
Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene sparked outrage on Friday night when she appeared as a "surprise guest" at a white nationalist event being held in conjunction with the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando.
"Greene, a QAnon conspiracist and rabidly anti-trans Republican, was the surprise speaker at the third annual America First Political Action Conference in Orlando, organized by white nationalist figurehead Nick Fuentes, leader of the 'groyper' movement," the Huffington Post reports. "Fuentes, an antisemite and racist who attended the deadly 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and who was recently subpoenaed for his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, excitedly introduced Greene as the featured speaker from behind a lectern inside the Marriott Orlando World Center, according to a livestream of the event."
Ben Lorber, an analyst for the social justice think tank Political Research Associates, noted on Twitter that in embracing Fuentes, Greene joined Arizona Republican Congressman Paul Gosar, who spoke at the conference last year.
"Fuentes claims alt-right troll Milo Yiannopoulos made it happen," Lorber wrote of Greene's appearance. "Shortly before bringing up MTG, the camera showed a sizeable and raucous crowd. Fuentes praised 'our secret sauce...young white men.' Fuentes then solicited a round of applause for Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, and the groyper crowd chanted 'Putin, Putin.'"
Conservative Meghan McCain, the daughter of the late Arizona Sen. John McCain, reacted on Twitter to Greene's appearance by noting that she is "more welcomed by Republican leadership than" Wyoming Republican Congressman Liz Cheney.
According to a report from the Daily Beast earlier this week, the AFPAC conference is "meant to showcase (the white nationalist) movement’s numbers and its successes courting Republican Party influence in the post-Capitol riot landscape."
"CPAC regularly attracts and courts large groups of young conservatives from around the country, offering them networking and job-hunting opportunities," the Daily Beast reported. "Fuentes’ evident strategy is to siphon away an amount of those young faces to his burgeoning hate movement in hopes of strong-arming the conservative movement more broadly toward an unapologetic far-right bent."
More below.
Shortly before bringing up MTG, the camera showed a sizeable and raucous crowd. Fuentes praised "our secret sauce...young white men." Fuentes then solicited a round of applause for Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, and the groyper crowd chanted "Putin, Putin."pic.twitter.com/I8BGH1TYGm— Ben Lorber (@Ben Lorber) 1645844688
And she is more welcomed by Republican leadership than @Liz_Cheneyhttps://twitter.com/jaredlholt/status/1497404534599077889\u00a0\u2026— Meghan McCain (@Meghan McCain) 1645846606
Only one reason a person speaks at a white nationalist conference because they\u2019re a white nationalisthttps://twitter.com/jaredlholt/status/1497404534599077889\u00a0\u2026— Molly Jong-Fast (@Molly Jong-Fast) 1645844835
"Don't speak at a white national conference" is a low bar for members of Congress to clear, yet here we arehttps://twitter.com/jaredlholt/status/1497404534599077889\u00a0\u2026— Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics) 1645844961
Wonder if she\u2019s warning everyone about the Gazpachohttps://twitter.com/jaredlholt/status/1497404534599077889\u00a0\u2026— Mildly Sad Eagles Fan (@Mildly Sad Eagles Fan) 1645847109
Dog the Bounty Hunter always wildinhttps://twitter.com/jaredlholt/status/1497404534599077889\u00a0\u2026— Red Flag (@Red Flag) 1645846143
You know what they say, if it walks with webbed feet \u2026https://twitter.com/jaredlholt/status/1497404534599077889\u00a0\u2026— Jason Karsh (@Jason Karsh) 1645845359
Madge is officially a Nazi. Congratulations!https://twitter.com/jaredlholt/status/1497404534599077889\u00a0\u2026— Ron KrasNOW (@Ron KrasNOW) 1645846235
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