Marjorie Taylor Greene has stepped in it again. That is likely what you think if you are a liberal. The Georgia Congresswoman, often willing to say something controversial, is the toast of conservatives and the villain for progressives. The latest dust up involves a tweet she made while reacting to the settlement of a defamation case between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems. This case was settled immediately for $787.5 million after it went to court. Dominion originally sued for $1.6 billion in damages. Greene then took to Twitter on April 18 for her take on the matter.
What Did She Say Now?
“We have food critics that criticize restaurants, consumer reports that criticizes products, auto critics that criticize automobiles, and conservative Americans have just wrapped up a week of nuking a beer company, but you can’t criticize a voting machine company, or you’ll get sued for millions and millions of dollars,” Greene tweeted.
Lee Moran of the liberal HuffPost media outlet took the pulse of the Internet and determined that Greene made a serious gaffe.
Greene Believes Fox News Is Innocent
Marjorie Taylor Greene’s point of view aligns with what the attorneys for Fox News would have likely said in its defense – that the conservative network was simply using its First Amendment rights to report on a controversy with Dominion. After the 2020 presidential election that Donald Trump lost, the voting technology firm was criticized by numerous guests and Fox anchors on various programs for allegedly reversing Republican votes and rigging other election malfeasances.
But in emails and texts unearthed during the case’s discovery process, Fox News executives admitted that they were erroneous to target Dominion. Fox News chief Rupert Murdoch said it was “crazy stuff.” Another boss exclaimed that coverage of Dominion’s alleged wrongdoing was “MIND BLOWINGLY NUTS.”
Greene’s Opinion Was Pilloried by Observers
Investigative reporter Jessica McMaster tweeted, “The congresswoman says Fox News merely ‘criticized’ Dominion. That’s not synonymous with defamation.”
Legal Affairs Editor Luke Zaleski posted, “There is nothing you can say or do to confront MAGA gaslighting that won’t be met with more MAGA gaslighting…They will do and say anything. And there is nothing you can do or say to do anything about it. That is the MAGA gaslighting paradox.”
What Is Gaslighting?
Gaslighting, according to Oxford English Dictionary, is when a person “manipulates [someone] using psychological methods into questioning their own sanity or powers of reasoning.”
Despite that definition, I’m still fuzzy on what gaslighting means and whether Greene is guilty of it. Progressives are certain that the Congresswoman is engaging in gaslighting, so I will give her detractors the benefit of the doubt.
But this latest flap with Greene is mostly harmless. She is not speaking about race or gender and her tweet is not otherwise hurting anyone. Twitter hot takes can be risky though. You don’t know who will be offended. It’s not surprising the left believes Greene is sometimes allergic to the truth. She may want to take a break from Twitter, and other politicians would do so. However, Green is not a normal elected official. She loves taking the contrarian track no matter what the consequences are.
“Fox News has appeared to admit some guilt in the Dominion case. We acknowledge the Court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false,” according to a statement released by the network after the settlement details were released.
But Greene appeared to have ignored this admission. So, the progressives let her have it. It won’t be the last time that the Georgia firebrand is pilloried by the left. She seems to enjoy taking on the storm and riling up progressives. Look for more questionable statements from her on Twitter that we will track closely.
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Author Expertise and Experience: Serving as 19FortyFive’s Defense and National Security Editor, Dr. Brent M. Eastwood is the author of Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare. He is an Emerging Threats expert and former U.S. Army Infantry officer. You can follow him on Twitter @BMEastwood. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and Foreign Policy/ International Relations.
