Feb 28, 2022 - Politics & Policy

GOP leaders: MTG appearance at white supremacist conference "unacceptable"

Ivana Saric

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) spoke out on Monday against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's (R-Ga.) and Paul Gosar's (R-Ariz.) recent appearances at a white nationalist event, saying in a statement, "there’s no place in the Republican Party for white supremacists or antisemitism."

Driving the news: On Saturday, Greene and Gosar addressed the America First Political Action Committee's conference, a white nationalist gathering organized by Nick Fuentes, who has been labeled a white supremacist by the Justice Department.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) later told Punchbowl News: "Last week, I was just in Israel. When I come back I see two colleagues who went and participated with a group that has a leader that many times gives antisemitic views, and led a chant for Putin. For me it was appalling and wrong."

Calling the appearances "unacceptable," McCarthy added that he plans to meet with Greene this week, per Punchbowl News.

The big picture: Other Republicans have condemned Greene's and Gosar's appearances at the event.

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) tweeted on Saturday that the muted reaction from Republican leaders was "deafening and enabling. All Americans should renounce this garbage and reject the Putin wing of the GOP now."
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) addressed the issue during an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, saying he was "reminded of that old line from the 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' movie, where one character says: 'Morons. I have got morons on my team.'"

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GOP leaders: MTG appearance at white supremacist conference "unacceptable"

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