GOP leaders were afraid to challenge Qanon congresswoman before she was even elected -- here's why

MSNBC's Kasie Hunt explained why Republicans never pushed back against conspiracy-mongering Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) before she was elected.

The Georgia Republican has been a magnet for controversy since her election, but her support for the right-wing Qanon conspiracy theory and outspoken bigotry were widely known since she ran unopposed in her congressional race -- but Hunt said GOP leadership was afraid to challenge Greene during her campaign.

"You're right to point out that the things that Marjorie Taylor Greene has said online, many of them are really astonishing, especially, I would put at the top of the list the idea that the school shootings, all those children who died at Sandy Hook, was a false flag event," Hunt told "Morning Joe." "Parkland, similarly, the high school in Florida, and to have her placed on the Education Committee. I have seen some Sandy Hook parents tweeting and talking about the grief this has caused them."

"She is also out there questioning Sept. 11, the attacks, and indulging in conspiracy theories around that, and the reality is they knew this going in, Republican leaders did," Hunt added. "Most of this stuff is old, it's been out there. Some of it was written about before the election, and I remember talking to Republican sources before she was elected and saying to them, 'What are you doing about this? Don't you think this is going to be a big problem if this person wins your primary? Because if they win the primary, they are almost guaranteed to become a member of Congress.'"

Hunt said congressional Republicans were afraid to speak out against Greene because they feared angering President Donald Trump, who had thrown his support behind her campaign.

"The decision at the time, they didn't want to poke the bear, really," Hunt said. "They didn't want to take a risk that potentially they would be in trouble with then President Trump if they went after her. More reasonable minds thought, 'We may draw attention to her in a way that would make it more likely she would win if we endorsed and fought for her primary opponent, we're just going to let this happen, even though we know this is going.' Heading into the meeting this week, it's the same set of questions. They didn't do anything about her before, why is anything going to change here."

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