didn’t.
What Greene is doing here, mixing the general persecution complex of the conservative movement with old racial tropes of white women needing protection from big Black men, is abhorrent. But it is also informative. American history is covered in the blood of Black men who were murdered under this brand of racism. The moral bankruptcy of Greene, her Republican Party, and Trumpism is so complete at this point that it shouldn’t be surprising—but it can still be shocking.
Here’s Bowman and Greene’s interaction on Wednesday.
Here’s what Bowman actually said when Greene was summarily chased out of the Big Apple.
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Hell yeah! Democrats and progressives simply crushed it from coast to coast on Tuesday night, so co-hosts David Nir and David Beard are devoting this week's entire episode of "The Downballot" to reveling in all the highlights. At the very top of the list is Jacksonville, where Democrats won the mayor's race for just the second time in three decades—and gave the Florida Democratic Party a much-needed shot in the arm. Republicans also lost the mayor's office in the longtime conservative bastion of Colorado Springs for the first time since the city began holding direct elections for the job 45 years ago.