Following Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s condemnation of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s support for far-right conspiracy theories, the causes for the Georgia Republican’s disputes on the Hill received a favorable retelling on Fox News. On Monday night’s Special Report, chief congressional correspondent Mike Emanuel covered Greene’s controversial collision with her colleagues––though, he conveniently spared his audience from the specifics of her past views. Rather than noting that the freshman congresswoman has claimed the Sandy Hook shooting was staged and 9/11 was an inside job, blamed a space laser for causing wildfires, harassed a survivor of the Parkland shooting, and espoused support for the crackpot QAnon movement, the segment essentially portrayed Greene as a would-be conservative martyr who is being persecuted by Democrats for some vague reason, citing the Democratic demand that she be stripped of her role on the Education Committee as “more evidence that the 117th Congress is more divided than ever.”
On Monday, McConnell went to bat for GOP Conference Chair Rep. Liz Cheney, currently under fire from colleagues for voting to impeach former president Donald Trump, while calling out Greene—albeit not by name—for pushing “loony lies” that are a “cancer for the Republican Party.” The minority leader went on to assert that any member who has “suggested that perhaps no airplane hit the Pentagon on 9/11, that horrifying school shootings were prestaged, and that the Clintons crashed JFK Jr.’s airplane is not living in reality. This has nothing to do with the challenges facing American families or the robust debates on substance that can strengthen our party.” McConnell’s rebuke of Greene didn’t appear to get play on Fox News in prime time, according to CNN’s Oliver Darcy, though it was covered during the 11 p.m. hour.
In the supposed name of free speech, Tucker Carlson rolled out a roundabout defense of Greene on Monday night, taking aim at those calling for her removal as he implied that she is being villainized because “CNN says she has bad opinions. Therefore, she’s the greatest threat we face. Now if you’re skeptical about any of this, our advice is keep it to yourself. Because free inquiry is dead, unauthorized questions are hate speech.” (CNN’s Brianna Keilar shot back Tuesday: “Those aren’t opinions, Tucker. They are lies. Unfounded and absurd conspiracy theories”
.@brikeilarcnn rolls the tape on Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson defending GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and her “opinions.” Greene has come under fire for perpetuating conspiracy theories.
— CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) February 2, 2021
“Those aren’t opinions, Tucker. They are lies. Unfounded and absurd conspiracy theories” pic.twitter.com/o7pHvgsWpv
Source: vanityfair.com