Pictures of Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene appearing at a conference for white nationalist Nick Fuentes resurfaced on Twitter Tuesday after Greene said she denounced Fuentes' worldview.
Greene, along with Arizona GOP Representative Paul Gosar, spoke at Fuentes' America First Political Action Conference (AFPAC) in February. While Gosar recorded a video welcome message that played at the event, Greene spoke to the crowd in person. Greene later defended her appearance, claiming she didn't know who the organizers of the event were or their philosophies, reported CBS News.
CNN White House Correspondent Laura Barrón-López tweeted about Greene's association with Fuentes on Tuesday after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy claimed that the Georgia representative had "denounced" the far-right speaker in the past.
"There's no public evidence Greene denounced Fuentes," Barrón-López wrote. "She claimed she didn't know about his 'controversial' views when she spoke at his white nationalist conference."
Greene responded to Barrón-López's tweet, saying that she "of course" denounces Fuentes and "his racist anti-semitic ideology."
"I can't comprehend why the media is obsessed with him," Greene wrote. "Do you actually report real news or just use CNN for your political activism? Have you questioned Democrats if they denounce Israel hating Ilhan Omar?"
Ilhan Omar, a Democratic representative from Minnesota, has previously been assailed by Greene, including in an Islamophobic tweet from the Georgian last year when fellow Republican Lauren Boebert apologized for her own attack on Omar.
Greene's statement on Tuesday was met with backlash as photos resurfaced of her attending Fuentes' conference this year. The account @demsmight posted a photo of Greene shaking Fuentes' hand while on stage, writing, "THIS YOU?"
Mark Pitcavage, senior research fellow at the Anti-Defamation League, posted a series of responses to Greene's tweet, which included several different photos of the congresswoman on stage at the AFPAC.
In one of the posts, user @IVoteClimate wrote in response to Greene, "Is this how you denounce people?"
"Doesn't look very denounce-y to me," continued the tweet.
Fuentes, mega-star rapper Kanye West and British far-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos have been hot topics among the GOP after former President Donald Trump hosted the group for dinner at his Mar-a-Lago home last week.
Trump has been repeatedly criticized by Republican leaders for hosting Fuentes, including former Vice President Mike Pence, who said Trump should apologize for giving "a white nationalist, an antisemite and a Holocaust denier a seat at the table."
The former president, however, has defended the dinner, claiming he didn't know who Fuentes was prior to the meeting.
Newsweek has reached out to Greene's press team for comment.
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Kaitlin Lewis is a Newsweek reporter on the Night Team based in Boston, Massachusetts. Her focus is reporting on national ... Read more
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