Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) suggested Monday that there is “common ground” to be found between the modern Republican Party and the Nation of Islam, a conclusion she formed after reviewing reading materials provided to inmates at a Washington, D.C., jail.
“On my recent visit to the DC Jail one of the things I picked up was some religious material. They had options. Christain and Islam,” the first-term lawmaker and vocal Trump supporter said in the first of 17 tweets posted to to her account, adding that one of the reading materials offered was “Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam newspaper.”
“I don’t know any people with white hate, white fear, or white rage. We, Republicans, see and believe that all people have equal rights under the law and constitution and those rights extend to the unborn. But I do know a lot of people who don’t trust the government,” she added.
“But I also found out that the Nation of Islam sees the use and benefit of Ivermectin and is very angry that our media, Democrats, and Dr [Anthony] Fauci have attacked the drug and refuse to save people’s lives by not promoting it and shunning the use of it. We have common ground there,” she wrote.
Greene, a firebrand lawmaker from the Republican Party’s conservative wing, pointed to the Nation of Islam’s stated opposition to coronavirus vaccinations, including in children, as something on which Republicans and Nation of Islam leaders agree.
“Children should NOT be taking covid vaccines, as all data shows they are hardly at risk,” she said in one tweet, attaching photos of some of the reading material.
Greene took a swipe at national media and public health officials in a subsequent tweet, praising the Nation of Islam for calling out what they describe as the media’s “false narrative” on coronavirus vaccines.
“More common ground,” she said, adding “They read this in jail.”
Federal health officials have repeatedly implored all Americans to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, saying vaccines are proven to be safe and effective. Late last month, the Food and Drug Administration authorized Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in children ages 5 to 11.
Later in her Twitter thread, Greene made a point of saying she is “strongly opposed to radical Islam.”
“But I do believe in freedom of religion guaranteed to us by our Constitution,” she said. “Learning how opposed the Nation of Islam is to the #COVID19 vaccines, & already knowing how many Christians oppose the vaccines, we MUST ensure that Religious Exemptions are allowed for Vaccine Mandates.”
Greene has earned widespread condemnation for embracing conspiracy theories on subjects including pandemic science, electoral fraud and global climate events.
The Republican lawmaker was briefly suspended from Twitter over the summer after she shared false information suggesting COVID-19 is “not dangerous” for people who are not obese or under the age of 65.