WASHINGTON, D.C. — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy came out against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s statements comparing the U.S. House’s mask requirements to the steps Nazis took to control Jewish people during the Holocaust.
Greene made the comparison during an appearance on “The Water Cooler with David Brody” podcast last week.
"This woman is mentally ill," said Greene while discussing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. "You know, we can look back in a time in history where people were told to wear a gold star and they were definitely treated like second-class citizens — so much so that they were put in trains and taken to gas chambers in Nazi Germany, and this is exactly the type of abuse that Nancy Pelosi is talking about."
Greene was referring to the millions of Jews who were made to wear a Star of David, transported to concentration camps and killed during World War II.
Joining other GOP lawmakers, Rep. McCarthy released a statement Tuesday morning, condemning Greene’s comparisons.
“Marjorie is wrong, and her intentional decision to compare the horrors of the Holocaust with wearing masks is appalling,” said McCarthy. “The Holocaust is the greatest atrocity committed in history. The fact that this needs to be stated today is deeply troubling.”
“Let me be clear: the House Republican Conference condemns this language,” he added.
McCarthy also took the opportunity to go after the Democrats in his statement, accusing Pelosi of ignoring a supposed rise in anti-Semitism within her party. However, just the day before, the speaker tweeted that the recent spike in antisemitic attacks is horrific and cannot be tolerated.
“We must come together as Americans to condemn and combat this appalling bigotry and hatred,” wrote Pelosi.
Meanwhile, Greene seems to be doubling down on her remarks. Tuesday morning, she tweeted out a story about vaccinated employees at Food City stores having to wear a vaccination logo on their name badges.
“Vaccinated employees get a vaccination logo just like the Nazi’s forced Jewish people to wear a gold star,” wrote Greene. “Vaccine passports & mask mandates create discrimination against unvaxxed people who trust their immune systems to a virus that is 99% survivable.”
